This sterling silver pendant is set with a medieval Armenian bronze coin minted by crusader king Smpad 1296-1298 CE.
Denomination: Kardez Date: 12th Century CE
Armenia was so closely associated with the crusader states that it can be properly considered with them. Christianity had been the state religion since King Tiridates III was converted by Gregory the Iluminator in 301 AD. At that time Tiridates declared Christianity as the national religion, the first country in the world to do so, some 20 years before Constantine the Great did the same for the Roman Empire.
As with many Central European countries, Armenia has had a long history of devout Christian faith actually left the native area, and founded a new nation near the Mediterranean Sea, called “Lesser Armenia.” Geographic proximity brought “Lesser Armenia” into close contact and influence with the crusader and Europe. Western ideas, social structure, language, and art were adopted and flourished. This was considered the “golden age of Armenian illumination.”
