Mleh I[1][2] (Armenian: Մլեհ), also Meleh I,[1] (before 1120 – Sis, May 15, 1175) was the eighth lord of Armenian Cilicia[1] (1170–1175).
Soon after the death of Nur ed-Din (the emir of Aleppo),[2] Mleh was overthrown by his nephew, Ruben III.[1]
Early life
Mleh was the fourth son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia. The name and the origin of his mother are not known with certainty. It is possible that she was a daughter of Count Hugh I of Rethel, or she might have been the daughter of Gabriel of Melitene.
All Cilicia remained under Byzantine rule for eight years.[3]
In the service of Nur ed-Din
Mleh converted to Islam from Armenian Apostolic Christianity.[1] Afterwards, he ruled Cyrrhus.[4]
Rule
On March 10, 1171, Amalric I left Acre for Constantinople where he made a treaty with the Emperor Manuel I Comnenos.[2]
During 1171, Mleh attacked Count Stephen I of Sancerre in Cilicia while he travelled from the Holy Land to Constantinople.[2]
He was buried in Medzkar.
Marriage and child
Mleh married an unnamed daughter of Vasil of Gargar (a sister of the Catholicos Gregory).
He had one illegitimate child by his unknown mistress:
- Grigor (? – January 28, 1209/January 27, 1210 or after)
References
- 1.[1.2][1.3][1.4][1.5]Ghazarian, Jacob G. The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393).
- 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4]Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades – Volume II.: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East: 1100–1187.
- 3.Vahan M. Kurkjian (April 5, 2005). "A History of Armenia". Website. Bill Thayer. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- 4.Gibb, Sir Hamilton A. R. The Career of Nūr-ad-Dīn.