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It is (not only) the will of god»: the king-doms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia... 179

Venetian fleet and congratulate its admiral 110 . On the part of the ec-
clesiastical institutions, the Armenian Church had always shown re-
spect to the Roman Church and recognized the pope as the successor
of St Peter. However, they also believed that different churches com-
bined to make up the universal church, while the Latins believed the
only church was the Roman Church and that a union, therefore,
meant a complete acceptance of the ways of the Roman Church 111 .
Comparing the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Cilician Ar-
menia and their relations with the papacy during this period, although
in practice the way the two kingdoms carried out the conditions of the
unification was different, the underlying meaning and purpose of the
act were the same. Analogies may also be drawn between two other
aspects of the diplomatic relations of Armenians and the Kingdom of
Cyprus. One is the relations of each of the kingdoms with the Teutonic
Order. The Armenian approach to the Teutonic Order in the first half
of the 13th century was almost the same as that of the Kingdom of
Cyprus. It would not be misleading to state that despite the difficult
relationship between the papacy and the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia,
relations with the military orders, apart from the Templars, were par-
ticularly close, and for the Armenian kings, these relations also mat-
tered for purposes of defence. Just like Aimery, Leo granted the mili-
tary orders properties, castles, and alms in Cilicia, and concessions
such as allowing Latin merchants to trade in the kingdom, which con-
tributed to its economy. Wilbrand of Oldenburg, who visited the Latin
East, including Cyprus and Cilicia in 1211, stated that King Leo was
accompanied by the mounted Teutonic Knights during ceremonies at
Sis 112 . Leo also sought to gain the friendship of the Hospitallers with
generous grants. During his reign, he granted them Seleucia, Nor-
perts, and Camardias in the western part of his kingdom, hoping to
protect his borders against the Seljuks 113 .
In addition to allying with the military orders, intermarriages be-
tween the rulers and the nobility of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia were
deemed necessary to strengthen relations between the Crusader
states. These intermarriages were sometimes heterodox, but the pa-
pacy had to acknowledge them for the sake of the future of the

110 N. Coureas, The Armenians in Cyprus cit., p. 82; G. Boustronios, A Narrative of
the Chronicle of Cyprus 1456-1489, in N. Coureas, H. Pohlsander, [trans.], Texts and
Studies in the History of Cyprus, Cyprus Research Centre, Nicosia, 2005, p. 219.
111 B. Hamilton, The Armenian Church and the Papacy cit., p. 337.
112 Wilbrand of Oldenburg, Peregrinatio cit., pp. 177-179.
113 K.M. Setton, R.L. Wolff, H. Hazard, (eds.), The Later Crusades: 1189-1311 cit., p.
650. For a discussion of the numbers of the Teutonic Knights in the Eastern Mediterra-
nean, see H. Houben, The Teutonic Knights in Palestine, Armenia, and Cyprus cit., p. 151.

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