Ruben I
Ruben I, was the first lord of Armenian Cilicia from 1081 until his death.
Life
Ruben was a descendant of the Bagratids. He went alongside the Armenian king Gagik II to Constantinople to sign an allegedly permanent peace-treaty upon the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX's request. However, Gagik was forced by the emperor to hand over his Armenian territory and live in exile. Gagik was later assassinated by the Byzantine governors of Kyzistra.In 1080, soon after this assassination, Ruben organized a band of Armenian troops and revolted against the Byzantine Empire. He was joined by many other Armenian lords and nobles. Thus, in 1080, the foundations of the independent Armenian princedom of Cilicia, and the future kingdom, were laid under Ruben's leadership. Through continuous military campaigns against the Byzantines, he managed to expand his territory to the entire plain of Cilicia, in one of which he captured the powerful Castle of Antirim and made it a military base for his family. His descendants are called Rubenids.