Editing Hethum II

{{Short description|King of Cilician Armenia (1266–1307)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Hethum II<br>Հեթում Բ
| honorific_suffix = OFM
| native_lang1_name1 = Հեթում Բ
| title        = 
| titletext    = 
| more         = 
| image        = HetoumIIDrawing.JPG
| image_size   = 210
| alt          = King Hethum II, in Franciscan gown
| caption      = King Hethum II, in Franciscan gown
| succession   = [[King of Cilician Armenia]]
| moretext     = (1st reign)
| reign        = 1289–1293
| predecessor  = [[Leo II, King of Armenia|Leo II]]
| successor    = [[Thoros III, King of Armenia|Thoros III]]
| succession1  = King of Cilician Armenia
| moretext1    = (2nd reign)
| reign1       = 1295–1296
| predecessor1 = Thoros III
| successor1   = [[Sempad, King of Armenia|Sempad]]
| regent1      = Thoros III
| reg-type1    = Co-ruler
| succession2  = King of Cilician Armenia
| moretext2    = (3rd reign)
| reign2       = 1299–1303
| reign-type2  = Reign
| predecessor2 = [[Constantine I, King of Armenia|Constantine I]]
| successor2   = [[Leo III, King of Armenia|Leo III]]
| succession3  = Regent of Cilician Armenia
| reign3       = 1303–1307
| reign-type3  = Regency
| regent3      = [[Leo III, King of Armenia|Leo III]]
| reg-type3    = Monarch
| house        = [[Hethumids]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Leo II, King of Armenia|Leo II]]
| mother       = [[Keran, Queen of Armenia|Keran of Lampron]]
| birth_date   = 1266
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1307|11|17|1266|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Anazarbus]]
| religion     = [[Armenian Church]]
}}
'''Hethum II''', [[Order of Friars Minor|OFM]] ({{langx|hy|Հեթում Բ}}; 1266{{nbsp}}– 17 November 1307) was king of the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] from 1289 to 1293, 1295 to 1296 and 1299 to 1303, while Armenia was a subject state of the [[Mongol Empire]]. He abdicated twice to take vows with the [[Order of Friars Minor|Franciscans]], while still remaining the power behind the throne as "Grand Baron of Armenia" and later as Regent for his nephew. 

He was the son of [[Leo II, King of Armenia|King Leo II of Armenia]] and [[Keran, Queen of Armenia|Queen Keran]], and was part of the [[Hethumids|Hethumid dynasty]], being the grandson of [[Hethum I of Armenia|Hethum I]], who had originally submitted Cilicia to the Mongols in 1247. Hethum II was assassinated with his nephew and successor [[Leo III of Armenia|Leo III]] by the Mongol general [[Bilarghu]], who himself was later executed for this by the Mongol [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] ruler [[Öljaitü]].<ref name="stewart-2005" />

==First reign==
{{see also|Armeno-Mongol relations}}
[[File:Lectionary of Hethum II, 1286, Portrait of Hethum II, Folio 7r.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Hethum II from ''Lectionary of Hethum II'', 1286]]
Since 1247, [[Cilician Armenia]] itself had been a vassal state of the Mongol Empire, from an agreement made by Hethum II's grandfather, [[Hethum I, King of Armenia|Hethum I]]. As part of this relationship, Cilician Armenia routinely supplied troops to the Mongols, cooperating in battles against the Mamluks and other elements of the Islamic empire.

Hethum II took the throne in his early 20s, when his father Leon II died in 1289. At the time, [[Cilician Armenia]] was in a precarious position between major powers, balancing between friendly relations with the Christian European [[Crusaders]] and [[Byzantine Empire]], aggression from the Turkish [[Karamanids]] to the west and the Turkish [[Sultanate of Rum]] to the north, a vassal relationship with the aggressive [[Mongol Empire]] in the east, and defending itself from attacks from the south, from the Muslim [[Mamluk Sultanate]] out of Egypt. The Crusades had lost European support and were winding down, and Islamic forces were sweeping northwards from [[Mamluk Egypt]], re-taking land which had earlier been lost to the Crusaders and Mongols,<ref name=kurkjian-204>Kurkjian, pp. 204–205</ref> and pushing back against the Mongol advance.

In 1289, [[Angelo da Clareno]] and a few other [[Spiritual Franciscans]] arrived to [[Christian mission|missionize]] among the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Christians]]. They had been repeatedly jailed in Italy for their strong condemnations of luxury in the church but they won favor at the Armenian court. [[St Thomas of Tolentino]] was sent by Hethum to Rome, Paris, and London to advocate another crusade to support the Armenians; he failed in this, but returned with additional clerics to support the mission and advocate the reunification of the [[Armenian Church]] with [[Roman Catholic Church|Rome]].

In 1292, [[Cilician Armenia]] was invaded by [[Al-Ashraf Khalil|Khalil]], the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] sultan of [[Egypt]]. His father the Mamluk sultan [[Qalawun]] had earlier broken the treaty of 1285, was marching North through Palestine with his troops, and also demanded the surrender of the Armenian cities of [[Marash]] and [[Behesni]]. Qalawun died before the campaign was completed, but Khalil continued his father's advance northwards, and had conquered the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] in 1291 at the [[Siege of Acre (1291)|Siege of Acre]].  Khalil's forces continued on from there, sacking the Armenian city of [[Qal'at ar-Rum|Hromgla]], which was defended by Hethum's uncle, Raymond, but fell after a siege of 33 days. To stave off further invasion, Hethum II abandoned the cities of Marash, Behesni, and [[Tel Hamdoun]] to the Mamluks.

In 1293, Hethum abdicated in favor of his brother [[Thoros III, King of Armenia|Thoros III]] and entered the Franciscan monastery at Mamistra. He did stay active in the politics of the kingdom though, and negotiated with the Egyptian leader [[Ketbougha]] for the return of the prisoners who had been taken at Hromgla, as well as for some church relics which had been pillaged.<ref name=kurkjian-204/>

==Second reign==
In 1295, Thoros III asked Hethum to resume the throne to help renew the Mongol alliance. Hethum made the long journey to the Mongol capital, and was successfully able to request aid from the Mongols. When he returned to Armenia in 1296, further good news manifested from the Byzantine Empire, with an offer of a marital alliance. Hethum and Thoros placed Armenia under the regency of their brother [[Sempad of Armenia|Sempad]], and traveled to [[Constantinople]] to bestow their sister [[Rita of Armenia|Rita]] upon the [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Michael IX Palaeologus]]. However, during their absence Sempad usurped the Armenian throne with the aid of another brother, [[Constantine I, King of Armenia|Constantine]]. Hethum and Thoros were both captured in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]] upon their return, and imprisoned in the fortress of [[Partzerpert]]. There, Hethum was partially blinded by [[cauterization]]. Thoros was murdered in Partzerpert in 1298; but Constantine turned against Sempad, usurped the throne for himself, imprisoned Sempad and freed Hethum.<ref name=kurkjian-204/>
[[File:Hethumprayer.jpg|thumb|King Hethum II in prayer from a decorative plate]]

==Third reign==

[[Image:Mongol raids into Syria and Palestine ca 1300.svg|thumb|left|1299/1300 Mongol offensive in the Levant]]
[[Image:BattleOfHoms1299.JPG|thumb|right|The Armenians fought with the Mongols (left) and vanquished the Mamluks (right) at the 1299 [[Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar|Battle of Homs]].  (''[[Hayton of Corycus#History of the Tartars|History of the Tatars]]'')]]
[[Image:HetoumIIPartingWithGhazan1303.jpg|thumb|Hethum II (left) parting from Ghazan and his Mongols in 1303 (''[[Hayton of Corycus#History of the Tartars|History of the Tatars]]'')<ref name=mutafian-73/>]] 
In 1299, Hethum, recovered at least partially from his blindness, ousted Constantin and once again resumed the crown. Soon thereafter, he again sought assistance from [[Ghazan]]'s Mongols,<ref name=demurger-142>Demurger, pp. 142–143</ref> and fought against the Mamluks in Syria. The combined forces achieved a major victory at the December 1299 [[Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar]]<ref name=demurger-142/> (sometimes called the Battle of Homs), taking [[Damascus]], and Hethum was able to regain all of the Armenian territory which had previously been lost to the Mamluks.<ref name=kurkjian-204/>  One group of Mongols split off from Ghazan's army and was even able to launch some [[Mongol raids into Palestine]], pursuing the retreating Egyptian Mamluk troops as far south as [[Gaza City|Gaza]],<ref>Demurger, p.142 "The Mongols pursued the retreating troops towards the south, but stopped at the level of Gaza"</ref> pushing them back to Egypt.

According to modern traditions, Hethum may have visited [[Jerusalem]] in 1300 during this time.<ref name=demurger-142/> However, historians disagree as to whether or not the visit actually occurred. Angus Donal Stewart points out that the source of the tradition, a medieval account by the Armenian historian [[Nerses Balients]], does not match with any other accounts by any other historians of the time period, and was simply written as Armenian propaganda of the time.<ref>Stewart, ''Armenian Kingdom and the Mamluks'', p. 14. "At one point, 'Arab chroniclers' are cited as being in support of an absurd claim made by a later Armenian source, but on inspection of the citations, they do no such thing." Also Footnote #55, where Stewart further criticizes Schein's work: "The Armenian source cited is the ''[[RHC Arm. I]]'' version of the 'Chronicle of the Kingdom', but this passage was in fact inserted into the translation of the chronicle by its editor, Dulaurier, and originates in the (unreliable) work of Nerses Balienc... The "Arab chroniclers" cited are Mufaddal (actually a Copt; the edition of Blochet), al-Maqrizi (Quatremere's translation) and al-Nuwayrf. None of these sources confirm Nerses' story in any way; in fact, as is not made clear in the relevant [Schein] footnote, it is not the text of al-Nuwayrf that is cited, but D.P. Little's discussion of the writer in his ''Introduction to Mamluk Historiography'' (Montreal 1970; 24–27), and in that there is absolutely no mention made of any Armenian involvement at all in the events of the year. It is disappointing to find such a cavalier attitude to the Arabic source material." and "Echoes of Hayton's ''Flor des estoires'' especially can be found in many works that touch on the kingdom, while this is an extremely tendentious work, designed to be a piece of propaganda." Stewart, p. 15</ref><ref>Amitai, ''Mongol Raids into Palestine, 1987</ref> However, Claude Mutafian, in ''Le Royaume Arménien de Cilicie'', suggests that it may have been on this occasion that Hethum remitted his amber scepter to the Armenian convent of [[Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem|Saint James of Jerusalem]].<ref name=mutafian-73>Claude Mutafian, pp. 73–75</ref>

{{quote|The king of Armenia, back from his raid against the Sultan, went to Jerusalem. He found that all the enemies had been put to flight or exterminated by the Tatars, who had arrived before him. As he entered into Jerusalem, he gathered the Christians, who had been hiding in caverns out of fright. During the 15 days he spent in Jerusalem, he held Christian ceremonies and solemn festivities in the Holy Sepulchre. He was greatly comforted by his visits to the places of the pilgrims. He was still in Jerusalem when he received a certificate from the Khan, bestowing him Jerusalem and the surrounding country. He then returned to join Ghazan in Damas, and spend the winter with him|[[Nerses Balients]], in [[Recueil des Historiens des Croisades]], Historiens Armeniens I, p.660<ref>[http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=NUMM-51557&M=imageseule Historiens Armeniens, p.660]</ref>}}

Speculation aside, the Mongols retreated northwards a few months later, and the Mamluks reclaimed Palestine with little resistance.

Hethum's gains against the Mamluks were short-lived, as in 1303, the Mamluks counter-attacked from Egypt. The Armenians again joined forces with a sizable number of Mongol troops, 80,000, on a Syrian offensive, but they were defeated at Homs on 30 March 1303, and at the decisive [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303)|Battle of Shaqhab]] (Merj-us-Safer), south of Damas, on 21 April 1303.<ref name=demurger-158>Demurger, p. 158</ref> This campaign is considered to be the last major Mongol invasion of Syria.<ref>Nicolle, p. 80</ref> Hethum retreated to Ghazan's court in [[Mosul|Moussoul]], and then again resigned his crown.  His brother Thoros III having been killed in 1298, Hethum passed the crown to Thoros's teenaged son, [[Leo III of Armenia|Leo III]].  Hethum retired to a monastery, although as Leo was not yet an adult, Hethum retained the office of Regent of Armenia.

==Later years==
[[File:Cilician Armenia-en.svg|thumb|220px|The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, 1199–1375]]
In 1304, the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluks]] continued their assault on [[Cilician Armenia]], and succeeded in taking back all the lands which the Armenians had acquired during the Mongol invasion. The Mamluks wanted to punish the Armenians for allying with the Mongols.

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia's alignment with the Mongol Empire continued, motivated as much by the need for self-protection from the [[Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm]] on their western borders as self-interest in acquiring territory to the east, albeit short-lived. Following the conversion of the Mongol Ilkhan [[Ghazan]] to Islam in 1295, his successor [[Öljaitü]] exercised less control over outlying countries under Mongol protection and reduced the military campaigns against the Mamluks in Syria. According to contemporary Arabic and Persian accounts, one of his generals, [[Bilarghu]], a devout Muslim, had indicated his intention to erect a [[mosque]] in the city of [[Sis, Armenia|Sis]], still part of the Christian Kingdom of Armenia, possibly  as part of a wider plan to place the province under his own control. Hethum conveyed his worries about these plans by letter to Öljaitü. He was subsequently summoned by Bilarghu to a meeting on 17 November 1307, in an encampment beneath the walls of the royal stronghold of [[Anazarbus]] (''Caesarea'' in the [[Roman province]] of [[Cilicia#Roman Cilicia|Cilicia]]), either to hold counsel or for a [[banquet]]. Hethum attended with about 40 noblemen and his young nephew [[Leo III of Armenia|King Leon]], for whom as ''Grand Baron'' he was acting as regent. [[Bilarghu]], however, had learnt of Hethum's letter and ordered his men to massacre the Armenian king and his guests upon their arrival. When the Armenians arrived for the [[banquet]], they were massacred while having their meals along with Hethum and his nephew [[Leo III of Armenia|King Leon]]. Following this assassination, Hethum's brother [[Oshin, King of Armenia|Oshin]], heir to the throne, occupied Sis. He sent another brother Alinakh to report on Bilarghu's treachery to [[Öljaitü]], who ordered the immediate execution of [[Bilarghu]] and his soldiers and confirmed his support of Oshin as king as [[Leo III of Armenia|Leo III]] had no heirs since he was too young to marry when he was murdered.<ref name=stewart-2005>{{harvnb|Stewart|2005}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Noteslist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|2}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite journal|author=Amitai, Reuven |author-link=Reuven Amitai |title=Mongol Raids into Palestine (AD 1260 and 1300)|journal=[[Royal Asiatic Society|Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]]|year=1987|pages=236–255}}
* {{cite book|last=Boase|first=T. S. R.|title=The Cilician Kingdom of Armenia|year=1978|publisher=Scottish Academic Press|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0-7073-0145-9}}
* {{cite book|author=Demurger, Alain|author-link=Alain Demurger|title=Jacques de Molay|language=fr|publisher=Editions Payot&Rivages|year=2007|isbn=978-2-228-90235-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Edwards|first=Robert W.|title=The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: Dumbarton Oaks Studies 23|year=1987|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=0-88402-163-7}}  
* {{cite book|author=Kurkjian, Vahan M.|author-link=Vahan Kurkjian|title=A History of Armenia|year=1958|publisher=Indo-European Publishing|isbn=978-1-60444-012-6}}
* {{cite book|author=Mutafian, Claude|author-link=Claude Mutafian|language=fr|title=Le Royaume Armenien de Cilicie|publisher=[[Centre national de la recherche scientifique|CNRS Editions]]|orig-year=1993|year=2001|isbn=2-271-05105-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Nicolle, David|author-link=David Nicolle|title=The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane|year=2004|publisher=[[Brockhampton Press]]|isbn=1-86019-407-9}}
*{{Cite journal|doi=10.1017/S1356186304004687|first=Angus|last=Stewart|journal= Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|year= 2005|volume=15|pages=45–61
|title=The Assassination of King Het'um II: The Conversion of The Ilkhans and the Armenians|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=289586&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1356186304004687|issue=1|hdl=10023/1563|s2cid=55809524 |hdl-access=free}}
* {{cite book|title=The Armenian Kingdom and the Mamluks: War and diplomacy during the reigns of Het'um II (1289–1307)|author=Stewart, Angus Donal|isbn=90-04-12292-3|publisher=BRILL|year=2001}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Lambron]]}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Leo II, King of Armenia|Leo II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|King of Armenia]] | years=1289–1293}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Thoros III, King of Armenia|Thoros III]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Thoros III, King of Armenia|Thoros III]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|King of Armenia]] | years=1295–1296}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sempad, King of Armenia|Sempad]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Constantine I, King of Armenia|Constantine I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|King of Armenia]] | years=1299–1303}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Leo III, King of Armenia|Leo III]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Armenian kings}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hethum Ii Of Armenia}}
[[Category:1266 births]]
[[Category:1307 deaths]]
[[Category:Christians of the Crusades]]
[[Category:Kings of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]]
[[Category:14th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:13th-century Armenian people]]
[[Category:Hethumid dynasty]]
[[Category:13th-century rulers of Armenian Cilicia]]
[[Category:14th-century rulers of Armenian Cilicia]]