Thoros II of Armenia
Encyclopedia
Toros II the Great also Thoros II, (unknown – February 6, 1169) was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1144/1145-1169).
Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was taken captive and imprisoned in Constantinople
in 1137 after the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, during his campaign against Cilicia
and the Principality of Antioch
, successfully had laid siege to Gaban and Vahka (today Feke in Turkey
). All Cilicia remained under Byzantine
rule for eight years.
Unlike his father and brother, Thoros survived his incarceration in Constantinople and was able to escape in 1143. Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many Greek
garrisons. He rallied around him the Armenians
in the eastern parts of Cilicia and after a persistent and relentless pursuit of the Greeks, he successfully ousted the Byzantine garrisons from Pardzerpert
(now Andırın in Turkey), Vahka, Sis
(today Kozan in Turkey), Anazarbus
, Adana
, Mamistra and eventually Tarsus
. His victories were aided by the lack of Muslim
attacks in Cilicia and from the setbacks the Greeks and the Crusaders suffered on the heels of the loss of Edessa.
Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, unhappy with Thoros’s progress in the areas still claimed by the Byzantine Empire
, sought peaceful means to settle his conflict with Thoros, but his attempts bore him no fruits. The recovery before 1150 of the Taurus fortresses by Thoros had not seriously affected Greek power, but his conquest of Mamistra in 1151 and the rest of Cilicia in 1152 had necessitated a great expedition. As a result, during the course of the next 20 years there were no less than three separate military campaigns launched by the emperor against Thoros, but each campaign was only able to produce a limited success.
Thoros’s accomplishments during his reign placed Armenian Cilicia on a firm footing.
.
In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was made prisoner by Baldwin of Marash who sent him off to captivity in Antioch
. In his absence, his three sons quarreled; the eldest, Constantine, was eventually captured and blinded by his brothers. After two months of confinement, Leo I obtained his liberty by consenting to harsh terms.
In the early summer of 1137, Emperor John II Comnenus came to Cilicia with a full force on his way to take Antioch; his army successively retook Seleucia
, Korikos, Tarsus, Mamistra, Adana, Tel Hamdoun (now Toprakkale in Turkey) and Anazarbus. Leo I took refuge in the Taurus Mountains
, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror; Thoros and his youngest brother, Roupen were also taken captive together with their father. They were dragged away to Constantinople, where Leo I died in imprisonment in 1141. Roupen, after being blinded, was assassinated by the Greeks.
, which was then under Byzantine suzerainty, aboard a Venetian
vessel and then found his way to Antioch. He took refuge at the Court of his cousin, Count Joscelin II of Edessa. From there, in the company of a few trusted comrades, he was assisted by a Syrian
priest, who led them by night to a safe shelter by the river Pyramus (now Ceyhan River in Turkey).
They then crossed the Amanus range
(now Nur Mountains in Turkey) and reached the mountainous Armenian strongholds in the Taurus Mountains where Thoros began gathering a new following. He recaptured the family stronghold of Vahka and two of his brothers, Stephen
and Mleh joined him. He made friends with a neighboring Frankish lord, Simon of Raban, whose daughter he married.
In the meantime, the Hethumids
, who were pro-Byzantine sympathizers, did not overlook any opportunity for engaging in an anti-Roupenian armed conflict. Andronicus Comnenus’s mission was such an opportunity but it was not an occasion for glory: many of their numbers were killed by Thoros’s aggressive strategy, and many more were taken into captivity. Among the captives were the two illustrious members, Oshin II of Lampron and his son Hethum. Oshin II was eventually released for a ransom but his son was kept as hostage; but Thoros arranged the marriage of his daughter to Hethum and returned half the ransom money to the groom’s father Oshin II of Lampron.
, Masud I, to attack Thoros and demand his submission to the Sultan’s suzerainty. However, the ensuing Seljuk attack, which in fact was provoked by an Armenian raid into Seljuk lands in Cappadocia
in the winter of 1154, was routed successfully by Thoros in collaboration with a contingent of the Knights Templar
.
Then the emperor turned to Antioch for help; he offered to recognize the new Prince, Raynald of Châtillon
, if the Franks of Antioch would fight for him against Thoros; he also promised a money-subsidy if the work were properly done. Raynald willingly complied as the Armenians had advanced into the district of Alexandretta (now İskenderun in Turkey) which the Franks claimed as part of the Principality of Antioch.
After a short battle near Alexendretta, Raynald drove the Armenian back into Cilicia; and he presented the re-conquered country to the Knights Templar. Other view is that after the battle Raynald was forced to return home, covered with humiliation; and later on, Thoros voluntarily surrendered to the brethren the fortresses in question, and the Knights in turn took oath “to assist the Armenians on all occasions where they needed help.” In 1156, the Jacobites
were allowed to build a new cathedral
in Antioch, at whose dedication the Princess Constance and Thoros assisted.
Having secured the land that he wanted, Raynald demanded his subsidies from the Emperor who refused them, pointing out that the main task had yet to be done. Raynald quickly sided with Thoros and conspired to attack Cyprus; and the Armenians attacked the few remaining Byzantine fortresses in Cilicia.
s as well as shops and private houses. The corps were burnt; the herd
s were rounded up, together with all the population, and driven down to the coast.
The nightmare lasted about three weeks; then, on the rumor of an imperial fleet in the offing, Raynald gave the order for re-embarkation. The ships were loaded up with booty; and every Cypriot was forced to ransom himself.
In the meantime, Thoros quickly established a friendly rapport with Kilij Arslan II
, the new Seljuk sultan of Iconium; and in 1158 a peace treaty was concluded.
of horsemen and Seleucian troops, he launched a surprise attack on Thoros. Thoros was at Tarsus, suspecting nothing, when suddenly, one day in late October, a Latin pilgrim whom he had entertained came rushing back to his Court to tell him that he had seen Imperial troops only a day’s march away. Thoros collected his family, his intimate friends and his treasure and fled at once to the mountains.
Next day the Emperor Manuel entered the Cilician plain; within a fortnight all the Cilician cities as far as Anazarbus were in his power. But Thoros himself still eluded him: while Byzantine detachments scoured the valleys he fled from hill-top to hill-top and at last found refuge on a crag called Dadjog, near the sources of the river Cydnus; only his two most trusted servants knew where he lay hidden. Thus much of Cilicia was restored back to Byzantine control, but Thoros still held the mountainous regions in the north.
Eventually, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem
intervened and successfully brokered a peace treaty between the Emperor and Thoros: Thoros had to walk barefoot and bareheaded to the camp of the emperor; there he prostrated himself in the dust before the imperial platform. Then pardon was accorded to him for his transgressions both in Cilicia and Cyprus, and still allowed to hold partial possession in Cilicia.
Thoros, who had his own reasons for desiring Stephen’s murder, accused of Andronicus Euphorbenus of complicity and swept down on Mamistra, Anazarbus and Vahka, surprising and murdering the Greek garrisons. Eventually, reconciliation with the emperor was negotiated through the mediation of King Amalric I of Jerusalem
: Andronicus Euphorbenus was recalled and replaced by Konstantinos Kalamanos
as the new Byzantine governor in Tarsus.
knew that King Amalric I had left for Egypt
, he struck at the Principality of Antioch and laid siege to the key-fortress of Harenc. Prince Bohemond III of Antioch called upon Count Raymond III of Tripoli
, Thoros and Konstantinos Kalamanos to come to his rescue. At the news of their coming, Nur ed-Din raised the siege; as he retired, Bohemond decided to follow in pursuit. The armies made contact on 10 August, near Artah
. Ignoring a warning from Thoros, Bohemond attacked at once, and when the Moslems feigned flight rushed headlong after them, only to fall into an ambush. Thoros and his brother, Mleh who had been more cautious, escaped from the battlefield.
Around that time (in 1164 or in 1167) Thoros visited Jerusalem and suggested the colonization of a large number of Armenians; but the Latin prelates forced King Amalric I to refuse the offer by their insistence that they should pay the dime (a special tax).
Thoros, weary after nearly quarter of a century of rule and warfare, abdicated in favor of his young son Roupen, who was placed under the guardianship of Thoros’s father-in-law, the Regent Thomas. After his abdication, Thoros became a monk.
He died in 1169. He was buried in the monastery of Drazark.
# (2) c. 1164 An unnamed daughter of the future Regent Thomas
Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was taken captive and imprisoned in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1137 after the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, during his campaign against Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and the Principality of Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
, successfully had laid siege to Gaban and Vahka (today Feke in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). All Cilicia remained under Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
rule for eight years.
Unlike his father and brother, Thoros survived his incarceration in Constantinople and was able to escape in 1143. Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many Greek
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
garrisons. He rallied around him the Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in the eastern parts of Cilicia and after a persistent and relentless pursuit of the Greeks, he successfully ousted the Byzantine garrisons from Pardzerpert
Andirin
Andırın is a town and district of Kahramanmaraş Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.-External links:*...
(now Andırın in Turkey), Vahka, Sis
Kozan, Adana
Kozan is a city in Adana Province, Turkey, 68 km north of the city of Adana, in the northern section of the Çukurova plain. The city is the capital of Kozan district. The Kilgen Stream, a tributary of the Ceyhan River , flows through Kozan crossing the plain south into the Mediterranean Sea....
(today Kozan in Turkey), Anazarbus
Anazarbus
Anazarbus in Ancient Cilicia was an ancient Cilician city, situated in Anatolia in modern Turkey, in the present Çukurova about 15 km west of the main stream of the present Ceyhan River and near its tributary the Sempas Su.A lofty isolated ridge formed its acropolis...
, Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, Mamistra and eventually Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
. His victories were aided by the lack of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
attacks in Cilicia and from the setbacks the Greeks and the Crusaders suffered on the heels of the loss of Edessa.
Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, unhappy with Thoros’s progress in the areas still claimed by the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, sought peaceful means to settle his conflict with Thoros, but his attempts bore him no fruits. The recovery before 1150 of the Taurus fortresses by Thoros had not seriously affected Greek power, but his conquest of Mamistra in 1151 and the rest of Cilicia in 1152 had necessitated a great expedition. As a result, during the course of the next 20 years there were no less than three separate military campaigns launched by the emperor against Thoros, but each campaign was only able to produce a limited success.
Thoros’s accomplishments during his reign placed Armenian Cilicia on a firm footing.
His early years
Thoros was the second son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia. The name and the origin of his mother are not known with certainty. It is possible that she was a daughter of Count Hugh I of Rethel, or she may have been the daughter of Gabriel of MeliteneGabriel of Melitene
Gabriel of Melitene was the ruler of Melitene . Along with Thoros of Edessa, Gabriel was a former officer of Philaretos Brachamios. Philaretos had installed Gabriel as the ruler of Melitene. Following the death of Philaretos in 1086 Melitene became completely independent of Byzantine control with...
.
In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was made prisoner by Baldwin of Marash who sent him off to captivity in Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
. In his absence, his three sons quarreled; the eldest, Constantine, was eventually captured and blinded by his brothers. After two months of confinement, Leo I obtained his liberty by consenting to harsh terms.
In the early summer of 1137, Emperor John II Comnenus came to Cilicia with a full force on his way to take Antioch; his army successively retook Seleucia
Seleucia (Pamphylia)
Seleucia – also transliterated as Seleukeia or Seleukheia – was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Pamphylia, in Anatolia, approximately 15 km northeast of Side; the site is currently about 1k north of the village of Bucakşeyhler , approximately 12 km northeast of...
, Korikos, Tarsus, Mamistra, Adana, Tel Hamdoun (now Toprakkale in Turkey) and Anazarbus. Leo I took refuge in the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror; Thoros and his youngest brother, Roupen were also taken captive together with their father. They were dragged away to Constantinople, where Leo I died in imprisonment in 1141. Roupen, after being blinded, was assassinated by the Greeks.
The liberation of Armenian Cilicia
Thoros escaped from Constantinople about the year 1143; he fled to the island of CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, which was then under Byzantine suzerainty, aboard a Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
vessel and then found his way to Antioch. He took refuge at the Court of his cousin, Count Joscelin II of Edessa. From there, in the company of a few trusted comrades, he was assisted by a Syrian
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
priest, who led them by night to a safe shelter by the river Pyramus (now Ceyhan River in Turkey).
They then crossed the Amanus range
Nur Mountains
The Nur Mountains , also known as Gâvur Mountains , the ancient Amanus , is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey, which runs roughly parallel to the Gulf of İskenderun....
(now Nur Mountains in Turkey) and reached the mountainous Armenian strongholds in the Taurus Mountains where Thoros began gathering a new following. He recaptured the family stronghold of Vahka and two of his brothers, Stephen
Stephen of Armenia
Stephen of Armenia was the Marshal of Armenia, the son of Leo I, Prince of Armenia and Beatrice de Rethel.His father made him Marshal in 1138, due to the invasion of John II Comnenus, and escaped capture by sheltering in Edessa...
and Mleh joined him. He made friends with a neighboring Frankish lord, Simon of Raban, whose daughter he married.
The first Byzantine attack against Cilicia
In 1151, while the Byzantines were distracted by the Moslem attack on Turbessel, Thoros swept down into the Cilician plain and defeated and slew the Byzantine governor, Thomas, at the gates of Mamistra. Emperor Manuel I at once sent his cousin Andronicus Comnenus with an army to recover the territory lost to Thoros. But Thoros was well prepared for the unsuspecting Greeks and consequently won a decisive victory: as Andronicus Comnenus moved up to besiege Thoros at Mamistra, the Armenians made a sudden sortie and caught him unawares. His army was routed and he fled back in disgrace to Constantinople.In the meantime, the Hethumids
Hethumids
The Hethumids , also known as the House of Lampron , were the rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1373...
, who were pro-Byzantine sympathizers, did not overlook any opportunity for engaging in an anti-Roupenian armed conflict. Andronicus Comnenus’s mission was such an opportunity but it was not an occasion for glory: many of their numbers were killed by Thoros’s aggressive strategy, and many more were taken into captivity. Among the captives were the two illustrious members, Oshin II of Lampron and his son Hethum. Oshin II was eventually released for a ransom but his son was kept as hostage; but Thoros arranged the marriage of his daughter to Hethum and returned half the ransom money to the groom’s father Oshin II of Lampron.
Wars with the Seldjuks and Antioch
Emperor Manuel I Comnenus persuaded the Seljuk Sultan of IconiumSultanate of Rûm
The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
, Masud I, to attack Thoros and demand his submission to the Sultan’s suzerainty. However, the ensuing Seljuk attack, which in fact was provoked by an Armenian raid into Seljuk lands in Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
in the winter of 1154, was routed successfully by Thoros in collaboration with a contingent of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
.
Then the emperor turned to Antioch for help; he offered to recognize the new Prince, Raynald of Châtillon
Raynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...
, if the Franks of Antioch would fight for him against Thoros; he also promised a money-subsidy if the work were properly done. Raynald willingly complied as the Armenians had advanced into the district of Alexandretta (now İskenderun in Turkey) which the Franks claimed as part of the Principality of Antioch.
After a short battle near Alexendretta, Raynald drove the Armenian back into Cilicia; and he presented the re-conquered country to the Knights Templar. Other view is that after the battle Raynald was forced to return home, covered with humiliation; and later on, Thoros voluntarily surrendered to the brethren the fortresses in question, and the Knights in turn took oath “to assist the Armenians on all occasions where they needed help.” In 1156, the Jacobites
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, located in Kerala, India. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, currently Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, as its supreme head. It functions as a largely autonomous archdiocese within the church, under the authority...
were allowed to build a new cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in Antioch, at whose dedication the Princess Constance and Thoros assisted.
Having secured the land that he wanted, Raynald demanded his subsidies from the Emperor who refused them, pointing out that the main task had yet to be done. Raynald quickly sided with Thoros and conspired to attack Cyprus; and the Armenians attacked the few remaining Byzantine fortresses in Cilicia.
The sack of Cyprus
In the spring of 1156, Raynald of Châtillon and Thoros made a sudden landing on Cyprus. Thoros and Prince Raynald both conducted widespread plundering of the island: the Franks and Armenians marched up and down the island robbing and pillaging every building that they saw, churches and conventConvent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
s as well as shops and private houses. The corps were burnt; the herd
Herd
Herd refers to a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic, and also to the form of collective animal behavior associated with this or as a verb, to herd, to its control by another species such as humans or dogs.The term herd is generally applied to mammals,...
s were rounded up, together with all the population, and driven down to the coast.
The nightmare lasted about three weeks; then, on the rumor of an imperial fleet in the offing, Raynald gave the order for re-embarkation. The ships were loaded up with booty; and every Cypriot was forced to ransom himself.
In the meantime, Thoros quickly established a friendly rapport with Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1156 until his death in 1192.As Arnold of Lübeck reports in his Chronica Slavorum, he was present at the meeting of Henry the Lion with Kilij-Arslan during the former's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1172...
, the new Seljuk sultan of Iconium; and in 1158 a peace treaty was concluded.
The second Byzantine attack against Cilicia
In the summer of 1158, Manuel I Comnenus launched his second assault on Thoros; at the head of an army, he marched down the usual routes leading to Seleucia. There, with a small rapid deployment forceRapid Deployment Force
A rapid deployment force is a military formation capable of quick deployment of its forces. Such forces typically consist of elite military units and may receive priority in equipment and training to prepare them for their mission....
of horsemen and Seleucian troops, he launched a surprise attack on Thoros. Thoros was at Tarsus, suspecting nothing, when suddenly, one day in late October, a Latin pilgrim whom he had entertained came rushing back to his Court to tell him that he had seen Imperial troops only a day’s march away. Thoros collected his family, his intimate friends and his treasure and fled at once to the mountains.
Next day the Emperor Manuel entered the Cilician plain; within a fortnight all the Cilician cities as far as Anazarbus were in his power. But Thoros himself still eluded him: while Byzantine detachments scoured the valleys he fled from hill-top to hill-top and at last found refuge on a crag called Dadjog, near the sources of the river Cydnus; only his two most trusted servants knew where he lay hidden. Thus much of Cilicia was restored back to Byzantine control, but Thoros still held the mountainous regions in the north.
Eventually, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...
intervened and successfully brokered a peace treaty between the Emperor and Thoros: Thoros had to walk barefoot and bareheaded to the camp of the emperor; there he prostrated himself in the dust before the imperial platform. Then pardon was accorded to him for his transgressions both in Cilicia and Cyprus, and still allowed to hold partial possession in Cilicia.
The murder of his brother
Thoros’s brother, Stephen, ignoring Thoros’s official pledges to Manuel, with the help of a few of his supporters continued attacking Greek garrisons thus giving Andronicus Euphorbenus, the Byzantine governor stationed in Tarsus, the opportunity to sabotage the treaty. Stephen was invited to a banquet held in the governor’s residence where he was seized upon arrival, and his mutilated corpse was flung over the gates of Tarsus.Thoros, who had his own reasons for desiring Stephen’s murder, accused of Andronicus Euphorbenus of complicity and swept down on Mamistra, Anazarbus and Vahka, surprising and murdering the Greek garrisons. Eventually, reconciliation with the emperor was negotiated through the mediation of King Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric I of Jerusalem
Amalric I of Jerusalem was King of Jerusalem 1163–1174, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. Amalric was the second son of Melisende of Jerusalem and Fulk of Jerusalem...
: Andronicus Euphorbenus was recalled and replaced by Konstantinos Kalamanos
Konstantinos Kalamanos
Constantine Kalamanos or Coloman was a Byzantine governor of Cilicia.Constantine was the elder son of Boris Kalamanos and his wife, Anna Doukaina...
as the new Byzantine governor in Tarsus.
In alliance with the crusaders
In 1164, when Nur ed-Din, the emir of AleppoAleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
knew that King Amalric I had left for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, he struck at the Principality of Antioch and laid siege to the key-fortress of Harenc. Prince Bohemond III of Antioch called upon Count Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...
, Thoros and Konstantinos Kalamanos to come to his rescue. At the news of their coming, Nur ed-Din raised the siege; as he retired, Bohemond decided to follow in pursuit. The armies made contact on 10 August, near Artah
Battle of Harim
The Battle of Harim was fought on 12 August 1164 between the forces of Nur ad-Din Zangi and a combined army from the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the Byzantine Empire and Armenia...
. Ignoring a warning from Thoros, Bohemond attacked at once, and when the Moslems feigned flight rushed headlong after them, only to fall into an ambush. Thoros and his brother, Mleh who had been more cautious, escaped from the battlefield.
Around that time (in 1164 or in 1167) Thoros visited Jerusalem and suggested the colonization of a large number of Armenians; but the Latin prelates forced King Amalric I to refuse the offer by their insistence that they should pay the dime (a special tax).
The third Byzantine attack against Cilicia
Intermittent fighting erupted everywhere, harassing the Greek forces throughout Cilicia. In 1168, Emperor Manuel I, obsessed with his dilemma with Thoros, marched his armies into Cilicia for the third time under the command of Konstantinos Kalamanos. But Konstantinos Kalamanos was able to produce only limited successes which in the end induced Byzantium to renounce its right of possession of the whole of Cilicia so long as it had access to the ports of the Gulf of Alexandretta. Byzantium also disclaimed all rights to direct government of Cilicia and accepted in settlement only Thoros’s recognition of Byzantine suzerainty.His last years
Thoros quarreled with his brother Mleh who attempting to assassinate him fled to Nur ed-Din and became a Moslim.Thoros, weary after nearly quarter of a century of rule and warfare, abdicated in favor of his young son Roupen, who was placed under the guardianship of Thoros’s father-in-law, the Regent Thomas. After his abdication, Thoros became a monk.
He died in 1169. He was buried in the monastery of Drazark.
Marriages and children
# (1) c. 1149 An unnamed daughter of Simon of Raban (or, according to other views, Isabelle, daughter of Count Joscelin II of Edessa)- Rita (c. 1150 – after 1168/1169), the wife of Hethum III of Lampron
- unnamed daughter, the wife of Isaac Ducas ComnenusIsaac Komnenos of CyprusIsaac Komnenos or Comnenus , was the ruler of Cyprus from 1184 to 1191, before Richard I's conquest during the Third Crusade.-Family:He was a minor member of the Komnenos family. He was son of an unnamed Doukas Kamateros and Irene Komnene...
# (2) c. 1164 An unnamed daughter of the future Regent Thomas
- Roupen II of Cilicia (c. 1165 – Hromgla, 1170)
External links
- Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle
- The Barony of Cilician Armenia (Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 27)
Sources
- Baldwin, Marshall W.: The Latin States under Baldwin III and Amalric I, 1143–1174 (in: Setton, Kenneth M. (General Editor) – Baldwin, Marshall W. (Editor): A History of the Crusades – Volume I: The First Hundred Years; The University of Wisconsin Press, 1969, Madison, Milwaukee, and London; ISBN 978-0299048341)
- Ghazarian, Jacob G: The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393); RoutledgeCurzon (Taylor & Francis Group), 2000, Abingdon; ISBN 0-7007-1418-9
- Runciman, Steven: A History of the Crusades – Volume II.: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East: 1100–1187; Cambridge University Press, 1988, Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-06162-8