LITTLE ARMENIA

also called Lesser Armenia, or Armenia Minor, kingdom established in Cilicia, on the southeast coast of Anatolia, by the Armenian Rubenid dynasty in the 12th century. The Rubenids ruled first as barons and then, from 1199 to 1226, as kings of Cilicia. Thereafter the family of Oshin, another Armenian noble, ruled as the Hethumid dynasty until 1342. After initial trouble with the Byzantine Empire, Little Armenia established itself and developed contacts with the West. Frankish culture, disseminated by Frankish families traveling on Crusades, had considerable influence on the development of Little Armenia. The kingdom was also important for being on the route of Venetian and Genoese trade with the East. It was conquered by the Muslim Maml uks in 1375.