Thoros II
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Thoros II (Template:Langx; died 6 February 1169),<ref name='Runciman'>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name='Kurkjian'>Template:Cite bookTemplate:PD-notice</ref> also known as Thoros the Great,<ref name='Ghazarian'>Template:Cite book</ref> was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia<ref name='Ghazarian'/> from the Rubenid dynasty from 1144/1145<ref name="Ghazarian" /><ref name=Kurkijanpage506>Kurkjian 1958, p. 506</ref> until 1169.<ref name="Ghazarian" /><ref name=Kurkijanpage506/>
Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was kidnapped in 1137 by the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus during his campaign against Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch.<ref name='Ghazarian'/> All of Cilicia remained under Byzantine rule for eight years.<ref name=Kurkijanpage221>Kurkjian 1958, p. 221</ref>
Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many Greek garrisons.<ref>Kurkjian 1958, p. 224</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Thoros was the second son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.Template:CN
In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was arrested by Baldwin of Marash.<ref name='Runciman'/> After two months of confinement, Leo I obtained his liberty by consenting to harsh terms.<ref>Kurkjian 1958, p. 220</ref>
Leo I took refuge in the Taurus Mountains, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror;<ref name=Kurkijanpage221/> Thoros was kidnapped with his father and his youngest brother, Roupen.<ref name='Ghazarian'/> They were dragged away to Constantinople, where Leo I died in imprisonment in 1141. Roupen, after being blinded, was assassinated by the Greeks.<ref name=Kurkijanpage221/>
Lord of Armenian CiliciaEdit
The liberation of Armenian CiliciaEdit
The first Byzantine attack against CiliciaEdit
Wars with the Seljuks and AntiochEdit
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."<ref>Kurkjian 1958, p. 225</ref>
The Armenians attacked the few remaining Byzantine fortresses in Cilicia.<ref name='Ghazarian'/>
The sack of CyprusEdit
Last yearsEdit
After his abdication, he became a monk.Template:CN
He died in 1169.<ref name='Ghazarian'/> He was buried in the monastery of Drazark.Template:CN
Marriages and childrenEdit
- c. 1149Template:CN An unnamed daughter of Simon of Raban<ref name='Ghazarian'/><ref name='Runciman'/> (or, according to other views, Isabelle, daughter of Count Joscelin II of Edessa<ref>Template:Citation.</ref>)
- Rita (c. 1150 – after 1168/1169), the wife of Hethum III of LampronTemplate:CN
- Irene, the wife of Isaac Komnenus of CyprusTemplate:CN
- c. 1164Template:CN An unnamed daughter of the future regent Thomas
- Roupen II of Cilicia (c. 1165 – Hromgla, 1170)Template:CN
In popular cultureEdit
Real-time strategy video game Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition contains a five-scenario campaign centered around Thoros II and his rule of Cilician Armenia.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
FootnotesEdit
SourcesEdit
- Edwards, Robert W.: The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia, Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII, Dumbarton Oaks: Trustees for Harvard University, 1987, Washington, D.C.; Template:ISBN
- 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; Template:ISBN
- Template:Runciman-A History of the Crusades
External linksEdit
- Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle
- The Barony of Cilician Armenia (Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 27)
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