Cilicia, the western frontier of the former Armenian Empire during the reign of Tigranes the Great. A plain filled with rich soil surrounded by the Taurus Mountains, it was the perfect land for any people to thrive and live in. A highly contested border region since the Muslim invasions, it had finally been settled by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk Turks. Here they had carved out a new homeland, free from the oppressors in Constantinople and Isfahan under the Rubenid dynasty. They had welcomed the Crusaders and had allowed them to pass into the Levant, and the Christian Armenians had earned great respect from the leaders and soldiers of the Princes' Crusade.

As Tancred de Hauteville and his party drew close to the capital of Tarsus, he fondly remembered his brief time in the principality before the hellish march and battles in the Holy Land. The Lord of the Mountains, as the Prince of Cilicia styled himself, had been a gracious host and had provided much needed supplies to the Crusaders. Especially in comparison to the scheming Romans, as Tancred bitterly remembered. He quickly let it slide as he approached the capital.

His goal was simple enough. His lord and cousin Bohemond desired Cyprus and an alliance against the hostile emirates to the East. Cilicia desired, as far as Tancred could tell, allies against the Romans to the West and the Seljuks in the East. Surely they could come to an agreement on amicable terms, he thought to himself.

Arriving at the royal court, Tancred presents himself as the Co-Regent of the Principality of Antioch the Lord of Alexandrette, requesting an audience with Prince Constantine.