Vintage Embossed Copper Enamel Wall Decoration of King Leon of Armenia Cilicia, Home Décor, First King of Armenia Cilicia

Antique vintage embossed copper enamel wall decoration made in Armenia in the Soviet era 1980s which evokes the first king of Armenian Cilicia King Leon.

Leo II also Leon II, Levon II or Lewon II, was the tenth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1187–1198/1199), and the first king of Armenian Cilicia (sometimes as Levon I the Magnificent or Lewon I) (1198/1199–1219). During his reign, Leo succeeded in establishing Cilician Armenia as a powerful and a unified Christian state with a pre-eminence in political affairs. Leo eagerly led his kingdom alongside the armies of the Third Crusade and provided the crusaders with provisions, guides, pack animals and all manner of aid. Under his rule, Armenian power in Cilicia was at its apogee: his kingdom extended from Isauria to the Amanus Mountains.

In 1194–1195, when he was planning to receive the title of king, he instituted a union of the Armenian Church with Rome. With the signing of the Act of Union, his coronation proceeded without delay. He was consecrated as king on 6 January 1198 or 1199, in the Church of Holy Wisdom at Tarsus. His accession to the throne of Cilicia as its first Armenian monarch heralded into reality not merely an official end to Cilicia's shadowy umbilical connection to the Byzantine Empire, but also a new era of ecclesiastical co-operation with the West. A skilled diplomat and wise politician, Leo established useful alliances with many of the contemporary rulers; he also gained the friendship and support of the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights by granting considerable territories to them.

Height 33.5cm – 13.18in
Length 25.5cm – 10.03in
Weight 1168gr

Ref 23