Thoros II (; died 6 February 1169),
also known as Thoros the Great,
was the sixth lord of
Armenian Cilicia from the
Rubenid dynasty from 1144/1145
[Kurkjian 1958, p. 506] until 1169.
[
Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was kidnapped in 1137 by the ]Byzantine Emperor
The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
John II Comnenus during his campaign against Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch.Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
rule for eight years.[Kurkjian 1958, p. 221]
Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many Greek garrisons.
Early life
Thoros was the second son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.
In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was arrested by Baldwin of Marash.Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...
, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror;[ Thoros was kidnapped with his father and his youngest brother, Roupen.][
]
Lord of Armenian Cilicia
The liberation of Armenian Cilicia
The first Byzantine attack against Cilicia
Wars with the Seljuks and Antioch
Other view is that after the battle Raynald was forced to return home, covered with humiliation; and later on, Thoros voluntarily surrendered to the brethren the fortresses in question, and the Knights in turn took oath ''"to assist the Armenians on all occasions where they needed help."''
The Armenians attacked the few remaining Byzantine fortresses in Cilicia.
The sack of Cyprus
Last years
After his abdication, he became a monk.
He died in 1169.
Marriages and children
# c. 1149 An ''unnamed'' daughter of Simon of Raban
In popular culture
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
video game '' Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition'' contains a five-scenario campaign centered around Thoros II and his rule of Cilician Armenia.
Footnotes
Sources
* Edwards, Robert W.: ''The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia'', Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII, Dumbarton Oaks: Trustees for Harvard University, 1987, Washington, D.C.;
* Ghazarian, Jacob G.: ''The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393)''; RoutledgeCurzon (Taylor & Francis Group), 2000, Abingdon;
*
External links
Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle
(Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 27)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoros Ii, Prince Of Armenia
1169 deaths
Christians of the Second Crusade
Year of birth unknown
12th-century Armenian people
Monarchs of the Rubenid dynasty
12th-century births
12th-century rulers of Armenian Cilicia