Isabella (Zabel) Queen of Armenia [64129] ¹²⁷

  General Notes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Zabel_of_Armenia


She was proclaimed queen under the regency of Adam of Baghras. But he was assassinated; and Constantine of Baberon (of the Hethumian family) was nominated as guardian. At this juncture, Raymond-Roupen, grandson of Roupen III (the elder brother of Isabella's father, King Leo I) set up a claim to the throne of Cilician Armenia; but he was defeated, captured, and executed.

Constantine of Barbaron was soon convinced to seek an alliance with Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch, and he arranged a marriage between the young princess and Philip, a son of Bohemond IV. Philip, however, offended the Armenians' sensibilities, and even despoiled the royal palace, sending the royal crown to Antioch; therefore, he was confined in a prison in Sis (now Kozan in Turkey), where he died, presumably poisoned.

The unhappy young Isabella was forced to marry Constantine of Barbaron's son, Hethum; although for many years she refused to live with him, but in the end she relented. The apparent unification in marriage of the two principal dynastic forces of Cilicia (i.e., the Roupenids and the Hethumids) ended a century of dynastic and territorial rivalry and brought the Hethumids to the forefront of political dominance in Cilician Armenia.

  Noted events in her life were:

• Acceded: Queen of Armenia, 1219. was the queen regnant of Cilician Armenia (1219\endash 1252)

Isabella married Philip of Antioch [64130] [MRIN: 551618844], son of Bohemond IV the One Eyed of Antioch Prince of Antioch [7530] and Plaisance Embriaco de Giblet [64145], in Jun 1222. (Philip of Antioch [64130] died in 1226.). The cause of his death was poisoned.

  Marriage Notes:

He married the 10-year old Isabella in June 1222, who had been queen of Armenia from 1219

Isabella next married Hethum I King of Armenia [64128] [MRIN: 551618843] on 14 Jun 1226. (Hethum I King of Armenia [64128] died in 1271.)

  Marriage Notes:

Hethum's father Constantine had been regent for the young Queen Zabel of Armenia. Zabel originally married Philip (1222\endash 1225), son of Bohemond IV of Antioch. However, Constantine had Philip disposed of, and instead forced Zabel to marry his own son, Hethum, on June 14, 1226, to make Zabel and Hethum co-rulers.