Cilician Armenia. Baronial Period. Roupen I. 1080-1095 AD. AE Pogh,
Obv: Cross. Armenian legend "Roupen" around. Rx: Cross. Armenian legend "Servant of God" around. Bed 1. C 245. Rare and important, much sought after. VF.
After the reduction of the Bagratid dynasty in Armenia by Byzantium and the occupation of the Bagratid capital of Ani, a number of Armenia nobles opted to leave Armenia proper rather than submit to rule from Constantinople. Many moved south into Cilicia, where other Armenian families had long been settled. One of these lords, Roupen I, was able to found an Armenian kingdom that would last for almost three hundred years. The present coin is an example of the initial rare coinage of the new dynasty, struck during the reign of Roupen or his immediate successors. These were the first purely Armenian coins issued anywhere for over 1000 years .
Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 2.70 gr
Diameter: 21 mm