[16] In these days the white-haired and elderly paron Koste"ndin, father of the king of the Armenians, was translated to Christ. He left the pious king Het'um as well as all his other sons and the land of the Armenians in deep mourning, since paron Koste"ndin was the cause of the cultivation of the land of the Armenians as well as the foundation of the kingship of his son, Het'um. Thus did the Christ-crowned king Het'um stand and bury his father, the paron, with great honor. May Christ God glorify his soul and make the blessed princes participants of His kingdom.
One year after the death of Hulegu-Khan, [the Mongols] held a great quriltai and installed Hulegu's senior son, Abagha-Khan. Among his thirty brothers, Abagha was the best looking with the best stature. During the days of his khanate there was an abundance of everything throughout all the countries.
During this period the blessed and spotless patriarch of the Armenians, lord Koste"ndin of good name and in deep old age, also was translated to Christ. By his prayers may Christ give peace to those worshipping in His name and may He make him a colleague of the blessed patriarchs with his pious soul and love of the orthodox faith and all the orders of the church [g352], hearing the voice which says: "Come good and faithful servant and enter into the joy of your master in life everlasting."
Thus was the word of the sage fulfilled here, that "with the decrease of the good and righteous, the league of the evil increases." And so it happened to us. The impious and crazed sultan of Egypt came to Damascus with many troops. From there he sent emissaries to the king of the Armenians regarding some trifle [of land] which he demanded from the king. But the king of the Armenians did not give it, rather he responded with insults calling [the sultan] a dog and a servant, because when the T'at'ars had taken Baghdad, two of the sultan of Egypt's slaves were in Baghdad, one named Baibars and the other Sghur. Now when they learned that the T'at'ars had taken Baghdad, taking two horses they fled to Egypt. Seeing their flight, the T'at'ars went after them at a gallop. Now Baibars was [old and] bearded and had a poor horse, whereas Sghur was young and riding a good horse. When they realized that the T'at'ars wanted to catch up and seize both of them, Sghur dismounted from the Tachik horse, gave it to Baibars, and himself mounted the poorer horse. And he said to Baibars: "Mount the good horse and escape. I am young; if they catch me they will take me as a captive rather than kill me. When you are able, ransom me." Then the T'at'ars arrived, seized Sghur and led him off as a captive; but they were unable to catch Baibars since his horse was fine. He fled to Egypt. When he reached Egypt, the [current] sultan of Egypt died and they made Baibars the sultan of Egypt. When the king of the Armenians learned about it, he called [Baibars] a dog and a servant, did not make peace but remained hostile and unreconciled, knowing that his father, the paron [g354] was alive and that his princes were united.
[17] The sultan, learning the view of the king of the Armenians, sent many cavalry against the land of the Armenians via the Mar'i road while he himself went and waited at Xarxe'. He commanded his troops that if they were able to enter the country they should mercilessly kill Christians, pull down the churches, and burn the buildings in city and village and remain in the country for fifteen days taking captive Christian women and children. And that is what they did.
Now as soon as the king of the Armenians learned about the coming of the Turks against his country, he assembled his troops and gave command of it to his sons, the crown princes paron Lewon and T'oros. Meanwhile he himself, with few troops, went to the T'at'ars who were encamped between Ablstin and Kokson. He remained there some days, not knowing about the dissension in his troops. When he had persuaded the chief of the T'at'ars to come and help his forces, he himself went two or three days in advance of them and then he heard [the news about] the coming of the Turks and the fragmentation of his duplicitous troops, for they had given his sons, the crown princes, into the hands of the impious wolves while they themselves fled to their stronghold, [and he heard] how his sons, the handsome paron T'oros, had been struck through [while seated] on his horse; and how many troops of the Turks had seized paron Lewon and taken him captive to Egypt.
When the wise King Het'um heard all of this, his heart broke from the extreme, impossible sorrow which suddenly gripped it, and he was unable to raise it up. So he went to the blessed and renowned congregation of monks at Akants' retreat where he was somewhat comforted by the brothers of the holy order. [Het'um] remained there for a few days until the Turks had left the country; for the impious Turkish troops executed all the orders [g356] of the sultan. They burned the city of Sis, which is the seat of the king of the Armenians; they threw wood into and burned the praiseworthy great church in Sis; and they pulled down the tombs of the kings. They killed many Christians and captured many from the country and the villages.
After some days the force of Turks, loaded down with much treasure and loot, returned to their own land, leaving the land of the Armenians half ruined. Once those who had taken paron Lewon knew for certain that he was the king's son, they took him with joy to the sultan who was delighted to see him but was extremely sad at T'oros' death and very angry at the killers. The killers said: "We did not know that he was the king's son for he killed and wounded many of us and when we tried [to seize him] we killed him."
After this the sultan spoke with Lewon, saying: "Your father called me 'servant' and did not establish friendship. Who is the servant now, you or I?" He arrogantly said this and many other things to the king's son, then he greatly honored him and showed him affection and comforted him, saying not to fear anything but to stay happy for some days and then he would return him to his father, the king of the Armenians. Having said this, Sultan Baibars sent paron Lewon to Egypt.
For the moment the pious King Het'um took no heed of all the disasters which had transpired due to the deceit and duplicity of the princes, gaining their good will with a happy heart and having by him other small sons and daughters he took comfort in them, false comfort, to gain the good will of the princes and to learn their deceitful thoughts. Those of the princes who wrote [to Het'um] about [g358] the loss of his sons bound [the letter] in black and sent it to the king. The king wrote a reply, bound the letter with red and sent it thus. Only tongue and hand moved to do this, only [the king] and God knew [the state of] his heart, just how full of fire it was. For he no longer saw his good looking, blooming sons before him, neither at night nor in the morning not eating and drinking at meals. In his mind he imagined the hapless calamities of his handsome sons: T'oros with handsome form and attractive figure from whom he had been separated by the sword of the merciless bloodthirsty infidels; and Lewon in fear and distress in captivity to the foreigners. All of this the pious king of the Armenians pondered, burning with an unbelievable fire, his insides twisted with love for the sons he did not see. He rolled upon the ground with unconsolable mourning, but he did this secretly, in private, so that the envious, master-killing princes would not learn of it and rejoice in the king's sorrow. This occurred in the last months of summer, at the time of the feast of the blessed Mother of God.
[18] King Het'um, restraining his burning heart, waited until the feast of the blessed Apostles, concealing his sorrow from his cruel princes. Then he ordered all the princes near and far summoned to him under the pretext of [participating in the ceremony of] the blessing of the water in the city of Msis. And all the princes in his kingdom assembled in the city of Msis. When the king learned of the arrival of all the princes, he ordered them to come and sit before him. After they all came in and sat, the king ordered his attendants to call anyone missing. They replied: "Blessed king, all [g360] of them are now before you." But the king insisted that the absent princes and parons be summoned. However, the king's attendants were unable to fathom the king's intention. Then the princes said to the king: "Those you ordered summoned are all here and no one is absent."
Thereupon the king, his heart enraged, looked about here and there and asked in a half tone, his eyes full of tears: "If everyone is here, where are Lewon and T'oros?" The princes began to beat their heads unconsolably and with great lamentation, sighing and moaning, recalling the handsome son of the king in captivity among the foreigners, and the other son who had died by the sword of the impious. Not only the princes were sobbing and weeping so, but also the priests and vardapets of the church, lamenting like the prophet Jeremiah who said: "Who will make of my head a container of waters, and my eyes into springs of tears, so that seated I bewail the misfortunes of my congregation?" Thus did the vardapets, priests, and princes weep and there was no one among them to comfort them, rather they were in deep mourning with broken hearts.
The high-minded, high-souled king Het'um restrained his own broken heart and consoled the hearts of the princes, priests and vardapets saying: "All of you princes, vardapets and priests know that the battle of Vardanants' occurred on behalf of the Christians and that such a multitude of cavalry was martyred for the Christians and became worthy of heavenly crowns, just as my son T'oros battled for the Christians and was [g362] martyred for them. He has mingled with the band of the blessed Vardaneans and become worthy of their same haloes. Hereafter no longer mourn him but rather envy him, for Christ loved him and made him worthy of His saint's halo. He mixed his blood with the blood of the Martyrs, inheriting with them the Kingdom of Heaven which is in Jesus Christ. Lewon, my eldest son, is in captivity among the foreigners in Egypt. It is better for me that Lewon be in captivity and that T'oros gave his blood for the Christians than that I should rule over the country with your blood and sorrow, for you would not know such a misfortune would befall the country of the Armenians." The king said this and many other words of comfort and caused the princes to cease weeping and mourning. Then the well-disposed and good-willed princes of the king and the priests and vardapets and bishops who had assembled by the king for the feast of the blessed Resurrection were consoled by the king over the mourning for the royal sons. They, in their turn, spoke many words of comfort and restored the king's heart. Together they held the feast of the blessed Resurrection with joy, consoling the king. But the king was unable to stop his heart from sobs and sighs because of his son Lewon who was a captive in Egypt and he had not found the means of freeing him. Then the king again called the princes before him and asked them what strategem he should employ to free his son Lewon.
[19] The princes, at a loss, blamed the king, saying: "[The area of] Shih was part of our [kingdom] and because of Shih you have lost your sons and blamed us for it. Would it not have been better that this one village not be ours than [g364] that we be the story and joke of the entire world?" Now the king ordered the princes to silence their useless words and hear from him what had been conveyed to him secretly by the Armenian princes who were at the court of Abagha-Khan, [namely] that during this period Tachik amirs were the advisors and bidik'ch'ik of the khan, secretly friendly to the Egyptians and inimical toward the king of the Armenians and all Christians. The Tachik amirs and caretakers of the khan had secretly written to the sultan of Egypt saying: "In friendship try to acquire one village from the king of the Armenians and that will be enough to ruin him and his country. We will speak to the khan and see to it that [he believes] that the king of the Armenians is ruining his entire domain and will send cavalry to destroy them all."
The pious king of the Armenians knew all about this from secret letters sent from the Armenian princes in the east, who were friendly and very loving toward his kingdom. For the Armenian princes had written words of comfort to pious King Het'um over his sons and country and this at the end: "Oh blessed king, from what we have heard it is better for you that one of your sons died for Christianity and the other was taken captive than that your reign be ended and your country and Christians be destroyed, for [the outcome] embarrassed the Tachik dogs who kept telling the khan daily that the king of the Armenians and the sultan of Egypt were united and of the same counsel [g366]. We Armenian princes swore in the khan's presence that 'the Tachiks are false, do not believe them', then they heard [about Het'um's misfortune] and the Tachiks were shamed while the khan's heart has improved regarding you. Had it been that you were deceived and if they heard that even one empty building had been given, not to mention the village of Shih as [the sultan] wanted, at that point your entire kingdom would have been finished and we would have been shamed." When the princes heard all of this from the king, they all were astonished and begged his pardon for not knowing all the factors in the affair.
After this the king of the Armenians, seeking the advice of the princes, sent emissaries to the sultan of Egypt inquiring about his son Lewon, wondering what the sultan's will was and what he should give to buy back his son. Baibars, sultan of Egypt, though he was a Tachik, nonetheless had a good heart and humility. He kept the king's son, Lewon, very well with provisions and all sorts of goods. When he heard about the arrival of the ambassadors, he rejoiced and said: "We ought to send Lewon to his father and his kingdom. A dear comrade of mine is a prisoner with the T'at'ars. Get him back. If you request him from the T'at'ars they will not harm you. Bring [my friend] who is named Sghur and take Lewon." Hearing this [g368] from the ambassadors, the king of the Armenians forthwith amassed much treasure and precious goods and went east to Abagha-Khan. He told [Abagha] all the complaints which the Egyptian had with him and his country. He also mentioned the sultan's requests concerning his servant Sghur, but he was unable to secure his release at the time. [Het'um] came back [to Cilicia] and then sent his brother's son [east]; and with God's aid [the nephew] went and brought the captive Sghur to our country.
[20] Now during these days the sultan of Egypt came against the city of Antioch which he took and demolished to its foundations, mercilessly destroying and enslaving to the point that it is impossible to relate what the foreigners did to the believers in Christ. Once the king sent [word] to the sultan that Sghur had been retrieved, [the sultan] rejoiced exceedingly and he retrieved Lewon immediately with numerous gifts. And [the Armenians] sent Sghur on his way with numerous gifts. Now when paron Lewon arrived, there was immense joy for the king and the princes of the land as well as for the monks and all Christians throughout the country.
With the death of the great patriarch of the Armenians, the land of the Armenians had been without a patriarch for one year. For the king had been in despair over his sons and no one else could concern himself [about the kat'oghikosate] without the king. But then, the king was pressed by the princes, vardapets and bishops who said that it was improper for the country of the Armenians to be without a patriarch and kat'oghikos. The king, so pressed, held a great assembly of bishops, priests, and vardapets and made a selection from them. He found a man after his own heart, extremely wise and virtuous with a meek and mild disposition, a man named Yakob, a full vardapet. Then with great ceremony he had him consecrated kat'oghikos and seated him on the throne [g370] of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. May Christ God preserve him holy, pure, without blemish, with correct faith and orthodox confession until deep old age to shepherd the new congregation of those who believe in the Holy Trinity.
When paron Lewon arrived, freed from captivity, the pious and blessed King Het'um immediately went to meet him. [Het'um] gave into the hand of his son, paron Lewon, the entire paronut'iwn of his kingdom. He himself retired to solitude, loving monasteries and retreats. After some days a wound suddenly appeared on his body and it bothered him greatly. He remained with his fasts and prayers and then became a monk, receiving the name Makar. After a few days, the blessed, Christ-crowned, pious king Het'um was translated to Christ. He was buried with great ceremony in the blessed and renowned monastery called Drazerk. May the Lord God glorify his soul together with the blessed kings and crown him with the same crowns that they were worthy of and glorify him with the same glory and make him worthy of the heavenly mansions where the saints reside.
Following the death of the pious king of the Armenians, the king of the Georgians, Dawit', died. I think his death occurred in the same month. During their lifetimes both were greatly loved and praiseworthy in appearance and physical beauty. May they also be so before the heavenly king, Christ our God [g372].
[21] Earlier we wrote about the seven khan's sons. Three of them were killed, two submitted, one they put in prison on an island in the salt sea. One of [the sons] who submitted, named Teguder, grew very strong in cavalry, gold treasures and all sorts of goods. Three hundred camels and one hundred fifty wagons bore his treasure and mal (belongings), not to mention his countless herds of horses and flocks. He also had forty thousand renowned and very warlike cavalry who were fearless everywhere. Holding the roads at night, they destroyed the caravans in the country through robbery. And they took all the goods from the caravans going from city to city. Similarly at night in the small villages they beat [the villagers], taking all the goods and quadrupeds and mercilessly shot people with arrows. They also went to the monasteries and hanged the officiating priests upside down, pouring a mixture of salt and soot into their noses and saying: "Bring a sea of wine and a mountain of meat." They did this in many places. For they made the priests hold the tail of a dog in their mouths, in the monasteries, if the unfortunate ones did not have wine. They swore: "Either give us wine to drink and as much as we want to take along, as we have written, or take the dog's tail this way."
Thus were the eastern monasteries convulsed by the lawless (yanasax, "non-yasax") chief. Learning about this, the princes of the Armenians and Georgians united and went to Abagha-Khan. They threw down their swords before the khan and said: "Either give Teguder and his cavalry into our hands or kill us in front of you so we do not have to see such insults [g374] as they inflict on our churches and clergy." Similarly, other T'at'ar troops complained, saying: "Teguder's troops beat us in our camps and take our horses." The khan himself complained in the presence of the Armenian and Georgian princes and his own T'at'ar chiefs: "Teguder has grown mighty and rich, does not heed us, does not obey our law (asax), and wants to wreck his country lawlessly with his troops."
Then Abagha-Khan ordered Siramun, about whom we wrote earlier, the man styled "pillar of gold", to take one hundred thousand T'at'ar cavalry, and he gave Siramun the khan's own insignia. He also ordered the Armenian and Georgian troops to go against Teguder with all their forces, to crush him mercilessly, take all of his belongings and bring him, Teguder, alive to [the khan]. Hearing this, the Armenian and Georgian troops were delighted [at the prospects] of freeing their country from the torments of Teguder. So they bravely organized themselves for war as did Chormaghun's son Siramun who was extremely philo-Christian. Taking the khan's insignia with one hundred thousand troops, [Siramun] unexpectedly came against Teguder, mercilessly destroyed his troops, took all his treasures, [captured Teguder] himself with seven hundred men, and brought them to the khan. When the khan saw [Teguder] he ridiculed him. He gave him a woman, a knife with the tip cut off and, with ten men as keepers, sent him off to [prison] in the middle of the Salt Sea [Lake Urmiah] which is in the district of Her and Zarawand. Thus were the words of the prophet fulfilled: "A man was in honor, and understood it not" [g376].
Paron Lewon, son of the king of the Armenians, went before Abagha-Khan and told him about the king's death. [Lewon] was greatly liked and honored by the khan; and so, receiving an order concerning ruling in his father's place, he turned around and came back to his own country. Then he held an assembly of the great princes, bishops, priests, and vardapets in the great, charming, and renowned city of Tarsus. He also summoned the great patriarch of the Armenians, Lord Yakob. He commanded that they gather in the great, glorious, and blessed church of st. Sophia, conduct vigils and prayers and bless him as king. This is what they did, by the will of the heavenly king, Christ. They blessed and anointed with holy oil Lewon, the king's son, as king of all the Armenians. There was rejoicing and great happiness throughout all the lands of the Armenians and renewal and new happiness among the R'ubinean azg.
[Inserted from the Venice manuscript:]
[22] [In 720 of the Armenian Era (A.D. 1271) [two] vardapets of the Armenians, Vardan [Arewelts'i] and Kirakos [Gandzakets'i] were translated to Christ. May their holy prayers be upon us and all the land.]
The king's son, King Lewon himself, was extermely perceptive and intelligent from his childhood on. He recognized all his friends and those ill-disposed toward himself but did not reveal it. Rather he kept silent until he chose to bring forth what he had conceived in pain. For among the princes of his kingdom were some of Greek ("Roman") nationality who were full of greatness, treasures, and all sorts of belongings. After three years of his rule, they plotted evil against [g378] the kingdom. And they wished to rub out the kingship of the Armenians and rule themselves, the filthy apostate nation of the Greeks, false Christians and true Chalcedonians. For they had in mind to pull down the monasteries and to preserve those accepting their heresy and to kill those who did not. Nor were they alone in these doings, since they had tricked vardapets and priests of the Armenians and some wavering princes to enter the treachery and to oppress the Armenians together. But the providence of God the Creator did not ignore the prayers of his servants, rather he preserved Lewon, king of the Armenians, born of a king, together with his entire kingdom steadfast and untouched by the evils they had plotted. Those who had plotted evil fell into the pit they themselves had dug. For the Christ-crowned King Lewon through his wisdom seized some of the evil-minded people and found a written document with the names of those united in the wicked plot, both Armenian and Greek. Sending forth his own trusted attendants, he apprehended them. Some he killed, some he put into prison from which there was no escape, some he took to the east, to Abaga-Khan where the yasax was implemented [on them]. And they gave all the other enemies into his hands and he ordered some kept and some killed.
Thus Lewon, king of the Armenians, grew stronger and triumphed over his enemies with the aid of Christ, the heavenly king. Through the prayers of all the saints may Christ God keep the kingship of Lewon, king of the Armenians with his goodly sons victorious over all his enemies. May Christ God grant him a long life for his Church.
In these days the venerable and blessed relics of Nerse's the Great, patriarch of the Armenians, were discovered [g380] in their own resting place. Through his holy prayers may Christ God grant peace to the entire land. Glory to Him, forever. Amen.
The history of forty-four years of the T'at'ars' activities is completed; but it is brief, and not all.
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