Leo II, King Of Armenia
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Leo II or Leon II (occasionally numbered Leo III; , ''Levon II''; c. 1236 – 1289) was king of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...
, ruling from 1269''Cambridge Medieval History'', Volume IV, p. 634/1270 to 1289. He was the son of King Hetoum I and Queen Isabella and was a member of the House of Lampron.


Early life

Leo was born in 1236, the son of King Hetoum I and Queen Isabella. Hetoum and Isabella's marriage in 1226 had been forced on them by Hetoum's father
Constantine of Baberon Constantine of Baberon (; died ) was a powerful Armenian noble of the Het‛umid family. He was the son of Vassag and the father of Hethum I, King of Armenia, King Het‛um I, who ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1270. Constant ...
, who had cleared the way for Hetoum by arranging the murder of Queen Isabella's first husband. They had six children, of which Leo was the eldest. One of his sisters was
Sibylla of Armenia Sibylla of Armenia (died in 1290) was the princess of Antioch and countess of Tripoli by marriage to Bohemond VI from 1254 to 1275, and then regent of the County of Tripoli until their son, Bohemond VII, came of age in 1277. She was closely allie ...
, who was married to
Bohemond VI of Antioch Bohemond VI (–1275), also known as the Fair, was the prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. He allied with the Mongols agains ...
to bring peace between Armenia and Antioch. In 1262, Leo married Keran (Kir Anna), the daughter of Prince Hetoum of Lampron. Thus, he solidified himself as a member of the House of Lampron. In 1266, while their father king Hetoum I was away to visit the Mongol court, Leo and his younger brother Thoros fought to repel a massive army of
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
invaders, at the Battle of Mari. Thoros was killed in combat, and Leo was captured and imprisoned. Following the disaster, the cities of
Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
, Tarsus, and Ayas were assaulted and the capital of Sis was sacked and burnt. Thousands of Armenians were massacred and 40,000 taken captive. When King Hetoum returned, he paid a large ransom to retrieve his son, including a large quantity of money, handing over several fortresses, and accepting to intercede with the Mongol ruler Abagha in order to have one of
Baybars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...
's relatives freed.


Reign

Hetoum I abdicated in 1269 in favour of his son, and entered the Franciscan order. He died a year later. The new king Leo II was known as a pious king, devoted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. He pursued active commercial relations with the West, by renewing trade agreements with the Italians and establishing new ones with the
Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...
. He also endeavoured to reinforce the Mongol alliance, as his father Hetoum I had submitted Armenia to Mongol authority in 1247. In 1271,
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
visited the Armenian harbour of Ayas and commented favourably about Leo's reign and the abundance of the country, although he mentions his military forces were rather demoralized: In 1275, the Mamluk sultan
Baybars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...
invaded
Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...
for a second time. The following year, Armenia fought off an invasion by the Turkoman tribes, but the Constable Sempad, Leo's uncle, was killed in combat.


Mongol alliance

In 1281, Leo joined the Mongols in their invasion of Syria, but they were vanquished at the Second Battle of Homs. Leo had to sue for peace, and in 1285 obtained a 10-year truce in exchange for important territorial concessions in favour of the Mamluks.Mutafian, p.61 Leo died in 1289 from arsenic, and was succeeded by his son Hetoum II.


Descendants

During twenty-one years of marriage Leo had sixteen children by his wife Keran, ten sons and six daughters. 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 blinded Hetoum and in 1298 he strangled Thoros, in order to seize power. Sempad was then overthrown in 1298 by their younger brother Constantine I of Armenia, who was replaced by older brother Hethum II, who then abdicated in 1305 in favor of Thoros III's son Leo III of Armenia, who was murdered in 1307 with his uncle Hethum II at the hands of the
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
general Bilarghu, being succeeded by one of the youngest surviving children of Leo and Keran, Oshin of Armenia. Eventually, the inheritance of the Armenian Kingdom was passed to the descendants of Leo and Keran's eldest surviving daughter Isabella of Armenia, wife of Amalric of Lusignan, Lord of Tyre. # Son (b. 15 January 1262/14 January 1263 – d. young). # Constantine (b. June 1265 – d. young). # Fimi uphemia(b. ca. 14 January 1266 – d. young). # Hethum II (b. ca. 13 January 1267 – murdered 7 November 1307), King of Armenia (ruled 1289 to 1293, 1294 to 1297, 1299 to 1307). # Isabella
abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...
(b. 13 January 1269/12 January 1270 – d. bef. 1273). # Thoros III (b. October 1270 – murdered 23 July 1298), King of Armenia (ruled 1293 to 1298). # Ruben (b. 13 January 1272/12 January 1273 – d. young) # Isabella
abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...
(b. 12 January 1273/11 January 1274 – d. bef. 1276) # Sempad (b. 12 January 1276/11 January 1277 – d. 1310 or 1311), King of Armenia (ruled 1297 to 1299). # Isabella abel(b. 12 January 1276/11 January 1277 – murdered May 1323), twin with Sempad; married in 1293 with Amalric of Lusignan, Lord of Tyre, son of King
Hugh III of Cyprus Hugh III (; – 24 March 1284), also called Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan and the Great, was the king of Cyprus (as Hugh III) from 1267 and king of Jerusalem (as Hugh I) from 1268. Born into the family of the princes of Antioch, he effectively rul ...
. #
Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
(b. 11 January 1277/10 January 1278 – d. aft. 1308), King of Armenia (ruled 1299). # Rita (b. 11 January 1278/10 January 1279 – July 1333), renamed Maria upon her wedding; married in 1294 with Michael IX Palaeologus, co-Emperor of the
Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
with his father
Andronicus II Palaeologus Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored empire's final decline. ...
. # Theophanu (b. 11 January 1278/10 January 1279 – d. 1296), twin with Rita; renamed Theodora upon her betrothal; she died en route to marry Theodore, son of
John I Doukas John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...
, Lord of
Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
. # Nerses (b. 11 January 1279/10 Jan 1280 – d. 26 May 1301), a priest. #
Oshin is a Japanese television, Japanese Asadora, serialized morning television drama (''asadora''), which originally aired on NHK from 4 March 1983 to 31 March 1984; it is the 31st ''asadora'' overall to be produced. The 297 15-minute episodes follo ...
(b. 10 January 1283/9 January 1284 – murdered 20 July 1320), King of Armenia (ruled 1308 to 1320). # Alinakh (b. 10 January 1283/9 January 1284 – d. 28 August 1310), twin with Oshin; Lord of Lampron and Tarsus.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{Authority control 1230s births 1289 deaths Kings of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Christians of Lord Edward's crusade 13th-century Armenian people Hethumid dynasty 13th-century rulers of Armenian Cilicia