ABSTRACT
The final decade of the 11th century saw the beginnings of the Crusades represented the great effort made by medieval Europe in going beyond its immediate confines in pursuit of Christian feudal glory and of its distorted visions of heavenly salvation. Two small Christian kingdoms in the midst of an Islamic sea in the Levant sustained a marginal existence with very little help from Christian Europe. These are: the kingdoms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia. Such co-operative unions eventually dissolve with the passage of time at a rate commensurate with the historical developments surrounding their coexistence. The chapter explores the interdependent histories of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia during the 13th and 14th centuries, and seeks insights into the factors that set the stage for the ultimate failure of this unique Armenian experiment. It presents descriptions are testimonies to Armenian communities in Cyprus and provides examples of the role they played in the construction of the fabric of Cypriot society during the Middle Ages.
