ArmeniaArmenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia, with geopolitical ties to Europe. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital, largest city and financial center. Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage.
Principality of AntiochThe Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extended around the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean, bordering the County of Tripoli to the south, Edessa to the east, and the Byzantine Empire or the Kingdom of Armenia to the northwest, depending on the date.
MopsuestiaMopsuestia and Mopsuhestia (Mopsou(h)estia and Μόψου Mopsou and Μόψου πόλις and Μόψος; Byzantine Greek: Mamista, Manistra, Mampsista; Arabic: al-Maṣṣīṣah; Armenian: Msis, Mises, Mam(u)estia; modern Yakapınar) is an ancient city in Cilicia Campestris on the Pyramus River (now the Ceyhan River) located approximately east of ancient Antiochia in Cilicia (present-day Adana, southern Turkey). From the city's harbor, the river is navigable to the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of over 40 km (24 mi).
Seljuk EmpireThe Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to the Hindu Kush in the east, and from Central Asia in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south. The Seljuk Empire was founded in 1037 by Tughril (990–1063) and his brother Chaghri (989–1060), both of whom co-ruled over its territories; there are indications that the Seljuk leadership otherwise functioned as a triumvirate and thus included Musa Yabghu, the uncle of the aforementioned two.
History of ArmeniaThe history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions of Eurasia historically and geographically considered Armenian. Armenia is located between Eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands, surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat. The endonym of the Armenians is hay, and the old Armenian name for the country is Hayk' (Հայք, which also means "Armenians" in Classical Armenian), later Hayastan (Հայաստան).
County of EdessaThe County of Edessa (Latin: Comitatus Edessanus) was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia. Its seat was the city of Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey). In the late Byzantine period, Edessa became the centre of intellectual life within the Syriac Orthodox Church. As such it also became the centre for the translation of Ancient Greek philosophy into Syriac, which provided a stepping stone for the subsequent translations into Arabic. When the Crusades arrived, it was still important enough to tempt a side-expedition after the siege of Antioch.
CiliciaCilicia (sɪˈlɪʃə) is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilicia plain. The region includes the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay. Cilicia extends along the Mediterranean coast east from Pamphylia to the Nur Mountains, which separates it from Syria.
Kingdom of CyprusThe Kingdom of Cyprus (Royaume de Chypre; Regnum Cypri) was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an independent Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusignan after the Third Crusade. It comprised not only the entire island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anatolian mainland: Antalya between 1361 and 1373, and Corycus between 1361 and 1448.
Tarsus, MersinTarsus (ˈtɑrsəs; Hittite: 𒋫𒅈𒊭 Tārša; Ταρσός Tarsós; Տարսոն Tarson; طَرسُوس Ṭarsūs) is a historic city in south-central Turkey, inland from the Mediterranean. It is part of the Adana-Mersin metropolitan area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey. Tarsus forms an administrative district in the eastern part of Mersin Province and lies at the heart of the Çukurova region. With a history going back over 6,000 years, Tarsus has long been an important stop for traders and a focal point of many civilisations.
CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to conquer Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Muslim rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of military campaigns were organised, providing a focal point of European history for centuries.
