Armenia-TL-art - 2/24/99 "Medieval Armenia and Cilicia Timeline" by Keran Roslin. NOTE: See also the files: Balkans-msg, Khazars-msg, Hungary-msg, Russia-msg, fd-Turkey-msg, Byzantine-msg, cl-Byzantine-msg, Byzant-Cerem-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator. While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file. Thank you, Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ MEDIEVAL ARMENIA AND CILICIA - TIMELINE by Keran Roslin WHERE - Greater Armenia was east and south of the Black Sea. Its boundaries changed during the centuries as invaders carved out chunks for the empires of Rome, Byzantium and the Mongols. It was eventually absorbed into the Ottoman Empire. Cilicia or Lesser Armenia - Cilicia was an important Armenian kingdom from 1198 to 1375. It was along the eastern end of the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. Its port cities included Tarsus, Korykos, and Ayas. Cilicia's western neighbor was Isauria. The Amanus mountains were on the east. In the north, the plains meet the Taurus mountains and these peaks separate Cilicia from Cappadocia. In its mountains were the many large castles which controlled the mountain passes, including the famous Cilician Gates, through which pilgrims and Crusaders travelled to the Holy Land and luxury goods from the east travelled to Europe. CONTEMPORARY ARMENIAN HISTORIANS AND WRITERS - Agathangelos (5th century) Moses of Khorene Gregory of Narek Smbat the Constable Faustus of Buzanda St. Nerses Shnorhali Ananias of Shirak Lazarus of Pharpi Vardan of Maratha Thomas Ardsruni Mkhitar Heratsi Amirdovlat Amasiatsi John V of Draskhanakert (also called Yovhannes Drasxanakertci) IMPORTANT DATES - 36 B. C. - Marc Antony attacks the Parthians and loses 80,000 troops. He captures King Artavazd of Armenia and his family, who he sends to Cleopatra of Egypt in golden chains. 31 B. C. - Artavazd is beheaded in Egypt without revealing the whereabouts of the royal Armenian treasury 66 A. D. - King Trdat (Tiridates) is crowned by Nero in Rome and given 50,000,000 sesterces, reimbursed for the cost of his 9 month overland journey to Rome, and skilled artisans to rebuild his capital. 257 - Grigor (Gregory) Partev (the Parthian) is born (approx. date) He is to be St. Gregory the Illuminator, who helped to convert Armenia to Christianity 301 - Traditional date when Armenia becomes the first official Christian state (303 is the alternate date) as declared by King Trdat (Tiridates) III of Greater Armenia. 305 - St. Grigor becomes head or catholicos of the new Armenian church 325 - St. Grigor dies in his cave on Mt. Sepouh 352 - Nerses becomes Catholicos, head of the Armenian church 364 - Nerses goes to Constantinople to ask for help against Persian invasion 368 - Pap becomes king of Armenia with Roman help at age 22 371 - Battle of Bagrevand against the Persians is won by a combined Roman and Armenian army 374 - King Pap is murdered at a Roman banquet 406 - Official acceptance of the Armenian alphabet created by Saint Mesrop-Mashtotz and his staff. The alphabet contained 36 characters until the 12th century when 2 more were added. 428-885 - the Armenian "Dark Ages", internal civil wars and wars with Persia, Byzantium, Baghdad and Egypt 451 - Armenian troops commanded by Vardan Mamikonian fight the Battle of Avarayr against the Persians and lose Armenian churches commemorate this battle and honor the Armenian dead annually 590 - the Persian lose Armenian lands to the Byzantium 600s-700s - the Byzantines and Arab Abbasids use Armenia for a battleground; Armenian nobility and commoners who could traded their Armenian lands for lands within the Byzantine empire and many abandoned Greater Armenia to the invaders 885 - Ashot I crowned king of Armenia by his peers and acknowledged by Byzantium and the Caliph 965 - Byzantium reconquers Cilicia 1042 - Ablgharib becomes governor of Tarsus and Mamistra in Cilicia and makes it a refuge for displaced Armenians 1045 - Gakik II of Ani forced to abdicate leaving no opposition to stop the invading Selchukid (or Seljuq) Turks 1064 - Alp Arslan, the Seljuk, conquers Greater Armenia 1071 - Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Mantzikert, north of Lake Van 1091 - Gakik II is murdered at Cybistra Castle and his body hung out over the castle wall 1115-1124 - sometime between these dates Gagik II's death revenged, his weapons and clothes found, and the sons of Pantaleon tortured by Thoros 1096-1102 - The First Crusade 1097-1098 - Bagrat contacts the crusading forces at Nicaea and accompanies them across Asia Minor. He forms an alliance with Baldwin of Boulogne, but Bagrat was later tortured as a traitor 1114 - large earthquake destroys the Hesuants vank' monastery, devastates the countryside and kills 40,000+ people 1118 - another earthquake Baldwin I of Jerusalem dies 1130 - The Franks conquer parts of Cilicia during the First Crusade but their hold is insecure because of Byzantine invasions and the objections of the native Armenian princes who get the upper hand in the late 1130s 1137-1138 - Byzantine conquest of Cilicia followed by seven years of relative peace ruled by Byzantium 1143, April 8 - John Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor, died as a result of a poisoned arrow 1147-1149 - The Second Crusade 1151 - Rubenid family controls the Cilician plain, allies and marries Franks and fights the Turks and Byzantines Hromkla is given to the Armenian catholicos by Beatrice 1153 - Nerses of Lampron born 1158 - Manuel and the Byzantine army invades Cilicia, Thoros is forced to make peace in penitential garb and receives confirmation of his position in Armenia, but Byzantine governors are left in the main townships 1164 - Thoros, Bohemond, Raymond of Tripoli and the Greek commander at Tarsus, Constantine Coloman, attacks Nur-ad-Din and wins. A large force of Nur-ad-Din's troops come and Thoros advises withdrawal and leaves. The other leaders are captured and only released when Thoros threatens to burn his captives alive. Thoros' brother Stephen is lured by the Greeks into the castle of Hamus and boiled alive. 1168 - Thoros dies, Thoros' brother Mleh invades with Moslem troops and throws out the regent and heir 1173 - Nerses the Gracious, Catholicos dies in August, and Grigor Tgha is elected catholicos 1174 - Mleh's use of Moslem aid is very unpopular so the Armenian barons rise and kill him 1179 - religious synod held at Hromkla to discuss: the celebration of Christmas on December 25, instead of the Armenian custom of combining it with the Epiphany on January 6; the method for choosing the date of Easter; the use of fermented bread at mass; and changes in the church service 1180 - death of Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comneus 1188 - Saladin campaigns against Antioch and destroys Baghras which Leon later rebuilt 1189-1192 - The Third Crusade 1190 - Levon (or Leon)sends Nerses of Lampron as ambassador to meet Emperor Frederick Barbarossa when he approaches Cilicia, but on June 10 Barbarossa drowns in the Saleph River near Silifke, ending negotiations for Levon's royal crown 1193 or 1194 - Catholicos Grigor Tgha dies and his nephews, Hetoum and Shahnshah, are assassinated Gregory V is elected catholicos (patriarch) but doesn't get along with Levon and is imprisoned and dies trying to escape 1198 - January 6 - Levon I or Leon I is crowned king of Lesser Armenia by the new Armenian catholicos with a crown from the Hohenstaufen emperor. In return, he is forced to recognize the German emperor as his lord and the pope in Rome as the head of the Armenian Church. The Armenian church however stalls and does not change or adopt the Roman Catholic forms of worship (The Cilician kings named Levon are numbered differently by various historians. It is easier to understand who is who by the dates of their reigns than by I, II, etc.) 1202-1204 - The Fourth Crusade 1204 - Constantinople is sacked by crusaders of the Fourth Crusade 1205 - Catholicos John of Sis accuses Isabelle of Austria, Levon's queen and mother of his daughter Rita, of adultery and she is imprisoned at Vahka where she died 1210 - King Levon of Cilicia marries Sybilla of Lusignan, the daughter of King Aimery of Cyprus and Queen Isabeau Plantagenet, and later mother of Levon's daughter and heir Zabel (aka Zapel or Isabelle) 1211 - Levon gives his wife's sister, Helvis, to Raymond-Roupen of Antioch 1212 - The Children's Crusade 1217-1229 - The Fifth Crusade 1219 - King Levon I dies after reigning 32 years Zabel becomes queen, Adam of Baghras is regent 1222 - Philip, either son of Raymond the One-eyed, Count of Tripoli; or fourth son of Bohemond IV of Antioch, marries Zabel 1225 - Zabel's husband, Philip, is arrested, imprisoned in the fortress of Sis and killed 1226 - King Levon I's daughter Zabel is forced to marry Hetoum I (or Hetum I) which joined the Rubenid and Het'umian families. Zabel runs away from her forced marriage to Hetoum, but eventually reconciles to it 1233 - Kai-Khusrau I, Selchukid (Seljuk) sultan of Roum, invades Armenia and requires tribute, but he proves to be a generally peaceful neighbor and trading partner. 1236 - Birth of Prince Levon son of King Hetum I of Cilicia 1243 - The Mongols arrive and shatter the Turkish empire of the Selchukids (Seljuks) in a battle near Siwas, where Georgians and Armenians fight in the Mongol army and 2,000 Frankish mercenaries in that of Roum. 1247 - King Hetum I of Cilicia sends his brother Smbat the Constable to negotiate a treaty with the Mongols 1253 or 1254 - King Hetoum I (or Hetum I) goes to visit the Great Khan for three years and comes back through Greater Armenia, the homeland no Cilician ruler had previously been able to visit. He has guarantees that the Mongols will protect the Christian Churches in their lands. Armenian troops fight in the Mongol armies, and Hetoum occupies Marash. 1254 - Bohemond VI of Tripoli and Antioch marries Hetoum's daughter, Sybilla 1256 - Prince Levon is knighted at Mamistra 1258 - Mongol and Armenian troops defeat Baghdad and extend Cilician territory to Hromkla, a fortified site east of Cilicia on the Euphrates River 1260, March - The Armenians and Mongols take Aleppo and Damascus September - The Mongol forces are destroyed by a Mamluk army under their new leader, Baybars 1261 - Prince Kostandin follows his father as lord of the fortress of Sarvandik'ar which dominates the main roads to Cilicia from the east and at Sis he marries King Hetoum's daughter Rita 1262 - Prince Levon of Cilicia marries Keran, daughter of Het'um of Lambron (Keran and two of their children died of a plague after 1272 and before Hetoum's death in 1270) 1265 - Baybars, Mamluk leader, take Syria, Caesarea, Haifa, Arsuf, Tibnin, and Safad and then turn on Armenia 1266 - King Hetoum goes to the Mongols for help and while he is gone Princes Levon and Thoros are imprisoned in Cairo and the Mamluks sack Sis, Mamistra, Adana, Ayas, and Tarsus. 1268, May 12 - The Mamluks take Antioch and massacre the inhabitants. Hetoum gets his son released from Egypt, abdicates in Levon's favor, and enters a monastery. 1269 or 1270 - Reign of Levon II or III (1269-88) began 1270 - death of King Hetum I; father of Fimi (Countess of Sidon) and Levon (crown prince); brother of Bishop Hohannes (John) 1271 - Marco Polo sets out for Cathay from the Armenian port of Ayas 1272 - Thoros Roslin illuminates a gospel book for Queen Keran 1275 - another Egyptian (Mamluk) invasion of Cilicia 1276 - General Sempad, Levon's uncle, traps Mamluk troops in a mountain pass and wins a major battle. Sempad and 300 knights die in the battle. 1285 - Levon III buys a 10 year truce with Egypt with an annual tribute of one million silver dirhams to the Egyptians and a promise to build no more castles Levon III dies at age 53 (in 1285 or 1289) and on February 6 Hetoum II (or Hetum II) becomes king 1292 - The Mamluks break the truce and take Hromkla (or Romgla) so the catholicosate moves to Sis. Many church treasures are lost. 1293 - Hetum II abdicates in favor of his brother Thoros (who was strangled by their brother Smbat or Sempad). Hetum retires to a Franciscan monastery 1294 - Hetum II resumes the throne 1296 - Hetum II's brother Smbat takes the throne, partly blinds Het'um II, and kills Hetum's son Prince T'oros Their brother Kostandin takes the throne from Smbat 1298 - Hetum II again resumes the throne with Kostandin's help after regaining his eyesight Smbat and Kostandin are sent to Hetum's brother-in-law in Constantinople 1299 - Allied Mongols and Armenians fight the Mamluks at Homs and win, regaining all their Cilician property 1303 - Mamluks win the battle at Merj-us-Safer against Mongol and Armenian troops Hetum chooses his nephew Levon, age 16, as heir 1304 - The Grand Khan, Gazan, declares Islam the official religion in his lands and later his son ordera all Christians throughout his lands to wear a black linen strip over the shoulder. 1307 or 1308 - Hetum II and his nephew, now King Leon IV or V, visit the Mongol emir Bilarghu at Anavarza and are murdered with all their followers. 1308 - Oshin, Hetum's brother, chases the Mongol troops out 1320 - Oshin is poisoned Young Levon is forced to marry his regent's (Oshin of Corycus) daughter, Alice 1329 - King Levon IV or V, aged nineteen, takes charge of the kingdom and has his unfaithful wife and her father both killed. 1333 - King Levon marries Constance Eleanor of Aragon, daughter of Frederick II of Sicily and widow of Henry II of Cyprus, an unpopular match. 1337 - Cilician port city of Ayas is taken by the Mamluks 1341 - King Leon V, staying in the citadel of Sis, waits and appeals for Western help, until the barons murder him. 1342 - The barons offer the crown to John of Lusignan who offers the Cilician crown to his brother Guy. Guy reluctantly agrees and comes to Cilicia. He brought a European influence to the monarchy and encouraged union with the Roman Church. 1344 - Guy Lusignan sends his younger brother, Bemon, to the Pope in Avignon, France for help; but the negotiations rouse resentment in the barons. Guy, Bemon and their bodyguards are murdered. Constantine III, son of Marshall Baldwin of Neghr, is elected king. He is married to Marie, daughter of Oshin (a former regent) and Jeanne of Anjou. 1360 - Peter I of Cyprus gets the port castles of Korykos in Cilicia in return for helping Constantine VI against the Karamanids 1363 - Constantine III dies of natural causes Constantine IV becomes king of Cilicia and marries Marie widow of Constantine III 1369 - Peter of Cyprus is murdered so Constantine VI makes a treaty with the sultan of Cairo, which annoys barons 1372 - Queen Marie sends Pope Gregory XI a letter requesting military help against the Moslems 1373 - Constantine is murdered, and the Pope wants Marie to Othon of Brunswick. Leon or Levon, son of John of Lusignan and Soldane, is invited by the Armenians to become king. (Soldane, daughter of King Georgi VII of Georgia, may have been John of Lusignan's mistress and not his wife, and her sons may or may not have been legitimate. Levon's claims to his grandmother Isabella's estates were rejected on those grounds by the Pope.) Levon, delayed in Cyprus on his wife's lands, is "taxed" by the Genoese 280 livres of gold plus 300 ducats ransom for his crown, silver plate, and clothing. His wife's lands are forfeited to Catherine of Aragon. Levon is forced to sell his personal possessions to travel and hire troops. 1374 - Levon VI, a Roman Catholic, and his wife, Margaret of Soissons, are crowned at Sis on September 14 in both an Armenian and Latin ceremony. They discover an empty treasury. 1375, January 15 - The Mamluks of Egypt capture part of Sis February 24 - The rest of Sis is evacuated and burned by Levon and his supporters April 13 - Levon VI, his wife, and their twin baby daughters surrender to the Mamluks July - Levon is taken to Cairo as a captive where he is released from jail, constantly watched and given a daily pension of 60 dirhems 1376 - Levon's wife, Marguerite de Soissons, and daughters die in Cairo 1382 - Levon is ransomed using money from the Kings of Castile and Aragon, 300 squirrel pelts, a gold and silver cup, and a gilded jar. 1386 - Levon serves as an envoy to King Richard II of England 1393, November 29 - King Levon VI (John de Lusignan) dies. He is interred with French Royalty in the Basilica of St. Denis. He was in France for help to regain Cilicia. His son Guyot becomes a military man and Philippe becomes an archdecon. 1402 - the Tartars take Asia Minor and Syria 1441 - The seat of the Armenian Catholicos is moved from Sis to Etchmiadzin 1453 - The Ottomans capture Constantinople and Armenians are required to move into the capital The Armenian patriarch is given civil authority over marriage, charity work, and education of Armenians under Ottoman control 1462 - Zacharia of Aghthamar removes the right arm of St. Grigor Loosavorich, a relic required for church ceremony, from Etchmiadzin to Aghthamar 1475 - Ottoman conquest of Crimea 1477 - Bishop Vrtanes of Odzop returns St. Grigor's right arm to Etchmiadzin 1556-1602 - Reign of the Mongol Emperor Akbar, one of whose queens was the Armenian lady Mariam Zamani Begum Mariam's sister, Juliana, marries an exiled French prince and serves as a physician in Akbar's seraglio. Akbar's Chief Justice is also Armenian 1562 - Juliana and her husband Jean Phillippe Bourbon de Navarre found the first Armenian church in India at Agra Abgar of Tokat goes to Italy to study printing for patriarch Michael of Sebastia 1605 - After burning and destroying what they could in the former area of eastern Greater Armenia, the Persians require their Armenian subjects to move to New Julfa and away from the invading Turkish troops. Many Armenians escape north to the Eastern European states such as Poland. 1620 - Eastern Armenia returns to Persian control ----------- Copyright 1999, Karen Reinhart, P. O. Box 169, Windsor, NY 13865. . Permission is given to use these articles in any educational publication as long as you credit me for the authorship of the article and send me a copy of the publication. Edited by Mark S. Harris Armenia-TL-art Page 9 of 9