Leo III (or Leon III) hy, Լեւոն Գ, ''Levon III'') (occasionally numbered Leo IV; (1289–1307) was a young king of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

, ruling from 1303 or 1305 to 1307, along with his uncle

Hethum II Hethum II ( hy, Հեթում Բ; 1266– November 17, 1307), also known by several other romanizations, was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1289 to 1293, 1295 to 1296 and 1299 to 1303, while Armenia was a subject state of the M ...

. A member of the

Hethumid dynasty The Hethumids ( hy, Հեթումյաններ Hethumian) (also spelled Hetoumids or Het'umids), also known as the House of Lampron (after Lampron castle), were an Armenian dynasty and the rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 134 ...

, he was the son of

Thoros III of Armenia Thoros III or Toros III ( hy, Թորոս Երրորդ, same as Theodore; c. 1271 – 23 July 1298) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1293 to 1298. He was the son of Leo II of Armenia and Kyranna de Lampron, and was part of ...

and

Margaret of Lusignan Margaret of Poitiers-Lusignan (1276–1296) was queen of Armenia as the first wife of King Thoros III. She was queen from 1293 until her death, three years later. She had two sons, Leo III, who ruled for four years as king, and Bohemond, whose fa ...

, who was the daughter of King

Hugh III of Cyprus Hugh III (french: Hugues; – 24 March 1284), also called Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan and the Great, was the king of Cyprus from 1267 and king of Jerusalem from 1268. Born into the family of the princes of Antioch, he effectively ruled as regent ...

. In 1303, while still a minor, he was crowned King of Armenia upon the retirement of his uncle Hethum II, who became Regent. Cilician Armenia at the time was in a volatile situation, maintaining a fragile relationship as a vassal state of the Mongol Empire, while defending from attacks by the Muslim Mamluks from the south. The throne of Armenia had changed hands multiple times during Leo's brief lifetime, being held variously by his uncle Hethum II in 1295, passed peacefully to his father Thoros III in 1296, then usurped by another uncle

Sempad Smbat, Sambat, Smpad or Sempad may refer to: * Smbat IV Bagratuni (died 616/7), Armenian noble in Byzantine and Sasanian service, marzpan of Hyrcania and Armenia * Smbat VI Bagratuni (died 726), presiding prince of Armenia * Smbat VII Bagratuni (di ...

, who was usurped by his brother Constantine III of Armenia, who himself was deposed by his brother Hethum II in 1299. Thoros III having been killed in 1298, Hethum then passed the crown to Thoros's son, Leo, in 1303. In 1305, Hethum and Leo led the Armenian army to defeat a

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

raiding force at

Bagras Bagras or Baghrās but realistically Bagdas/Bagdans or Bogd·apo, ancient Pagrae ( gr, Πάγραι) ( hy, Պաղրաս, translit=Paġras), is a town and its nearby castle in the İskenderun district of Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains. Strabo's ...

. On November 17, 1307, Leo and Hethum were murdered with their retinue while visiting the Mongol general Bilarghu at

Anazarva Anazarbus ( grc, Ἀναζαρβός, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ar, عَيْنُ زَرْبَة) was an ancient Cilician city. Under the late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuilt ...

. Bilarghu, a Mongol who had converted to Islam, had sought to build a mosque in the capital city of Sis, but Hethum had blocked the move and complained to the leader of the Mongol Ilkhanate, Oljeitu. Bilarghu invited Hethum, Leo, and many other Armenia nobles to a meeting at Anazarva, presumably for discussions, but then his forces attacked, and all of the nobles were killed. Bilarghu was later executed by the Mongol ilkhan for his actions. Leo was succeeded as king by another of his uncles,

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama (''asadora''), which originally aired on NHK from 4 April 1983 to 31 March 1984; it is the 31st ''asadora'' overall to be produced. The 297 15-minute episodes follow the life of during the Mei ...

Family

He was married to his cousin Agnes (Marie) de Lusignan (died 1309), daughter of Princess

Isabella of Armenia Isabella ( hy, Զապել; 27 January 1216/ 25 January 1217 – 23 January 1252), also Isabel or Zabel, was queen regnant of Armenian Cilicia from 1219 until her death in 1252. She was proclaimed queen under the regency of Adam of Baghras. Aft ...

and Amalric de Lusignan, without issue.

References

* * {{Armenian kings 1289 births 1307 deaths 14th-century murdered monarchs Kings of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Armenian people of Cypriot descent Hethumid dynasty