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178 Hakalmaz Turaç

Cilicia had long-term consequences 106 . Since the papacy had cau-
tiously approached the Mongols, and the Mongols were allied with the
Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, the Church union came to an end. Dip-
lomatic relations between the papacy and Cilician Armenia continued
and the papacy did not completely give up on the Armenians, since
the future of the Latin states was also concerned. Despite the chances
which the Armenians had to re-establish the union afterward, and the
efforts made by some rulers and nobles 107 , renewal was not eventually
attempted. This was a decision made under political pressure in an
atmosphere in which the clergy was nevertheless divided by the unifi-
cation effort. Some of the Armenian church hierarchy had connections
with the Latin Church and supported the union, while others vehe-
mently opposed it. It was not until the decline of Ilkhanid power that
the Armenians realized that the only ally upon which they could now
rely would be the western powers and the Kingdom of Cyprus 108 . In
1307, the Synod of Sis was held and the Armenian Church accepted
all reforms of the Latin Church. However, this union would make no
real difference to church practice, as this was again an attempt at
serving their own political interests and there was no real acceptance
of the changes among the Armenian clergy 109 .
From the evidence presented it may be argued that, quite separately
from the Armenian rulers, the Armenian community living in Cilicia
and Cyprus was very capable of adjusting to the changing political
environment. For instance, from the time of the Byzantine usurper
Isaac Komnenos, through the rule of the Lusignans until Venetian rule
began on the island, Armenians served in the armies of Isaac, the
Lusignans, and the Venetians. According to George Boustronios’
chronicle, in 1474 an Armenian party went to Famagusta to greet the

106 R. Amitai, Dangerous Liaisons, cit., p. 196. For Mongol-Mamluk conflict in the
thirteenth century see, Idem., Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–
1281, Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1995.
107 Hethum (Hayton) of Korycos (Gorigos), brother of King Hethum I, proposed to
organize a crusade to capture the Holy Land from the Mamluks with the help of the
Armenians and the Mongols. For the relevant part of his work see RHC Arm, vol. 2, pp.
340-363. For an analysis of Hethum’s work see, M. Bais, Armenia and Armenians in
Het‘um’s Flos Historiarum Terre Orientis, «Medieval Encounters», 21, 2-3 (2015), pp.
214-231. Also see, G. Dédéyan, Les Colophons de manuscrits Arméniens comme sources
pour l’histoire des Croisades, in J. France, W.G. Zajac, (eds.), The Crusades and Their
Sources: Essays Presented to Bernard Hamilton, Ashgate, Aldershot, 1998, pp. 89–110.
108 The Ilkhanids by then had such amicable relations with the Papacy that they
sent envoys to the Council of Lyons. See P. Jackson, The Mongols and the West, 1221-
1410, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow, 2005, p. 166.
109 B. Hamilton, The Armenian Church and the Papacy cit., pp. 80-85; I. Rapti, Featur-
ing the King, 420.

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