Located within the territory of the district of Kozan, about 75 km. north-east of Adana, Anavarza was the largest Late Antique city of Smooth Cilicia (Çukurova). It gained in impor- tance in the Roman period (1st cent. B.C.), and in the Middle Ages it became the second big- gest city after Sis (Kozan) on the Cilician Plain during the period of the Armenian Principality of Cilicia. The city of Anavarza is known for its citadel on the rocky hill to the east, at a strate- gic location with a viewing range that reaches the Gulf of İskenderun and encompasses other Cilician fortresses. It changed hands between the Arabs and Byzantines a few times and was a stopping point for the First Crusaders. However, time had its toll and pushed the city into the mist of history. Today there is a village called Dilekkaya on the site, and travelers and histori- ans have been frequenting it since the nineteenth century. The Armenians lived in Cilicia together with the Greek-Romans, Arameans and Jews since the reign of Tigranes II (95-55 B.C.) as attested in literary sources. The first bishopric was founded in the 10th century by the Armenians, who were forced to migrate and settle in Cilicia in the course of the Arab-Byzantine wars of the 8th to 10th centuries A.D. When the Byzantines recaptured Cilicia and North Syria from the Arabs, the kingdoms of Pakraduni (885- 1045) with its capital at Ani and of Ardzruni (862-1021/22) with its capital at Vasburagan (Van) ended. The last kings of these two kingdoms and their katholikos seats were deported to the Kayseri and Sivas areas. Following the decisive triumph of the Turks over the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071 that opened the doors of Anatolia to them, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate conquered the entirety of Armenia and Central Anatolia. This triggered a second wave of mi- gration for the Armenian princes and nobility together with their entourage to the Anatolian regions still in Byzantine hands such as Cappadocia, Cilicia, Euphrates, and the cities and towns under the control of Armenian princes in North Syria, the Taurus Mountains and the Anti-Taurus Mountains. To create a buffer zone between Byzantium and the Arab world, the Byzantines paved the way for Armenian migration into these areas. In the 12th century aristo- cratic members close to the Armenian royal dynasty captured the fortresses and cities in Cilicia, where the ethnic weight belonged to the Armenians. They united under the leadership of Roupen, a relative and commander of the last Pakraduni king, Gagik II, and founded a barony independent from Byzantium in Rough Cilicia in 1080. Roupen lived at Partsrapert, Gobidar and Goromoz in the Cilician Taurus Mountains (1080-1095). Following his death, his son and successor Constantin I (1095-1099) took under his control the Vahka/Feke Castle, the passes in the Taurus Mountains, and especially the Anavarza-Kayseri road, thus laying the foundations of the Roupenian rule in Cilicia. Therefore, the Crusaders negotiated with him and then were able to continue their journey with his support. The Roupenians reinforced their security and started to progress into the plains and littoral of Cilicia. Thoros I (1100-1129), succeeding his father Constantin I, moved his center to Vahka (Feke) Castle and took every step with much caution, despite weakening relations with Byzantium. He tried to remain on good terms with the surrounding states of Byzantium, the Latin Barony of Antioch on the Orontes, the Seljuks, and the Danishmendids, particularly trying to keep a balanced friendship with the Latins. By 1110 he conquered Anavarza from the Byzantines and reinforced the city and its fortress. After making Anavarza his capital, he then annexed Sis. Thoros I was the first ruler to unite the Armenians under difficult conditions, and the Roupenian rule attained the status of a princi- pality or a barony. During Thoros’s reign the borders reached down into the Cilician plains. Thoros I died in 1129 and was succeeded by his brother Leon I, during whose reign Anavarza passed into Byzantine hands between 1137-1148. Since Anavarza kept changing hands, the Armenian Barony of Cilicia moved its center first to Tarsus and then to Sis in the last quarter of the twelfth century. The reign of Leon II (1187-1219), son of Thoros II son of Leon I, wit- nessed the transformation of this barony into a kingdom that reached the zenith of its power. He was crowned as Leon I at the Surp Sophia Cathedral of Tarsus on 6 January 1198/9. His reign brought the Cilician harbors up to Antalya under their control, thus putting them in direct contact with European Christians and the Latin world. Leon was succeeded by Hetoum I (1226- 1269), who sensed the importance of the Mongol power penetrating Anatolia and was the first Christian ruler to make a truce with them. During the existence of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, art, culture and science reached their zenith, and the land became a bridge connecting East and West via land, river and marine trade routes. These two centuries of wealth in every sense ended with the Mamluk attacks in 1375, and the land was conquered by Timur in 1400. The Armenians were pushed out of Anavarza in 1374, but Armenian people continued to live there, although decreasing in number, until the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition to the political, social and cultural aspects, Armenian Principality of Cilicia was also the seat of Armenian katholikos. The seat of Armenian katholikos shifted places in Cilicia a few times starting in the second half of the eleventh century but settled at Rumkale about 1150s. Then it was moved to Sis, the capital, in 1293 and remained there even after the fall of the principality. Finally, in 1441 it was moved to Echmiadzin in Armenia, where it still is based. Anavarza, the second capital of Armenian Principality of Cilicia, still houses the remains of its Armenian past. The Surp Zoravarats Church was dedicated to protecting saints by