King Leo
Raymond-Roupen laid claim to the throne by virtue of lineage through his mother Alice, the niece of King Leo I. Moreover, he had long been considered as King Leo I’s heir. Raymond-Roupen approached the crusaders at Damietta in 1219 for support in claiming Cilician Armenia, and was able to return in 1221 with some of them and promises from the Papal legate Pelagius. Raymond-Roupen found some Armenian support in and around Tarsus, notably Vahram, the castellan of Corycus. Together they conquered from Tarsus to Adana, but then met reverses and were forced to retire to Tarsus where Raymond-Roupen was captured and ended his days in prison in 1222; his infant daughters retired with their mother to Cyprus. This event left Isabella the sole and largely incontestable heir to her father’s throne.