Lampron       Genealogy and History                1570-2006

                        Origin of the Name Lampron

The origin of the name Lampron dates back to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which  was a state formed in the Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk (Turks) invasion of Armenia. It was located in what is today southeastern Turkey. The country was independent from around 1078 to 1375.

 Although there exist no records or documents directly connecting the present day Lampron name with the Armenian descendants of Lampron, there does exist a strong probability that Armenian refugees migrating to France from the Port of Lampron, between 1375 and 1570, took the name Lampron as a surname.

The historical significance of the name Lampron represents an interesting look into a small segment  of  Armenian history, and because of this, I've chosen  Armenia as a starting point in the genealogy and history of the name Lampron.

To bypass this section about Armenian history and go directly to the Lampron Family Matrix and Genealogy:

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The Kingdom of Cilicia (Little Armenia) was founded by the Rubenid dynasty. The Rubenids ruled first as barons and then, from 1199 to 1226, as kings of Cilicia. Thereafter the family of *Oshin, another Armenian noble, ruled as the Hethumid dynasty until 1342. It was conquered by the Muslim Mameluks in 1375. 

 

 

Port of Lampron

*Oshin
In 1075, an Armenian noble; the *Nakharar Oshin, formerly lord of a fortress in Caucasian Albania, had come in to Cilicia, where his relatives, governed Taurus in the name of the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. Oshin was given a hereditary fief (domain), the district of  Lampron (Lambron) on the Tarsus River at the Cilician Gates, a narrow pass leading from the Taurus mountain chain — a point of major importance for the security of Cappadocia. At that time the Arabs were in possession of Antioch.

*Nakharar
In ancient and medieval Armenia: a noble of the highest rank, feudal superior.

Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. Major cities and castles of the kingdom included the port of  Lampron.

When Oshin became the Lord of Lampron, he took the district's name of Lampron as his surname. He then became known as Oshin I, Lord of Lampron. 

Armenia - The First Christian State

We can be fairly certain that Jesus of Nazareth was born sometime around the year 3 BC and that he died around 33 AD. There is no exact proof of the month, day and year, but most historians believe that Jesus was born around September or October between 8-2 BC.        

Our story begins  in Jerusalem 3 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. It starts with the man called  Saul of Tarsus, who experiences a vision of profound magnitude. Prior to his vision  Saul was on a mission to persecute all Jews who practiced and believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was strongly apposed to the new religious following and wanted the government of Rome to punish  and imprison all Jews who practiced in the new Christian faith and preached the gospel of Christ.

Saul was the man who envisioned a personal revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ while journeying from Jerusalem to Damascus (Acts 9.1-8) and whose life and mission was drastically changed after his vision of the Messiah. Saul would later take the name Paul the Apostle and as a believer in Christ, he would eventually alter and determined the course of the development of Western Civilization and culture.

Little is known of the birth and early childhood of Paul, then known as Saul. It is certain from the Scriptures that he was born in the City of Tarsus (Acts 22:3) located in the Roman province of Cilicia, now known as part of modern Turkey.

Tarsus was a city that combined both the Roman and Greek worlds in that its politics was Roman and its culture was Greek, a place of education and commerce. This province of Cilicia was one of many places in which the Israelites had located during their dispersion from Jerusalem.  Paul later returned to his homeland of Cilicia to preach the words of Christ and remained there for 3 years.

Armenia the First Christian State

Armenia  is located in southern Caucasus,  between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan in the east and Iran in the south.

Armenia is a member of the Council of Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States and for centuries has been on the crossroads between East and West. The country is formally named the Republic of Armenia.               

Christianity was an underground movement during its first 300 years in Armenia. Its early converts used to get together to learn more about the new faith and also to hold worship services.

About the year 257 AD, Gregory the Illuminator was born. Gregory the Illuminator is the apostle, national saint, and patron of Armenia. Gregory became an evangelist in the image of the Apostle Paul. He traveled from one town to another, and even to the remote villages in Armenia, and preached the gospel, founded churches, and taught the Bible to the Princes and the courtiers of the King.

St. Gregory eventually converted King Trdat, and with him spread the Christian faith throughout the country. King Trdat became so much a Christian that he made Christianity the national faith.

The year 301 AD is considered the traditional date that Armenia became the first state to formally adopt Christianity as its official state religion, twelve years before Rome.

In 1176, *Nerses of Lampron would become the Archbishop of Tarsus. He was born at Lampron, Cilicia, Armenia, 1153; died at Tarsus, July 17, 1198.

A Brief History of it's Decline

In the years leading up to the 1st century CE, Armenia was a regional empire with a rich culture.  At one period it controlled all the lands between the Black and Caspian Seas.

Armenia  Minor  Medieval Shield

The Lampron Castle: The ancestral home of the Hethumids

Armenia falls under the Turks

The Greek dominance in Armenia ended in 1071, after the famous battle of Manzikert. An army of 100,000 Byzantines including the Armenian forces met with the huge army of Seljuks under Alp Aslan. The Christians led by the Emperor Romanus Diogenes were defeated, and Romanus was imprisoned by Alp Aslan. The Turks took control over all of the Greater Armenia.

Armenians attempt to liberate their lands

In the 12th century and in the beginning of the 13th century, a number of Armenian nobles joined with the neighboring Georgians, in an attempt to liberate the Armenian lands. After a number of uprisings that took place in 1124, 1161 and 1174, the Seljuk rule was overthrown in different cities of Greater Armenia. During the reign of Queen Tamar (1184-1213), some important cities of Greater Armenia, such as Ani, Kars and Dvin were retaken from the Turks.

The Mongols invade Armenia
The short revival in Armenia ended with the first Mongol invasions in the early 1220's. During the next 100 years the country was subjected to new campaigns of terror and destruction. Many cities  were destroyed, plundered and set ablaze. After the census taken in 1254, the population was overtaxed. The Mongol invaders demanded the most severe taxes, more than a man could bear They harassed the people with incredible beatings and tortures… Those who hid were seized and killed."
A number of rebellions led by Armenian and Georgian lords were brutally crushed by Mongols.
From the beginning of the 14th century, the Mongol dominance in the region recedes. Now numerous Turkoman nomadic tribes invade the Armenian lands. Different parts of Armenia become the theater of warfare for the various nomadic clans, such as Kara Koyunlu (Black Sheep) and Ak Koyunlu (White Sheep)

Establishment of Rubenids dynasty.
 

After the devastating raids of Seljuks thousands of Armenians moved to Cilicia - a region of Armenia Minor situated between the Taurus and Amanus mountains close to the Mediterranean coast. The Armenian population in Cilicia gradually became predominant. In 1080 Prince Ruben,  asserted authority over the local Armenian and Greek princes. Ruben became founder of a new glorious royal House of Rubenids that ruled over Cilicia for more than 300 years.

Oshin I, Lord of Lampron - 1110
Succeeded the Rubenid Dynasty in Armenia

Lord of Lampron, Oshin I of Armenia, was the ancestor of the Hetumid dynasty, which succeeded the Rubenid Dynasty in Armenia in 1226 and ruled until 1342. 

Timeline

 Next: The Hethumid Dynasty

 

To bypass this section about Armenian history and go directly to the Lampron Family Matrix and Genealogy:

 Click Here
 

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