page_title: Armenia–France relations
section_title: During the Middle Ages
hierarchical_section_title: Armenia–France relations / History / During the Middle Ages
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: "A Jean Althen (Hovannes Althounian, 1709-1774}. Agronome Armenien, Refugue dans le Midi de le France, dont il stimule le developpement economique en y inroduisant la culture de la garance" English: Monument to Jean Althen (Hovannes Althounian, 1709-1774} in Avignon
context_page_description: Franco-Armenian relations have existed since the French and the Armenians established contact in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia In the 1100s. Formal diplomatic relations between Armenia and France were established on 24 February 1992 and are regarded as excellent, with both countries cooperating on the aspects of diplomacy, culture and military. In effect of the excellent relations between the two countries 2006 was proclaimed the Year of Armenia in France.
context_section_description: Prior to the 11th century, the Franks and the Armenians didn't have much contact together, because of the distance separating them.  However, there were earlier contacts between Armenians and Franks by way of the Roman Empire.  In 554 during the Battle of Casilinum the Armenian general Narses of the Eastern Roman Empire drove out the Franks and their allies the Alemanni from the Italian peninsula.
  Towards the 11th century, the Armenians established the Principality and then Kingdom of Cilicia, which was located on the Mediterranean coast and thus accessible to the Franks and other Europeans who were participating in the Crusades. Armenia was the last Christian safe haven for the Crusaders before facing the Islamic armies of Syria and Palestine.  Unlike the Turkic arrival into the area, the Frankish arrival was interpreted positively by Armenian writers and other intellectuals.
  In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, continuous contact with Western Europe, most notably with the Frankish Kingdom made way for major social, cultural, and political change in Cilician Armenia. Armenians, who have their own branch of Christianity, came in contact with (and were influenced by) Catholic ideals.
  The last dynasty (the Lusignans) to rule Cilician Armenia was of Frankish origin. The last king, Leo VI of Armenia, was buried in Saint Denis Basilica alongside notable French kings such as Charles Martel, Louis XIV, and many others. He was in fact the only foreigner who was buried there.
caption: Statue of the Armenian agronomist Jean Althen  (1709–1774) in Avignon
exif: {"Image Make": "CASIO COMPUTER CO.,LTD", "Image Model": "EX-Z50", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "0.90", "Image DateTime": "2007:06:29 10:49:57", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "398", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Manual", "Image DigitalZoomRatio": "0/0", "Image FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Image GainControl": "None", "Image Contrast": "Hard", "Image Saturation": "Hard", "Image Sharpness": "Hard", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, 22, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 16, 129, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "34708", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8497", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "43/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:06:29 10:49:57", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:06:29 10:49:57", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "205/64", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Daylight", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1536", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2048", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera"}