Gabriel, Ruler of Melitene

- 1102

• Name	Gabriel   [1]
  Suffix	Ruler of Melitene
  Birth	of Meletine, Armenia   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1102  [2]
  Alternate death	1103  [3]
  Person ID	I1941	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of AP, Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of LMW, Ancestor of TSW, Ancestor of TWK, Ancestor of WPF
  Last Modified	12 Dec 2023

  
  

  Children	+ 1. Morphia of Melitene   d. Abt 1126
  Family ID	F918	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Jun 2015

  
  

• Notes

  From Wikipedia (accessed 12 Dec 2023): Gabriel of Melitene was an Armenian general who ruled the city of Melitene (modern Malatya). Gabriel started his career as an officer of the Byzantine general Philaretos Brachamios, who installed him in Melitene. After the general's death, Gabriel broke away from the Byzantine Empire. He sought to ally himself with the leaders of the crusades and had his daughter, Morphia, marry Baldwin II of Edessa. He was killed after Melitene was conquered by the Seljuk Turks. [...] Some sources state that Gabriel's wife was a daughter of Constantine I, Prince of Armenia; however, the dates simply do not allow for it. The confusion appears to stem from identifying Thoros I, son of Constantine with Thoros of Edessa, the latter of whom Gabriel is attested as being the father-in-law. Gabriel must have had some connection to the Greek culture, either via his mother or wife and, if that connection was to the family of Constantine I, it was most likely further back. His wife may have been a daughter of Constantine's father Roupen, for example; or she may have been a daughter of Philaretos, the general under whom Gabriel served, but this is only speculation. In any case, he was presumably known by his contemporaries and subjects to be descended from a prominent family that was acceptable to both the Greeks and to the Armenians, which could suggest a mixed heritage. Gabriel was disliked by a number of his subjects for his Eastern Orthodox faith.

  
  

• Sources

  [S38] Genealogy of the French in North America, by Denis Beauregard. Complete version, 2024. [S160] Wikipedia. [S145] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. 8th edition, William R. Beall & Kaleen E. Beall, eds. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004, 2006, 2008.