Since the 1060–1070s, the Armenian highlands and the Anti-Taurus Mountains had been exposed to Turkoman warriors and their rule, while the presence of local Christian lords in the region stretching from the Cilician plain to Diyar Mudar persisted.

[1] Philaretos is described by Michael the Syrian as having a "tough and robust character" while Matthew of Edessa saw him as a "lawless and most evil prince".

He was present at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, where he commanded a division of Romanus' army, and remained at the head of a considerable body of troops after the defeat.

[5] As the only remaining Byzantine general in the southeast he established a quasi-autonomous realm in the neighbourhood of Germanicia, which stretched from Cilicia to Edessa.

[7] In 1087, Edessa fell to Malik Shah and Philaretos escaped back to the fortress of Germanicia; however, some sources indicate that he died in 1086.