Leo II (Armenian: Լեւոն Ա Մեծագործ, romanized: Levon I. Metsagorts; 1150 – 2 May 1219)[a] was the tenth lord of Armenian Cilicia,[4] ruling from 1187 to 1219,[7]: [page needed] and the first king to be crowned, in 1198/9 (sometimes known as Levon I the Magnificent[4]).[b][4][7]: [page needed] Leo eagerly led his kingdom alongside the armies of the Third Crusade and provided the crusaders with provisions, guides, pack animals and all manner of aid.[3]
He was consecrated as king on 6 January 1198[7]: [page needed] or 1199.[4]
He was the younger son of Stephen, the third son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.[7]: [page needed] His mother was Rita, a daughter of Sempad, Lord of Barbaron.[10] Leo's father, who was on his way to attend a banquet given by the Byzantine governor of Cilicia, Andronicus Euphorbenus,[4] was murdered[7]: [page needed] on 7 February 1165.[citation needed] Following their father's death, Leo and his elder brother Roupen lived with their uncle.[4][11]
