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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3463209, member: 81887&quot;]Still working through a few coins from months ago, trying to catalogue them before my latest auction wins arrive... anyway, hope you enjoy this coin that&#039;s outside my usual collecting area.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]920995[/ATTACH] </p><p>Kingdom of Cilician Armenia.&nbsp; AR takvorin (20 mm).&nbsp; Gosdantin (Constantine) III (1344-1362).&nbsp; Obverse: King on horseback, Armenian legend around.&nbsp; Reverse: Lion with cross on pole, Armenian legend.&nbsp; This coin: Purchased from [USER=96898]@Orielensis[/USER] .</p><p><br /></p><p>Armenia has a very long and distinguished history.&nbsp; Regular readers of the Ancients board are probably familiar with Tigranes II (The Great) who challenged both the Roman Republic and the Parthians, and the many struggles between Rome/Byzantium and Parthia/Sasanians to place their own candidates on the Armenian throne.&nbsp; Armenia proper spent most of the Middle Ages conquered by various other, more powerful neighbors.&nbsp; However, for almost three centuries there was an independent Armenian state in the Cilicia region of what is now southwestern Turkey:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]920999[/ATTACH] </p><p>(Map courtesy Wikipedia, under a Creative Commons license)</p><p><br /></p><p>The Byzantines had encouraged Armenians to settle in Cilicia, to provide a buffer against the various Muslim states to the east (Armenians had a reputation as fierce warriors, and had been among the first nations to officially adopt Christianity).&nbsp; In about 1080, the Cilician Armenians established an independent Principality, which upgraded to a Kingdom in 1198.&nbsp; The Kingdom was able to remain independent until 1375, when it was finally conquered by the Mamlukes.&nbsp; Cilician Armenia provided aid to the Crusaders, who learned some techniques for castle construction from them.&nbsp; It also served as a repository of Armenian culture during a period when Armenia proper was under foreign domination.&nbsp; Gosdantin III ascended the throne in 1344, and immediately ordered the execution of two potential rival claimants for the throne, who however were able to flee to Cyprus.&nbsp; During Gosdantin&#039;s rule the Mamlukes were able to conquer some of the Cilician territory; he died in 1362 of natural causes.&nbsp; The last Cilician Armenian territory was conquered by the Mamlukes in 1375.</p><p><br /></p><p>I rather like this coin- any coin showing the ruler on horseback automatically has added interest, and the artistic style on the lion is crude but somehow appealing.&nbsp; Add in the fact that it&#039;s from an &quot;exotic&quot; land, and uses an uncommon script (Armenian is written in its own unique alphabet)- this coin was definitely well worth the $15 I spent on it.&nbsp; Please share your own Armenian (Cilician or otherwise) coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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