Melisende, Armenian Queen of Jerusalem
Most people know about the Kardashians' or Cher's Armenian heritage. But not many know that a lot of queens of Jerusalem were of either partial or full Armenian descent and were married to the Crusader kings. Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders. One of my favorite queens of Jerusalem is Melisende. She was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161. She was an influntial woman of her time that fought neighbouring Muslim powers, her husband and later her son. Melisende was born in 1105. She was the eldest daughter of the second King of Jerusalem Baldwin II and Armenian Princess Morphia of Melitene. Since Baldwin and Morphia didn't have any sons, Melisende was groomed to be her father's heir. Melisende was highly educated and had amazing parents as her role models. Even though her parents' marriage was a diplomatic one, her parents were very loyal to each other. When Baldwin II was adviced
