THE ARMENIAN KINGS OF CILICIA.

The commencement of the Roupenian line of kings who ruled Lesser Armenia, comprising Cilicia and portions of the neighbouring provinces of Cappadocia and Isauria, dates from A.D. 1080. Gagik, the last king of Armenia Major, was assassinated in the fortress of Kizistra by the Byzantines. Roupen or Reuben, one of his relatives, escaped to Cilicia, and being aided by the Armenians who were settled there, began to make war upon the Greeks. In 1086 the Greeks were driven out of Armenia by Malik, Shah of Persia. He treated the Armenians well, but upon his death the Persians began to oppress them, and many emigrated to Cilicia. Roupen was succeeded by

Constantine I. (1095 A.D.). His reign was a continual series of wars with the Byzantines. The first Crusade took place in A.D. 1096. Constantine assisted the Crusaders, and after the capture of Antioch, was made by them a knight and marquis. Constantine was succeeded by his son

Toros I. (A.D. 1100). Attacked in turns by all his powerful neighbours, Toros maintained the independence of his country. He captured Anazarba from the Byzantines, and made it his capital. In 1108 the Persians invaded Cilicia, but were repulsed. In 1110 the Tartars also invaded Cilicia, but without success. Toros captured and punished the murderers of Gagik. He was succeeded by his brother

Leo I. (A.D. 1123), who also made war on the Byzantines and captured “Mamestu” (Mopsuestia). In 1130 Leo was treacherously taken prisoner by Baldwin of Antioch, and obliged to surrender Mamestu, Adana, and the fortress “Sarwand,” and to pay a ransom of 60,000 gold pieces. On his release, however, he made war on the Latins and recovered his cities. A peace was at last mediated by Jocelyn of Edessa.

In consequence of Leo’s encroachments on Isauria, the Greek emperor, John Comnenus Porphyrogenitus, invaded Cilicia with a great army, before which Leo was forced to retreat. The Greeks captured Tarsus, Adana, and Mamestu. They laid siege to Anazarba, and after thirty-seven days captured it by assault, but they suffered fearful losses, and the garrison cut their way out. Vahkah, a fortress to the north of Sis, and which had been the first seat of the Roupenian thakavors, was captured. Leo at last was blockaded in the mountains, and forced to surrender. He was sent to Constantinople, and imprisoned with his wife and sons. The Armenian troops were driven from Cilicia, and 12,000 Greek troops left in it in 1137. The captives were well treated by the emperor, and released from prison for a season, but Leo was again imprisoned, and died in confinement. Thereupon Toros was released and kept near the emperor.

John Comnenus died in 1142, and was succeeded by Manuel Comnenus. Upon this Toros secretly fled to Cilicia, and concealed himself in the mountains.

Toros II. (1142 A.D.) headed a revolt of the Armenians against the Greeks. Captured Vahkah, Amuda, Adana, Sis, and Anazarba. The Emperor Manuel then sent Andronicus, his general, with a great army under orders to extirpate the Armenians. But the Greek army suffered a terrible defeat, in one of the passes of Mount Taurus.

About this time the Tartars began to attack the Armenians of Cilicia, but were on several occasions repulsed. A long desultory war continued between the Greeks and Armenians. Toros died in A.D. 1167, and was succeeded by his brother

Mileh I. as regent to the young son of Toros. At the end of the first year of his regency he dethroned the son of Toros, but after a reign of five years he was killed by his own troops. He was succeeded by the nephew of Toros,

Roupen II. (1172 A.D.). The war between the Greeks and Armenians continued, and Roupen recovered Tarsus and Amuda, which had again fallen into the hands of the Byzantines. In 1183 Roupen was treacherously captured by Bohemond of Antioch, but released, and after a reign of eleven years he abdicated, and was succeeded by his brother

Leo II. (A.D. 1183). He extended his dominion beyond the Taurus. This king rebuilt Sis and made it his capital, but he resided alternately at Sis and Tarsus. The Sultan of Iconium having attacked him, he defeated the Seljouks, invaded and conquered great part of Isauria, and attacked Syria.

In 1189 occurred the Crusade of the German Emperor Frederic Barbarossa. The Crusaders were assisted by the Armenians, but the Emperor Frederic was drowned in the Calycadnus at Seleucia (Selefke). The emperor had promised to crown Leo; and Henry, son of Frederic Barbarossa, performed the promise, by inducing Pope Celestine to send a crown, and Conrad, Archbishop of Moguntia (Mayence), to perform the ceremony. The emperor also sent to Leo a standard, on which was represented a “lion rampant.” Henceforward the kings of Armenia bore this as their device instead of the ancient device, “the eagle, dove, and dragon.” A close connection with the Latins ensued, and the king married successively two Latin princesses. He continued to resist successfully the Iconians and the Muslims of Aleppo under Kaikayuz and the son of the Sultan Nour-ed-din. In 1207, however, dissensions arose between Leo and the Latins, and in consequence he expelled all Latins from Cilicia. Leo died in 1219, and was buried at Sis. He was succeeded by his daughter

Zabel, who had married a Latin, Philip; but the latter was divorced, and the queen dethroned, and married to

Hethoum I. The reign of this king was one long series of sufferings and disasters. The great inroads of Zengis Khan caused vast disturbances over the whole East. Jellal-ed-din, Sultan of Persia, had been driven from Persia by the Tartars, and on the death of Zengis, Jellal-ed-din made a successful attack on Iconium, but all the Seljouk and Turkman chiefs of Asia Minor, combined against him and defeated him. The Tartars invaded Armenia and Cilicia, and the Iconians again attacked Hethoum, but were repulsed.

In 1260 the sultans of Egypt began to attack Palestine, and many people of Palestine fled into Cilicia. Hethoum, fearing to be attacked, made his submission to the Tartar chiefs Mango Khan and Houlagou, and allied himself with them, but this did not save him from the vengeance of the Egyptians, and in 1265 Cilicia was invaded by the terrible Beybars Bundoukdar. The Armenian army was defeated, Toros, younger son of the king, was killed; Leo, the elder, taken prisoner, and the Egyptians laid waste the entire country, but they were unable to capture the fortresses. Leo was kindly treated by Beybars, and eventually released by him. In 1269 Hethoum abdicated, and was succeeded by his son

Leo III., an amiable but unfortunate king. Beybars again invaded Cilicia and captured Tarsus. But he was defeated by a sudden attack of Leo. Next the Iconians and Muslim chiefs of Lycaonia invaded Cilicia; Leo repulsed them, and in his turn invaded Lycaonia. Leo died in 1289, and was succeeded by his son

Hethoum II. (1289 A.D.), a very devout prince. Cilicia was invaded by Melik el Ashraf, Sultan of Egypt, but he was forced to return by a revolt in Egypt. Kaitbey, his successor, made peace with Hethoum, who abdicated in favour of his brother

Toros III. (A.D. 1293). He also abdicated, and persuaded Hethoum to reign again. The two brothers paid a visit to their sister Mary, who was married at Constantinople, to Michael, son of the Emperor Andronicus. Their brother Sempad, who had been left regent during the absence of the king, revolted, and the two brothers on their return from Constantinople were driven out by Sempad, and forced to take refuge with a Tartar khan, Gazan, who slew Toros and blinded Hethoum. Constantine, another brother, revolted against Sempad, dethroned and imprisoned him, and released Hethoum, who after two years recovered his sight; Constantine acting in the interim as regent. Hethoum was again obliged to reign, but Constantine having begun to raise revolt, he and Sempad were sent to Constantinople and imprisoned for life by the Greek emperor. The Egyptians and Syrians of Damascus attacked Hethoum, but were repulsed. Hethoum adopted his nephew, Leo, and abdicated in his favour.

Leo IV. (A.D. 1305). Dissensions arose amongst the Armenians about Church ceremonies and theological matters. The disaffected party persuaded Bilargu, a Tartar chief, who had 1000 Tartar troops garrisoning Anazarba for Hethoum, to kill both him and Leo. The Tartars, however, were expelled from Cilicia. Leo was succeeded by

Auchin I., youngest brother of Hethoum (A.D. 1308). The Sultan of Egypt, El Melek en Nasr, invaded Cilicia, but was defeated. Auchin died in 1320, and was succeeded by his young son

Leo V. (1320 A.D.), under the regency of Auchin Païl. The regent captured Tyre, and imprisoned the sister of the late king, who was widow of the Count of Tyre. The Sultan En-Nasr again invaded Cilicia, and laid siege to Baias or Aias; but the Egyptians were defeated. They laid siege a second time to Baias, and captured it. Cilicia was laid waste by the Egyptians and Iconians. On the retirement of the Egyptian army, help was asked from the Latins, and in revenge En-Nasr determined to extirpate the Armenians. This, the third great invasion of the Egyptians, was the most terrible of all. The very tombs were opened, and the dead bodies cast forth, and the whole face of the land devastated in the most awful manner. Adana and other cities were captured, and 20,000 Armenians carried prisoners to Egypt. No help could be obtained from the Pope or the Europeans, but aid was promised by the Tartar khan, Abou Said, upon which En-Nasr made peace. Leo put to death Auchin Païl, and his brother Constantine. In 1334, on report of another Crusade, the Egyptian sultan determined to attack the Armenians again; but as there was a truce between him and Leo for fifteen years, En-Nasr sent the Emir of Aleppo into Cilicia, who in 1335 again laid the country waste. Leo, unable to resist, shut himself up in the fortresses. In 1337 another inroad of the Egyptians took place, but En-Nasr made peace on condition Leo should never again ask help from the Europeans. Leo, however, broke his oath, and the Egyptians once more attacked him, but the bishops and chiefs insisted on all intercourse with Europeans being abandoned. Leo died in 1342, and was succeeded by his cousin Johannes, who took the title of

Constantine, a man of a dissolute character and violent temper. He quarrelled with the chiefs, and endeavoured to make the Armenian Church conform to the Roman Church. After a reign of one year, he was killed by his troops, who had mutinied. He was succeeded by his brother Guido, who became king in 1343.

Guido (1343). The dissensions of the Armenians rendered them an easy prey to the Egyptians, who plundered and ravaged the country almost without resistance. Guido gave all power and office to Latins, he chose all the governors of his fortresses from them, and endeavoured to force the Armenian Church into conformity with the Roman Church. But in 1345 a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was killed. He was succeeded by another Constantine, not of the Roupenian line.

Constantine II. (1345). He had some communications with the Pope and the western Europeans, and thereupon the Egyptians determined to extirpate the Armenians, so as to prevent all further trouble from Europe. But though the king repulsed them, the country was reduced to a miserable condition of distress and anarchy. The king died in 1363, and the Pope exhorted the Armenians to union, and recommended them to elect for their king, Leo Lucian, a relation of King Guido.

Leo Lucian (A.D. 1366), a good king, but fallen on very evil times. As was always the case, the dissensions of the Armenians laid Cilicia open to the attacks of the Egyptians. In 1371 they invaded the country, and their ravages caused so terrible a famine, that in Sis a bushel of corn cost 500 pieces of silver. In consequence of a revolution in Egypt, El Ashraf Shaban became sultan, and he sent an army to attack Cilicia. After a siege of two months, Sis was captured, the tombs of the Armenian kings were opened, and their bodies burnt; the country was changed into a complete wilderness; and the Egyptians committed the most horrible cruelties. Leo was blockaded in the mountain fortress of Gaban, and after nine months forced by famine to surrender. The captives were carried to Cairo, their lives were spared, and even liberty offered to them on condition of embracing El Islam, but this they refused to do, and were therefore imprisoned.

The successor of El Ashraf, the Sultan Melik Mansour, made the same offer, but the captives refused, and remained seven years in prison.

With the capture of Leo in 1375, the Armenian monarchy in Cilicia came to an end. The country remained in possession of the Egyptians for some time, and then passed into the hands of the Ottomans. On the death of Melik Mansour, his brother Melik Saleh, a child of six years old, succeeded, and Juan, king of Spain, by means of presents and ambassadors, persuaded the council of the young sultan to release the Armenian royal family in 1382; pledging himself that no future trouble to the Egyptians should be given by them. Leo with his family being released, went to Jerusalem to return thanks, and to visit the Holy Sepulchre. Thence they went to Rome to visit the Pope, Urban VI.; afterwards they went to Spain. During the war between France and England, Leo was sent with the Papal legates to mediate. He tried to obtain help from the kings of France and England, in order to recover Cilicia from the Mohammedans, but in vain. He died at Paris in 1393, and was buried in the convent of the Celestins. His queen, Mary, died at Jerusalem in 1405. From the capture of their royal family by the Egyptians, the Armenians have been a wandering and inglorious people, annihilated as a nation, and the fame of their old renown is only known to the few who care to study their annals!