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It is (not only) the will of god»: the king-doms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia... 177

of Cilician Armenia, in the face of which Bohemond V of Antioch
claimed that the marriage was not valid and moreover that the situa-
tion required needed intervention by means of inquisition, since the
Armenian Church should be subject to the Latin Church of Antioch.
Pope Gregory V adopted this idea, and it caused a deterioration in re-
lations between the Armenians and the papacy since Hethum strongly
rejected the suggestion. Fearing the rising power of Frederick II in the
West, Gregory decided not to risk his position in the East, recognized
the marriage in 1239 and granted further authority to the Armenian
Church. By sending a new pallium he sought to reiterate the union.
Furthermore, Cilicia had recently been invaded by the Seljuks, who in
1233 imposed a tribute on the kingdom, which the pope feared might
happen again 102 .
After the failure of King Louis IX of France’s crusade, the Armenians
turned their attention to the Mongols who had invaded Anatolia, and
attempted to establish close relations with them and an alliance
against the Muslims, most especially the Seljuks. After the Battle of
Köse Dağ in 1243, in which the Seljuk Sultan Kaykhusraw’s wife and
daughter were lost to the Mongols, King Hethum openly sided with the
newcomers 103 . In 1247 he sent envoys to the Mongols, and afterward,
in 1253, he visited Karakorum in person, ensuring that the Armenian
Church would be free of taxes, and becoming the first leader to offer
voluntary submission to the Mongols, which he thought would be po-
litically profitable 104 . Even in 1260, he supported a Mongol army in-
vading Syria. When the Mongols captured Damascus, their general
was accompanied by Hethum 105 .
The Mongol invasion was not supported by the Franks of the East,
who allowed free passage to the Mamluk armies, who would eventually
beat the Mongols and drive them back. After this, knowing that the
Franks would not help them, the Armenians attempted to maintain
good relations with the Mongols. This choice by the Armenians of

102 K.M. Setton, R.L. Wolff, H. Hazard, (eds.), The Later Crusades: 1189-1311 cit., p.
652; B. Hamilton, The Armenian Church and the Papacy cit., p. 79.
103 A. Stewart, The Assassination of King Het’um II: The Conversion of the Ilkhans and
the Armenians, «Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society», 15-1 (2005), p. 45.
104 R. Amitai, Dangerous Liaisons: Armenian-Mongol-Mamluk Relations, 1260-1292,
in C. Mutafian, (ed.), La Méditerranée des Arméniens, XIIe-XVe siècle, Geuthner, Paris,
2014, pp. 192-193; C. Mutafian, The Brilliant Diplomacy of Cilician Armenia, cit., pp.
104-108; I. Rapti, Featuring the King cit., p. 418.
105 Some parts of the events of 1260 are only conveyed in RHC Arm, vol. 2, p. 751;
For a discussion see R. Amitai, Dangerous Liaisons, cit., pp. 193-194. Also see, A. Stew-
art, The Assassination of King Het’um II, cit., p. 47; Idem., Reframing the Mongols in
1260: The Armenians, the Mongols and the Magi, «Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society»,
28-1 (2018), pp. 55–76.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIX - Aprile 2022
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)