Thoros I, Prince of Armenia

Who was Thoros I, Prince of Armenia?

Toros I, also Thoros I, was the third lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains”.

His alliance with the leaders of the First Crusade helped him rule his feudal holdings with commanding authority. Toros ejected the small Byzantine garrisons from Sis and Anazarbus, and he established his capital at Sis. He was plagued by the nomadic Turks who were harassing him from the north but were driven back.

He avenged the death of King Gagik II by killing his assassins. This act of revenge was often used by chroniclers of the 12th century as direct evidence connecting the Roupenians to the Bagratid lineage.

During his time he bestowed favors and gave gifts and money to many monasteries for their decoration and adornment, in particular those of Drazark and Mashgevar.