[78] 602 A.E. [1153]. After this victory which T'oros had achieved, the Byzantines were furious with him. So they went to the sultan of Iconium, Mas'ud, with numerous gifts, saying: "Eliminate T'oros, his clan, and all the Armenians." Mas'ud was bribed by the many gifts. He arose and went against T'oros. Now T'oros took his troops and went into the mountains in advance of them. When the foreigners saw this, they were astounded at his boldness. The sultan then sent [a message] to T'oros saying: "I did not come to ruin [g171] your country or to make war against you, but rather so that you listen to me and return to the Romans the territories you took from them. Then we will remain friends." When T'oros heard this he was pleased and made this reply: "We will willingly submit to you as king, since you did not envy our advancement. However, it is impossible to return those lands to them." When the sultan heard this, he did not press him. Rather he established friendship with an oath and returned to his own home.

In the year 603 A.E. [1154] once again the Byzantine emperor Manuel sought to stoke Mas'ud and he sent him twice the amount of treasure as previously, saying: "Quench the burning of my heart toward the Armenian people, destroy their fortresses, and exterminate them." So the sultan came to Anazarba with many troops, but he was unable to accomplish anything. He sent one of his grandees, named Ya'qub (Aghup), to ravage the territory of Antioch. When they had crossed [a place called] the gate [Pylae Syriae, Passus Portellae], [soldiers called] the Brothers [knights Templar], as though sent by God, swooped upon them at that place and slaughtered all of them, including their chief. When those in the sultan's army heard about this, they were horrified [g172]. This was not all, for the wrath of God was visited upon them. Their horses perished from tapax [diahorrea] and they themselves turned to flight, brother not waiting to help brother, nor comrade, comrade. They hamstrung many of the horses and fled on foot through difficult, marshy places, as though they were persecuting themselves. For at that time T'oros was not in his country. Rather, he had gone to Tsets. When he returned and saw what had unfolded everyone thanked God, for they had been defeated without the use of weapons and without a physical battle.

In the year 604 A.E. [1155] Mas'ud, the sultan of Iconium, came to T'oros' country and again encamped against Tell Hamdun. Once again God's wrath came upon them, because although it was summer, there was a great deal of thunder and lightning, and winds so fierce that trees were torn up by their roots. Terrified by this awesome display of anger, everyone took refuge in God. After three days God took pity and the heaven and earth became calm. Once again embarassed, Sultan Mas'ud returned to his home. After this he lived another ten months and then became sick with a fatal illness. He enthroned his son, Kilij-Arslan, who was called Machat because of a deformed hand, and then Mas'ud departed this life and was buried in Iconium. He had two other sons, one being more generous than the brother who had become [g173] sultan. Because of suspicions, the sultan had him strangled. The younger brother, frightened, fled to Gangra and Ankara. [The sultan] not only killed his brother, but also those grandees whose loyalty to himself he questioned. Now Yaghi-Basan (Aghup Aslan), son of Emir Ghazi, and lord of Sebastia and the land of Aleppo, did not approve of him. He came with his troops to Lycandus and made ... [word missing] the inhabitants of his land, and kindly settled the Christians on their land. When Sultan Kilij-Arslan heard about this he came to battle with him, but through the intercession of his advisors, the Danishmands, the two groups of Muslims did not fight.

[79] In the year 605 A.E. [1156] Yaghi-Basan secretly came to the district of Jahan, [to its town of] Aplast'a, kindly removed the population from the land and took them to his own district. For this reason Kilij-Arslan again came against him to fight. They encamped opposite each other. But that caliph [?the Danishmend] established friendship and peace between them, so that the two groups of Muslims would not fight.

In the year 606 A.E. [1157] T'oros' brother, Stefane', Lewon's son, motivated by his wicked nature and without his brother T'oros' knowledge, arose with his brigade of troops and started to successfully retake [certain] districts [g174]. He took Kokison and Berdus. Sultan Kilij-Arslan and T'oros had friendly relations with each other and Stefane', as we said, took these [areas] without T'oros' consent. Owing to this disturbance, Kilij-Arslan came to the district of Kokison and pacified everyone, in no way blaming the inhabitants. Thence he went to Berdus, while T'oros, out of affection for the sultan, tricked his brother and surrendered Berdus to the sultan, against Stefane's wishes. The sultan in turn, because of his affection for T'oros, freed the inhabitants of the fortress unharmed. Then Stefane' attempted to steal Marash, but could not. In Behesni lived a Christian-hating chief who greatly harassed the Christians. For that reason, those who had been oppressed by him wanted, in their united multitude, to kill him while he was in the bath and to give the fortress to Stefane'. Stefane' was concealed with his troops near the confines of the fortress and waited there. But one of the plotters went and revealed the matter to the chief. Roaring with anger, [the chief] ordered that all [the conspirators] be hurled down from the fortress [walls]. When the Christian inhabitants of the fortress saw this, they took refuge with Stefane'. He took all of them, with their wives and children and led them to the plain of Anazarba, settling them in Tupna where [many] died from the heat. Now it happened that Sultan Kilij-Arslan had a genuine fondness for T'oros. He sent an emissary to Jerusalem and Antioch to T'oros, and again strengthened that friendship with an oath. Valiant T'oros displayed [g175] other acts of valor. The prince of Antioch, Renaud (E"r'naght) [de Chatillon], at T'oros' urging and together with T'oros himself, organized ships and sailed to the island of Cyprus. Seeing [the Cypriots] negligent and unprepared, they attacked them as though they were foreigners, ravaging cities and villages, and leaving them stripped of their belongings, and insulting them. [80] They lopped off the hands, feet, and noses of many noteworthy men and clerics and left them like that and departed. T'oros did this because of [the treatment of] his innocent father who had been taken to Constantinople in chains together with T'oros himself, his brother, Stefane', his mother, and sisters. His father had died there in prison. T'oros and his brother Stefane' had fled secretly and had come [to Cilicia] and ruled over their patrimony. [T'oros] also recalled the Armenian princes who had been deceitfully taken to Constantinople, impaled on iron spikes while still living, and hanged on the gates. He also recalled the hanging of Gagik by the sons of Mandale' and many other events [g176]. Now the king of Jerusalem in this period gathered the Brothers [Templars] and all the ranks of Christians and went and besieged Askalon. They put [the city] into dire straits with fighting and then took it on the feast of the Assumption of the blessed Mother of God. But they did not harm the inhabitants in any way. Later, however, they uncovered some treachery directed at themselves and they destroyed them. In the same year Nur-ad-Din, lord of Aleppo, went and ruled over Damascus. He sent many treasures to the king of Jerusalem and the prince, and they made peace with each other. In the same year Nur-ad-Din came to Aintap and captured it. From there he sent emissaries to Raban and other surrounding areas for them to surrender without any fighting. But out of fear of Sultan Kilij-Arslan they did not want to give [the territories] to him. So [Nur-ad-Din] left them for a while.

In the year 607 A.E. [1158] the king of Jerusalem, [Baudoin III, 1143-1163], wishing to establish marriage relations with [the family of] the Byzantine emperor Manuel, sent envoys to him. [Manuel] gladly agreed and sent the daughter of his father's brother to him as a wife. [She was sent] in the company of trustworthy men with numerous troops and great splendor, and he promised to come to the assistance of the Christians in person, which he did without hesitation.

In the year 608 A.E. [1159] Emperor Manuel assembled as many as 800,000 troops and came to the city of Mamistra in the land of the Cilicians, where he wintered. T'oros, Lewon's son, distrusted him, so he secured his wife, sons, and treasures in the fortress of Tachikk'ar [g177], while he himself circulated around in difficult and swampy places in the depths of the Taurus Mountains where he awaited the arrival of the king of Jerusalem [thinking that the latter] would come and mediate peace between himself and the Byzantine emperor. This was because T'oros was very frightened over the damage that he and the prince of Antioch had inflicted on Cyprus. For the prince had already gone to the emperor and laid all the blame for this on T'oros. Then the king of Jerusalem and the cross-adorned Brothers [Templars] and all the Christians came to Emperor Manuel and pleaded that he reconcile himself with Lewon's son, T'oros. [81] They praised him before the king as a wise, savvy, skilled, and forceful man of war, valiant and deep, who saw to all the needs of the Christians, who was generous and full of all goodly qualities. The emperor pardoned T'oros' crimes for them and eagerly desired to see him. So they sent to T'oros [urging him] to come before the emperor. When Emperor Manuel saw him he rejoiced at his comely appearance. God gave grace to T'oros before the emperor who greatly blamed those who had slandered him. After remaining with the emperor for a few days, [Manuel] ordered him to return to his own home and quickly return to the [imperial] army. T'oros returned home, collected what provisions the troops would require—sheep, oxen, cattle, boars, and fine horses—and brought them and presented them as gifts to the emperor. The emperor was delighted [g178] with T'oros' generosity and praised him before everyone. He pardoned him in his heart for what he had done to the Byzantines. And then the king of Jerusalem, the prince of Antioch, the sebastius T'oros, and the Templars planned to save the Christians. Setting forth in all their numbers, they came and encamped near Antioch. Although the king of Jerusalem and the other grandees encouraged the Byzantine emperor to strive for the salvation of the land of the Christians, and although he had made such a promise to them, he had done so without sincerity or conviction. For [the emperor] planned to enter Antioch not to accomplish what was right, but to satisfy his perverse and lustful desire for women. He wanted to take a wife from among the daughters of Bohemond, lord of Antioch. He went and saw that she was to his taste and did not reveal his intentions to anyone. At that time the king of Jerusalem was Baudoin who was an extremely pious giant of a man. [The emperor] gave very great gifts and crowned [Baudoin] with a royal diadem, [giving him] costly garments, and decorating a royal palace which he filled with all [sorts of] vessels of gold and silver and appropriate furnishings, and he gave it to him as a gift. He also gave very substantial gifts to his princes. One of the princes there, named Phillip, made some memorable remarks about this. For when the emperor had sent him three [large] measures of gold and expensive [g179] garments, he was grateful and praised the king, but [Phillip] remarked to those who had brought them: "Tell your king that we did not come to you for treasures and clothing, but for the salvation of the Christians. If it is your intention to effect that, then we will give our treasures and all of our troops with all of our belongings in service to you. And wherever the battle will occur you will see just what brave soldiers you have and then you [should] distribute your gold to those of your [people] who are in need. But if you do not do as we requested and as you promised to do, that is, to save the Christians, then your gold is of no use to us." Next they began to delineate how they would enter the city. They adorned the gates of the city and all of its walls and sent the royal banner and erected it at the summit of the citadel. Then they designated troops and commanders to secure the city gates and the streets, and filled the entire center of the city with troops. [82] Then the king rode in on a horse arrayed in golden royal garments and adorned with a crown whose precious stones glittered and gleamed like the stars. Troops were arranged on his right and left sides as he calmly advanced. The king of Jerusalem went before him crowned with a diadem and mounted on a horse, while the lord of Antioch, due to his lesser station, went before him on foot. And with such great ceremony did the Byzantine emperor Manuel enter the city of Antioch with Baudoin, king [g180] of Jerusalem. The emperor rode along into the city, reaching the blessed Temple and the Apostolic throne of Saint Peter where he worshipped, and then he went to his own lodgings. Now when the amirapet of Aleppo, Zengi's son Nur-ad-Din, heard about such an assemblage of Christian kings, he became frightened, and out of fear he gathered all his forces and prepared for battle. He placed military commanders everywhere and then hurriedly crossed to the other side of the Euphrates River. After a few days the emperor sent an emissary to Nur-ad-Din and wrote edicts, demanding as borders from him the districts of Antioch, and Edessa and its confines, [territories] which he had seized from the Christians. He also demanded [the return of] those prisoners from the clans of the principal Christians who had been forced into prison. Now when the amirapet of Aleppo saw the emissary and proclamation of the emperor, his fear and dread subsided. For [Nur-ad-Din] was an astute and intelligent man and recognized the limits of [the emperor's] military power, and that he was making his demands not with sword and spear, but with parchment and ink. Consequently he replied that he would never do [as the emperor] wanted and if [the emperor] could, he should effect [his request] through force. When the emperor of the Byzantines heard this, he summoned all [his advisors] to council to determine what response to make. The king of Jerusalem and the lord of Antioch, and all the princes fell at the feet of the Byzantine emperor Manuel and said: "Oh emperor, do not transform such joy as we now have into sorrow. For the enemies of Christ are horrified at our unity. Thus if you [g181] make peace with them without a fight, the name of Christian will be completely removed from the land and, scorned by the enemy, the Christian peoples will be considered of no account and an object of ridicule." [The emperor] made significant excuses [and said]: "There is a disturbance [threatening] my throne, and therefore I want to quickly return [to Constantinople]. I can mend matters there and return [here]." Everyone was thrown into the deepest despair. They pleaded with him, saying: "Go against Aleppo for just three days, and then make peace with them, if you choose." But Manuel did not heed their entreaties nor did he want to do good to the Christians. Rather, he sent to Nur-ad-Din and made peace. When the infidels heard about this, they were stunned at the unexpected turn of events, since all of them were envisioning their own destruction. They realized that they had been spared destruction without bloodshed or battle, and in their delight they did not believe that it was true. Nor did they know what sort of response to make, since they thought that [the emissaries] had been sent for espionage purposes. [83] But the emissaries confirmed the truth of the matter. Once they had verified things, they sent to him many treasures and worthy gifts, horses and fine mules, as well as 50 of the Christian captives. And then Manuel, the goodly emperor of the Byzantines, who had come there like a powerful lion returned like a weakened fox. And he departed with such a huge multitude of cavalry like a fugitive and reached the land of Sultan Kilij-Arslan. The Turkmens fell upon [g182] those at the rear and killed some 12,000 men. Thus a great conflict arose between the emperor and the sultan, and T'oros remained at peace. Now Nur-ad-Din, the lord of Aleppo had previously given Harran to his brother, Miran. At this time he heard that [his brother] was plotting against him, and so he wanted to kill him. Thus did he send numerous treasures to the king of Jerusalem and established peace with him for four months. Then he went with his troops against his brother in Harran, which he took after two months along with Edessa and R'akka and their surrounding territories. Then he went to the country of Sultan Kilij-Arslan and took Raban and P'arzman, Kesoun, Behesni and Marash and then descended on Hor'omkla. While encamped there, news reached him from Damascus that the peace arrangement had collapsed and that the Templars and the Franks were ravaging his country. So he arose and went to Damascus and assembled numerous troops. He wanted to fight with the king of Jerusalem. The king of Jerusalem also assembled all the military commanders of his Christian forces and remained until winter when they made peace with each other. Then both [sides] returned to their own homes. Similarly Sultan Kilij-Arslan and Yaghi-Basan made peace with each other. During the same period the son of Count [Joscelin] was taken captive to Aleppo. In the same year the lord of Xlat', Mush, To'ghutap', Mantskert, Miran, son of Emir Ibrahim, sent [g183] his son with many troops to the land of the Georgians, to Tsets. Now the forces of the Georgian king Gorge' had massed to invade the country of Xlat'. The two sides clashed in the district of Uxtik'. The Georgians were triumphant, putting [their enemy] to flight and killing some 10,000 Turks. They also seized 300 of their chiefs. However, the sparapet [commander-in-chief] of the Georgians was killed. The others returned to their land joyfully.

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