ART HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION

After the fall of the Artashesian dynasty, Armenian coins minting came to a halt for centuries to come.
The 11^th century was bad news for the Armenians. Atrocity and massacres were committed by the Turks against the Armenian population. Many fled the homeland, while thousands were either deported, exiled or massacred. A considerable number of Armenians settled on the plateau of Cilicia, soon to become a formidable kingdom. Indeed, at the dawn of the 12^th century, Cilicia kingdom was created and began to make its mark on history. It did not take the Armenians long before a new currency came to life. The first coinage mint occurred under the reign of the very first king of Cilicia, king Levon the first and remained in circulation for approximately three hundred years. The very first minted coins symbolized the strong Armenian Christian faith, for they represented Christian signs and symbols. In addition to a great national pride in their ethnic origin, Armenians first, display an enormous Christian fervor and a deep faith in Jesus Christ. They did manifest this fervor and faith in minting their coins. Almost all the minted metal currency at that time depicted a monarch and a dominant Christian symbol.

The very first series of coins were minted in silver and bronze with a very limited edition in gold which was not widely used or circulated among the population. By the end of the reign of Levon the fifth, (from 1, 374 to 1,375) the last king of Cilicia, all Armenian coins were minted in nickel or copper. In the 13^th and 14^th centuries, the Rupenid dynasty and the Hetumit dynasty issued a series of magnificently minted coins depicting various secular and religious symbols, in addition to a most unique novelty: Minted coins with Armenian and Arabic characters!! This was the last time, Armenia will and would issue or mint a currency until the arrival of the first Armenian republic in 1,918.