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| '''Levon II''' or '''Leo II''' (occasionally numbered '''III''') ({{Lang-hy|Լեիոն Բ}}, c. ]-]) was king of the ], ruling from ]<ref name=cmh>''Cambridge Medieval History'', Volume IV, p. 634</ref>/] to ]. He was the son of ] and ] and was a member of the ] family. His name is sometimes spelled as Leo or Leon. | '''Levon II''' or '''Leo II''' (occasionally numbered '''III''') ({{Lang-hy|Լեիոն Բ}}, c. ]-]) was king of the ], ruling from ]<ref name=cmh>''Cambridge Medieval History'', Volume IV, p. 634</ref>/] to ]. He was the son of ] and ] and was a member of the ] family. His name is sometimes spelled as Leo or Leon. | ||
| In ] Leo married ] (Kir Anna), the daughter of Prince Hethum of ]. In ] Leo was captured and his younger brother Thoros killed while fighting the ] invaders. Leo was ransomed by his father, who abdicated in his favour shortly after. He was known as a pious king, devoted to ]. | |||
| ==Early life== | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| In ] Leo married ] (Kir Anna), the daughter of Prince Hethum of ]. | |||
| In ], while the king ] was away to visit the Mongol court, Leo was captured and his younger brother Thoros killed while fighting the ] invaders at the ]. Leo was imprisonned and took in captivity. Upon his return Hetoum I managed to ransom his son, by paying a large sum, remitting several fortresses, and accepting to interceed with ] to have one of ]'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 Levon III was known as a pious king, devoted to ]. He pursued active commercial relations with the West, by renewing trade agreements with the Italians and establishing new ones with the ]. He also endeavoured to reinforce the Mongol alliance.<ref>Mutafian, p.60</ref> | |||
| In ], ] visited the Armenian harbour of ] and commented favourably about Levon's reign and the abundance of the country, although he mentions his military forces were rather demoralized: | |||
| {{quote|"The king 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"<ref>BN Fr 2810, f.7v. Quoted in Mutafian, p.65</ref>}} | |||
| In ] the Mamluk sultan ] would invade Cilicia a second time. The following year, the country fought off an invasion by the ], but the Constable ] was killed in combat. | |||
| ===Mongol alliance=== | |||
| ] in 1281.]] | |||
| {{main|Armeno-Mongol alliance}} | |||
| In ] Levon joined the Mongols in their invasion of Syria, but they were vanquished at the ]. Levon had to sue for peace, and in 1285 obtained a 10-year ceasefire in exchange for important territorial concessions in favour of the Mamluks.<ref>Mutafian, p.61</ref> | |||
| Levon died in 1289 as Mamluk power kept rising and the Mongol alliance was becoming more and more inefficient.<ref>Mutafian, p.61</ref> He was succeeded by his son ]. | |||
| ==Descendance== | |||
| ⚫ | ], and their five children, 1272.]] | ||
| 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, ], abdicated after four years in favor of his younger brother ], but was placed back on the throne in 1294. In 1296, their brother ] strangled Thoros and blinded Hethum, in order to seize power. Sempad was then overthrown in 1298 by their younger brother ], who was replaced by older brother Hethum, who then abdicated in 1305 in favor of Thoros's son ].<ref name=cmh/> | 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, ], abdicated after four years in favor of his younger brother ], but was placed back on the throne in 1294. In 1296, their brother ] strangled Thoros and blinded Hethum, in order to seize power. Sempad was then overthrown in 1298 by their younger brother ], who was replaced by older brother Hethum, who then abdicated in 1305 in favor of Thoros's son ].<ref name=cmh/> | ||
| # ] (ruled 1289 to 1293, 1294 to 1297, 1299 to 1307) | # ] (ruled 1289 to 1293, 1294 to 1297, 1299 to 1307) | ||
| Line 20: | Line 42: | ||
| # ] (born c. 1274) | # ] (born c. 1274) | ||
| # ] (born c. 1276) | # ] (born c. 1276) | ||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ⚫ | ], and their five children, 1272.]] | ||
| # ] (ruled 1297 to 1299) | # ] (ruled 1297 to 1299) | ||
| # ] (ruled 1299) | # ] (ruled 1299) | ||
| Line 32: | Line 52: | ||
| 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 ] that would inherit the throne. | 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 ] that would inherit the throne. | ||
| He was succeeded by his son Hetoum II. | |||
| == Notes == | == Notes == | ||
Revision as of 16:53, 6 January 2008
- For another Armenian monarch occasionally referred to as Prince Levon II, see King Levon I of Armenia
| Levon II Լեիոն Բ | |
|---|---|
| King | |
 | |
| Predecessor | Hetoum I |
| Successor | Hetoum II |
| Dynasty | House of Lambron |
Levon II or Leo II (occasionally numbered III) (Template:Lang-hy, c. 1236-1289) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1269/1270 to 1289. He was the son of Hethoum I of Armenia and Queen Zabel of Armenia and was a member of the Hetoumid family. His name is sometimes spelled as Leo or Leon.
Early life
In 1262 Leo married Keran (Kir Anna), the daughter of Prince Hethum of Lampron.
In 1266, while 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 imprisonned and took in captivity. 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.
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 III 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.
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 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"
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.
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 ceasefire in exchange for important territorial concessions in favour of the Mamluks.
Levon died in 1289 as Mamluk power kept rising and the Mongol alliance was becoming more and more inefficient. He was succeeded by his son Hetoum II.
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 IV of Armenia.
- Hethum II (ruled 1289 to 1293, 1294 to 1297, 1299 to 1307)
- Princess Fimi of Armenia (born c. 1266)
- Princesse Sybil of Armenia (born c. 1269)
- Thoros III (ruled 1293 to 1298)
- Prince Ruben of Armenia (born c. 1272)
- Princess Zablun of Armenia (born c. 1274)
- Isabelle (Zabel) or Sybil, Princess of Armenia (born c. 1276)
- Sempad (ruled 1297 to 1299)
- Constantine III (ruled 1299)
- Isabella of Armenia (died c. 1321), who married Amalric of Tyre
- Princess Theophane of Armenia (born c. 1278)
- Rita of Armenia, who married Michael IX Palaeologus, co-Emperor of the Byzantine Empire with his father Andronicus II Palaeologus
- Prince Nerses of Armenia (born c. 1279}
- Oshin (ruled 1308 to 1320)
- 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.
Notes
- ^ Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV, p. 634
- Mutafian, p.60
- BN Fr 2810, f.7v. Quoted in Mutafian, p.65
- Mutafian, p.61
- Mutafian, p.61
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 House of Lambron | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byHetoum I | King of Armenia 1270–1289 |
Succeeded byHetoum II |