The Principality of Antioch was the leading Christian power in the region during the last decades of the 12th century, but the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia challenged its supremacy.

The capture of an important fortress, Bagras, in Syria by Leo II of Cilician Armenia gave rise to a prolonged conflict already in the early 1190s.

Leo tried to capture Antioch, but the Greek and Latin burghers formed a commune that prevented the Armenian soldiers from occupying the town.

Bohemond of Tripoli seized Antioch without resistance after his father died in April 1201, prompting many Antiochene noblemen to seek refuge in Cilician Armenia.

Leo invaded the principality in almost every year between 1201 and 1208, but he had to return to his kingdom on each occasion because either az-Zahir Ghazi, the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, or Kaykaus I, the Seljuq sultan of Rum, stormed into Cilician Armenia in his absence.

[1] Often cited narrative sources of the war include the early-13th-century Old French continuation of William of Tyre's Chronicon, known as the Estoire d'Eracles,[2] and chronicles by the Syriac Orthodox bishop[3] Bar Hebraeus, the Armenian aristocrat Sempad the Constable, and the Muslim scholar[4] Ibn al-Athir.

[5] After Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Syria and Egypt, destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 1180s, Antioch became the leading Christian power of the Levant.

[17][12] The almost sixty-year-old Bohemond III sent Alice and her son to Armenia, showing that he did not want to acknowledge his infant grandson's right to succeed him in Antioch.

[18][19] The emperor's envoy, Conrad of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Mainz, was present when Leo was crowned the first king of Cilician Armenia on 6 January 1198.

[25] During the conflict, neither Leo nor Bohemond IV was able to control his own territory (Cilician Armenia and Tripoli, respectively) and Antioch at the same time, due to insufficient forces.

Bohemond's allies, az-Zahir Ghazi and Sultan Suleiman II of Rum, invaded Cilician Armenia, forcing Leo to withdraw from Antioch in July 1201.

[24] After Bohemond IV refused to acknowledge the right of the Holy See to pass judgement in the case of the succession of Antioch, Leo renewed the war.

[26] Taking advantage of Bohemond's absence, Leo entered Antioch on 11 November 1203, but he was unable to seize the citadel, which was defended by the Templars and the troops of the commune.

[29][27] Taking advantage of the situation, Leo seized the Antiochene fortresses in the Amanus Mountains on the southestern border of Cilician Armenia, which controlled the road towards Antioch.

[28] Meanwhile, Bohemond had crushed Renoart's revolt in Tripoli which enabled him to return to Antioch and force Leo to sign a truce for eight years in summer 1206.

[30] Exploiting the situation to get rid of his opponent, Bohemond replaced Peter of Angoulême with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Symeon II, with the support of the commune in early 1207.

[28] Leo soon broke his promise and refused to return Bagras to the Templars,[28] preferring to grant fortresses in Cilician Armenia to the Teutonic Knights.

[37] in response, Leo expelled the Latin priests from Cilician Armenia and gave shelter to the Orthodox Patriarch, Symeon, who had been driven out of Antioch.

[40] His attempt to take vengeance on the Assassins for the murder of his eldest son, Raymond, brought him into conflict with his old ally, az-Zahir Ghazi of Aleppo,[34] and forced him to stay in Tripoli.

[35] With Leo's support, Raymond-Roupen began to find new allies, promising land grants to the Hospitallers and Antiochene noblemen, including Acharie of Sermin, the head of the commune of the burghers.

[35][34] During Leo's absence, Kaykaus I captured the Armenian forts to the north of the Taurus Mountains, forcing him to concentrate on the defense of Cilician Armenia.