Leo II, King of Armenia

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For the Armenian prince occasionally referred to as Leo II, see Leo I, King of Armenia.
Leo II
Լեիոն Բ
King
Portrait of Prince Levon by Toros Roslin, 1250
Predecessor Hetoum I
Successor Hetoum II
Dynasty House of Lambron

Leo II or Leon II (occasionally numbered Leo III; Armenian: Լեիոն Բ, Levon II; c. 1236 – 1289) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1269[1]/1270 to 1289. He was the son of King Hetoum I and Queen Isabella and was a member of the Hetoumid family.

Contents

[edit] Early life

The Mamluks kill Thoros and capture Levon at the disaster of Mari, 1266: illumination from Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century
The Mamluks kill Thoros and capture Levon at the disaster of Mari, 1266: illumination from Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century

In 1262 Leo married Keran (Kir Anna), the daughter of Prince Hethum of Lampron.

In 1266, while their father the king Hetoum I was away to visit the Mongol court, Leo was captured and his younger brother Thoros killed while fighting the Mamluk invaders at the Disaster of Mari. Leo was imprisoned and took in captivity together with 40,000 Armenian soldiers. Upon his return Hetoum I managed to ransom his son, by paying a large sum, remitting several fortresses, and accepting to interceed with Abagha to have one of Baibars's relatives freed.

[edit] Reign

Hetoum I abdicated in 1269 in favour of his son, and entered the Franciscan order. He died a year later. The new king Levon II was known as a pious king, devoted to Christianity. He pursued active commercial relations with the West, by renewing trade agreements with the Italians and establishing new ones with the Catalans. He also endeavoured to reinforce the Mongol alliance.[2]

A view of the busy port of Ayas when Marco Polo visited it in 1271, in "Le Livre des Merveilles".
A view of the busy port of Ayas when Marco Polo visited it in 1271, in "Le Livre des Merveilles".

In 1271, Marco Polo visited the Armenian harbour of Ayas and commented favourably about Levon's reign and the abundance of the country, although he mentions his military forces were rather demoralized:

"The king [Levon II] properly maintains justice in his land, and is a vassal of the Tartars. There are many cities and villages, and everything in abundance.(...) In the past, men were courageous at war, but today they are vile and chetive, and don't have other talents than drink properly."

—Marco Polo "Le Livre des Merveilles"[3]

In 1275 the Mamluk sultan Baibars would invade Cilicia a second time. The following year, the country fought off an invasion by the Turkomans, but the Constable Sempad was killed in combat.

[edit] Mongol alliance

The Mongols and the Armenians were defeated by the Mamluks at the Second Battle of Homs in 1281.
The Mongols and the Armenians were defeated by the Mamluks at the Second Battle of Homs in 1281.
Main article: Armeno-Mongol alliance

In 1281 Levon joined the Mongols in their invasion of Syria, but they were vanquished at the Second Battle of Homs. Levon had to sue for peace, and in 1285 obtained a 10-year truce in exchange for important territorial concessions in favour of the Mamluks.[4]

Levon died in 1289 as Mamluk power kept rising and the Mongol alliance was becoming more and more inefficient.[5] He was succeeded by his son Hetoum II.

[edit] Descendance

During twenty-one years of marriage Leo had fifteen children by his wife Keran, eight sons and seven daughters. Two sons and two daughters died at an early age. Five of his children reached the throne. The eldest, Hethum II of Armenia, abdicated after four years in favor of his younger brother Thoros III of Armenia, but was placed back on the throne in 1294. In 1296, their brother Sempad of Armenia strangled Thoros and blinded Hethum, in order to seize power. Sempad was then overthrown in 1298 by their younger brother Constantine III of Armenia, who was replaced by older brother Hethum, who then abdicated in 1305 in favor of Thoros's son Leo III of Armenia.[1]

Leon II, queen Guerane, and their five children, 1272.
Leon II, queen Guerane, and their five children, 1272.
  1. Hethum II (ruled 1289 to 1293, 1294 to 1297, 1299 to 1307)
  2. Princess Fimi of Armenia (born c. 1266)
  3. Princesse Sybil of Armenia (born c. 1269)
  4. Thoros III (ruled 1293 to 1298)
  5. Prince Ruben of Armenia (born c. 1272)
  6. Princess Zablun of Armenia (born c. 1274)
  7. Isabelle (Zabel) or Sybil, Princess of Armenia (born c. 1276)
  8. Sempad (ruled 1297 to 1299)
  9. Constantine III (ruled 1299)
  10. Isabella of Armenia (died c. 1321), who married Amalric of Tyre
  11. Princess Theophane of Armenia (born c. 1278)
  12. Rita of Armenia, who married Michael IX Palaeologus, co-Emperor of the Byzantine Empire with his father Andronicus II Palaeologus
  13. Prince Nerses of Armenia (born c. 1279}
  14. Oshin (ruled 1308 to 1320)
  15. Prince Alinakh of Armenia (born c. 1283}

Five of the fifteen children, Hetoum, Thoros, Sembat, Constantine, and Oshin, later became the Armenian kings, who often fought each other to gain the throne. Finally, it were the descendants of his daughter Isabella that would inherit the throne.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, p. 634
  2. ^ Mutafian, p.60
  3. ^ BN Fr 2810, f.7v. Quoted in Mutafian, p.65
  4. ^ Mutafian, p.61
  5. ^ Mutafian, p.61

[edit] Bibliography

  • Boase, T. S. R. (1978). The Cilician Kingdom of Armenia. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7073-0145-9. 
  • Toumanoff, C. (1966). "Armenia and Georgia", Cambridge Medieval History, vol. IV. 
Leo II, King of Armenia
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Hetoum I		 King of Armenia
1270–1289		 Succeeded by
Hetoum II