The Kingdom of Armenian Cilicia was essentially a major epicenter of trade and cultural interaction through the foreign policy objectives of the Rubenid and Hetum Dynasties in the formation of the kingdom during Middle Ages. The transcultural interaction between European, Mongolian, Seljuk, Byzantine, and Mamluk cultures became part of Greater Armenia throughout the 11th to the 13th centuries. Transcultural ideology is defined by Ortiz (1947) when identifies Cuba as another example of the multiple ways in which differing cultures met at international epicenters, such as the kingdom of Armenian Cilicia, over many centuries. This transcultural ideology provides a basis for the massive influx of cultural interactions, which occur at an international …show more content…
More so, the Mamluks did not possess the same openness of Mongolian imperialism, which defines why many of the Armenia cities were seen as ‘trading posts” due to the continual attacks of hostile neighbors: “However, at the time of the Armenian kingdom, it seems that these cities, with the possible exception of Ayas, were often little more than trading depots, with only small populations sheltering within dilapidated walls.” In this culture, the threat of destruction of the transcultural Armenian Cilician society was maintained through the culturally tolerant and open Mongolian bureaucracy: “Without Mongol support Armenians could not survive the Mamluk onslaught from Egypt which put an end to the Cilician kingdom in 1373.” In this manner, the international Mongolian bureaucracy was maintaining some stability during the fall of the Armenian kingdom during the Pax Mongolica, which allowed a massive influx of Chinese, European, and Muslim culture into this form of medieval epicenter. In many ways, the Chinese forms of governance and artistic expression found their way into Armenian Cilicia society, which was primarily based on the diplomatic trade relations that allowed Mongolian culture to infiltrate Central Asia during the time of the Mamluk