Sempad the Constable

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This article is about the Cilician historian. For the Cilician monarch, see Sempad, King of Armenia
14th century copy of the February 7, 1248, letter of Sempad to Henry I of Cyprus and Jean d'Ibelin, stating that "If God hadn't brought the Tartars who then massacred the pagans, they [the Sarasins] would have been able to invade the whole land as far as the sea." The letter was also shown to Louis IX.
14th century copy of the February 7, 1248, letter of Sempad to Henry I of Cyprus and Jean d'Ibelin, stating that "If God hadn't brought the Tartars who then massacred the pagans, they [the Sarasins] would have been able to invade the whole land as far as the sea."[1] The letter was also shown to Louis IX.

Sempad the Constable (d. 1276) (also Smpad and Smbat) was a noble in Cilician Armenia, brother of King Hetoum I. He was the author of the Chronique du Royaume de Petite Armenie (Chronicle of the Kingdom of Little Armenia), an important medieval eyewitness account of the history of Cilician Armenia. Sempad was also a military commander and ambassador. He fought in the Battle of Mari, and was trusted by his brother King Hetoum to negotiate with the Mongol Empire.

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[edit] Biography

Sempad was the son of Constantine of Baberon, and Partzapert (third cousin of Leo II of Armenia). Other siblings included John the Bishop of Sis, Ochine of Korykos, Stephanie (later wife of King Henry I of Cyprus), and Hetoum, who became co-ruler in 1226. The earlier ruler had been Queen Isabella of Armenia, who was married to Philip, son of Bohemond IV of Antioch. Constantine arranged for Philip to be murdered in 1225, and forced Isabella to then marry his son Hethoum on June 4 1226, making him the co-ruler, and then sole ruler after Isabella's death in 1252.

[edit] Historical context

Cilicia was a Christian country, that had ties to Europe and the Crusader States, and fought against the Muslims for control of the Levant. The Mongols were also a threat, as Genghis Khan's Empire had been steadily pushing westward in its seemingly unstoppable advance. The Mongols had a deserved reputation for ruthlessness, giving new territories one opportunity to surrender, and if there was resistance, the Mongols moved in and slaughtered the local population.

Hethoum decided that his wisest course of action was to peacefully submit to the Mongols, and in 1247 sent his brother Sempad to the Mongol court in Karakorum. There, Sempad met Kublai Khan's brother Mongke Khan, and made an alliance between Cilicia and the Mongols, against their common enemy the Muslims.[2] The nature of this relationship is disputed by various historians, some of whom call it an alliance, and others who say that the Armenians had submitted to Mongol overlordship, and had become a vassal state similar to any other conquered region.[3][4] Armenian military leaders were required to serve in the Mongol army, and many of them perished in Mongol battles.[5]

During his 1247-1250[6] visit to the Mongol court, Sempad received a relative of the Great Khan as a bride. He had a son with her, named Vasil Tatar,[7] who would later be captured by the Mamluks at the Battle of Mari in 1266.[8]

Sempad died in 1276 fighting against an invasion of the Turcomans from Marash. The Armenians won the battle, but Smpad and several other barons were lost.[9][10]

[edit] Writer

Sempad is best known for providing eyewitness written accounts of his era. He wrote the "Chronique du Royaume de Petite Arménie" (History of the Kingdom of Little Armenia) which ends two years before his death, in 1274. For the period beyond his lifetime, an anonymous 14th century historian further expanded it.

Multiple translations exist of the work, in varying levels of completeness. According to historian Angus Donal Stewart, there are both French and English translations of the work, which cover the period up until the 1270s.[11]

In the 19th century, it was translated by Eduard Dulaurier and published in Receuil des Historiens des Croisades, Historiens Armeniens I, together with some other continuation excerpts by an anonymous author which cover the period up through the 1330s. This edition also includes excerpts from the work of Nerses Balients, who was writing in the later fourteenth century.[11][12] Sempad's writings are considered a valuable resource by historians, but have also been criticized as unreliable, as Sempad was often writing for reasons of propaganda rather than history.[13][14]

Sempad was enthusiastic about his travel to the Mongol realm, which lasted between 1247 to 1250.[15] He sent letters to Western rulers of Cyprus and the Principality of Antioch, describing a Central Asian realm of oasis with many Christians, generally of the Nestorian rite.[16]

On February 7, 1248, Sempad sent a letter from Samarkand to his brother-in-law Henry I, king of Cyprus (who was married to Sempad's sister Stephanie (Etienette):[17]

"We have found many Christians throughout the land of the Orient, and many churches, large and beautiful... The Christians of the Orient went to the Khan of the Tartars who now rules (Guyuk), and he received them with great honour and gave them freedom and let it know everywhere that no-one should dare antagonize them, be it in deeds or in words."

—Letter from Sempad to Henry I.[18]

One of Sempad's letters was read by Louis IX of France during his 1248 stay in Cyprus, which encouraged him to send ambassadors to the Mongols, in the person of the Franciscan William of Rubruck, who went to visit the Great Khan Möngke.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Le Royaume Armenien de Cilicie", p66
  2. ^ Bournotian, p. 100. "Smbat met Kubali's brother, Mongke Khan and in 1247, made an alliance against the Muslims"
  3. ^ Weatherford, p. 181
  4. ^ Stewart, "Logic of Conquest", p. 8. "The Armenian king saw alliance with the Mongols -- or, more accurately, swift and peaceful subjection to them -- as the best course of action."
  5. ^ Bournotian, p. 109
  6. ^ Stewart, p. 35
  7. ^ Luisetto, p.122, who references introduction and notes in G.Dedeyan La Chronique attribuée au Connétable Sempad, 1980
  8. ^ Stewart, p. 49
  9. ^ Mutafian, p.61
  10. ^ Stewart, p. 51
  11. ^ a b Stewart, p. 22
  12. ^ Receuil des Historiens des Croisades, Historiens Armeniens I, Chronique du Royaume de Petite Arménie, Page 610 et seq. [1]
  13. ^ Little, An Introduction to Mamluk Historiography
  14. ^ Angus Donal Stewart, Armenian Kingdom
  15. ^ Grousset, p.529, Note 273
  16. ^ Jean Richard, “Histoire des Croissades”, p. 376
  17. ^ Grousset, p.529, note 272
  18. ^ Extract quoted in Grousset, p. 529

[edit] References

[edit] Primary sources

[edit] Secondary sources