Stephen of Armenia

Who was Stephen of Armenia?

Stephen of Armenia was the Marshal of Armenia, the son of Leo I, Prince of Armenia and Beatrice de Rethel.

His father made him Marshal in 1138, due to the invasion of John II Comnenus, and escaped capture by sheltering in Edessa. In 1157, he began raiding Byzantine territories around Marash against his half-brother Thoros' will, although he failed to capture Marash itself. The Byzantine governor of Tarsus, Andronicus Euphorbenus, invited him to a banquet and murdered him on February 7, 1165. Thoros revenged his death with a massacre of Greeks within his territories, which would have led to war had not Amalric I of Jerusalem intervened to bring about a peace.

He had at least three children by his wife Rita of Barbaron: Ruben III, Leo II and Dolete, who married Bertrand Embriaco.