Meanwhile, the Armenians who went to Byzantium soon constituted one of the most important and influential ethnic groups in the empire. They became the dominant element in the army. Very large numbers of the generals were Armenians to which Byzantium owed most of its victorious campaigns in the 9th, 10th, and 11th Centuries. Starting with Maurice in the

Gusanats Vank (monastery of the virgins) in Ani, overlooking the Akhurian River. The name refers to St. Hripsime and her companions.

6th and Herclius in the 7th Century, most of the great Byzantine emperors and queens were of Armenian origin. There were to be 18 Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin. Moreover, during the 9th and 10th Centuries, one of the most brilliant periods of Byzantine history, almost every major figure in the administration was of Armenian descent. Many of the Byzantine scholars were Armenians, including some of the more celebrated teachers at the University of Constantinople.

Ani was to fall to the Seljuk Turks in the 11th Century. In this period some families migrated north to Georgia and the Caucasus, with others going to Poland. More Armenians went to Byzantium, among them various nobles of Bagratid court. One of these, Ruben, was to establish the Rubenid dynasty in Cilicia.

The Snake Fortress, often called Levongla (fortress of Levon), located in Armenian Cilicia. Its date is uncertain, but it may have been built around the 12th century.

By the end of the 12th Century the Rubenids had created in Lesser Armenia a strong, independent state. Levon the Great of Lesser Armenia received the blessing of Pope Celestine III in 1199, along with a crown sent by the German Emperor, with still another crown sent by the Emperor of Byzantium. Over a period of some 200 years the Armenians were to aid the Crusaders and play an important role in the march of the Crusaders towards the Holy Land. (the same to be repeated for plates 8 and 9 if needed) From this period the costume of a Cilician bride, reproduced from miniatures in a 13th Century Bible kept in the Library at St. Lasar, Venice.