Constantine of Baberon (died c. 1263) was a powerful Armenian noble of the Het‛umid family. He was the son of Vassag and the father of King Het‛um I, who ruled the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

from 1226 to 1270. Constantine played a pivotal role in placing his son on the throne by engineering the murder of

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

, the husband of

Isabella, Queen of Armenia Isabella ( hy, Զապել; 27 January 1216/ 25 January 1217 – 23 January 1252), also Isabel or Zabel, was queen regnant of Armenian Cilicia from 1219 until her death in 1252. She was proclaimed queen under the regency of Adam of Baghras. Afte ...

. He tricked Philip's father, Bohemond IV of Antioch, to search for his son at Amouda rather than at Sis, where he was being tortured and poisoned. He then took his army to the gates of

Silifke Castle Silifke Castle ( tr, Silifke kalesi) is a medieval castle in Turkey. Geography The castle is in Silifke district of Mersin Province. It is situated to the west of Silifke city center, to the south of Göksu River (''Calydanus'' of the antiquity) ...

, forced its Frankish lords to surrender Isabella, and arranged the marriage, making his son the first Het‛umid ruler of the Armenian Kingdom. Constantine began construction on the elaborate baronial apartments at Baberon (

Çandır Castle Çandır Castle ( tr, Çandır Kalesi) the medieval Armenian site of Paperon ( hy, Պապեռոն, also known as Barbaron), is a fortification in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The castle is in the Toros Mountains at . It is situated to the ...

), which were still standing in 1979. Nearby, at a site known today as Kız Kilisesi near Gösne, he built a monastic retreat with an ornate chapel whose dedicatory inscription is dated to 1241. The Castle of Tamrut, about 75 km northeast of Baberon, also had an Armenian dedicatory inscription (now destroyed) over its main gate which mentioned having been built in memory of “the father of the King… Baron Constantine.” It also gave the medieval Armenian name of the castle as Tambrout, a name otherwise unattested in the surviving histories, and the year of construction as 1253. Constantine, also known as the Grand Baron Constantine, was married to Stephanie of Barbaron, with whom he had

Stephanie of Lampron Stephanie of Lampron (ca. 1220/1225 – soon after April 1, 1249, buried at Santa Sophia, Nicosia), was a queen consort of Cyprus, wife of Henry I de Lusignan, king of Cyprus. Runciman, Steven (1989). A History of the Crusades, Volume III: The K ...

. In 1205, he married Alix Pahlavouni (a third-cousin of Leo II), with whom he fathered: * Sempad the Constable 1208–1276 * Hethum I of Armenia 1213–1270 * Ochine of Korykos, father of the historian Hayton of Corycus * John (Basil), the Bishop of Sis * Lewon (Leon) * Maria, who married

John of Ibelin, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon John of Ibelin (, 1215 – December 1266), count of Jaffa and Ascalon, was a noted jurist and the author of the longest legal treatise from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was the son of Philip of Ibelin, bailli of the Kingdom of Cyprus, and A ...

, the famous jurist *

, married in 1237 to King

Henry I of Cyprus Henry I of Cyprus, nicknamed the Fat (french: Henri de Lusignan; 3 May 1217 – 18 January 1253 at Nicosia) was King of Cyprus from 1218 to 1253. He was the son of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne. When his father Hugh I died on January 10 ...

Edbury, ''John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem'', p. 66, 100 * Hripsimeh (Daisy) In his third marriage, Constantin married Biatr around 1220, who gave birth to: * Yovhanes, Bishop of Mavleon, then Archbishop of Sis * Vacahk, lord of Gantschi * Licos * a daughter married to

Simon Mansel Simon Mansel (between 1205 and 1220 – after 1268) was a Constable of Antioch. He belonged to the important Frankish Mansel family from Antioch. He was believed to be a son of Robert Mansel, who became constable to Antioch in 1207. Bartholomew M ...

, Constable of Antioch * Kostandin, Lord of Neghir and Perzerpert (Partzerpert), ancestor of Kings

Constantine III Constantine III may refer to: * Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor), self-proclaimed western Roman Emperor 407–411 * Heraclius Constantine, Byzantine Emperor in 641 * Constans II, Byzantine emperor 641–668, sometimes referred to under this ...

and

Constantine VI Constantine VI ( gr, Κωνσταντῖνος, ''Kōnstantinos''; 14 January 771 – before 805Cutler & Hollingsworth (1991), pp. 501–502) was Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797. The only child of Emperor Leo IV, Constantine was named co-emp ...

Notes

References

*"Le Royaume Armenien de Cilicie",

Claude Mutafian Armen (Claude) Z. Moutafian (born 21 July 1942) is a French mathematician and a historian who specializes in Armenian history. Foreign Member of Armenian Academy of Sciences. He is the son of Zareh Mutafian. Biography Born in 1942 in Clamart, ...

, Editions CNRS, Paris, , p. 80 * {{Authority control 1263 deaths Year of birth unknown Kings of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia