Tigran A. Avakian - Տիար Avagyan

Did you know that the last King of Armenia is buried alongside the kings of France? Levon V, the last king of Cilician Armenia, was of mixed Armenian and Frankish ancestry, belonging to the Lusignan dynasty. In fact, centuries of close relations and intermarriage between Armenian and Frankish nobility meant that many medieval Armenian monarchs shared both Armenian and French ancestry. After losing his kingdom in 1375, Levon eventually reached France, where he died in 1393. Today, his tomb rests in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the historic burial place of French royalty. A remarkable chapter in nearly a thousand years of French-Armenian relations.