HAYTON OF KORYKOS AND LA FLOR DES ESTOIRES: CILICIAN ARMENIAN MEDIATION IN CRUSADER-MONGOL POLITICS, C.1250-1350 by Roubina Shnorhokian A thesis submitted to the Department of History In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (January, 2015) Copyright ©Roubina Shnorhokian, 2015 Abstract Hayton’s La Flor des estoires de la terre d’Orient (1307) is typically viewed by scholars as a propagandistic piece of literature, which focuses on promoting the Ilkhanid Mongols as suitable allies for a western crusade. Written at the court of Pope Clement V in Poitiers in 1307, Hayton, a Cilician Armenian prince and diplomat, was well-versed in the diplomatic exchanges between the papacy and the Ilkhanate. This dissertation will explore his complex interests in Avignon, where he served as a political and cultural intermediary, using historical narrative, geography and military expertise to persuade and inform his Latin audience of the advantages of allying with the Mongols and sending aid to Cilician Armenia. This study will pay close attention to the ways in which his worldview as a Cilician Armenian informed his perceptions. By looking at a variety of sources from Armenian, Latin, Eastern Christian, and Arab traditions, this study will show that his knowledge was drawn extensively from his inter-cultural exchanges within the Mongol Empire and Cilician Armenia’s position as a medieval crossroads. The study of his career reflects the range of contacts of the Eurasian world. ii Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the financial support of SSHRC, the Marjorie McLean Oliver Graduate Scholarship, OGS, and Queen’s University. My deepest gratitude to my committee members: Dr. Adnan Husain, my adviser, for his willingness to oversee this project and for his continuous encouragement; Dr. Richard Greenfield for his intellectual guidance and supportive nature; Dr. Margaret Pappano for her continuous support and challenging comments; Dr. Ariel Salzmann for her warm mentorship and her contagious enthusiasm for interpreting history on a global scale; and Dr. Tamar M. Boyadjian for her encouragement and warm assistance on this project. I would also like to thank Yvonne Place for her warm guidance; Armig Adourian for her friendship and editing skills, Father Hamazasp Kechichian for his supportive assistance in Venice; Janna from the Matenadaran; Dr. Sylvie Merian for her willingness to answer questions; Dr. Nicholas Coureas for taking the time to send information from Cyprus to Toronto; Hovann H. Simonian for his thoughtful guidance; Drs. Khachik Gevorgyan and Mushegh Asatryan for their helpful insights at the conference of the CESS; Dr. S. Peter Cowe and the Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies at UCLA for their intellectual assistance; Dr. Patrick McBrine for his guidance on Latin; Dr. Dorothea Kullmann for her help in Old French; Drs. Pablo Idahosa and Bob Shenton for making graduate studies a reality; and Dr. Steven Bednarski for his years of mentorship and friendship. To Sevag, Josephine and Tomas Yeghoyan, thank you eternally for making me smile and dream. To my parents, Joseph and Sonja, sister, Carina, and extended family, Garo, Azniv, Shogher, and Vahak, thank you for your selfless assistance in looking after our munchkins. To Koko, Lilly, Tintin Sr. and Jr., thank you for making great late-night companions next to the computer. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Dynastic Rulers vii List of Abbreviations viii Note on Transliteration ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Historiographical Overview 4 1.2 Theoretical Considerations 15 1.2.1 Imperial Considerations 18 1.2.2 Regional Considerations 22 1.2.3 Diasporic Identity? 24 1.3 Main Sources 26 1.3.1 Critical Edition of 1906 and Manuscript Tradition 26 1.4 Division of La Flor des estoires 29 1.5 Cronicon 30 1.6 Genealogical Text attributed to Hayton 31 1.7 Religious Correspondence 33 1.8 Additional Sources 34 1.9 Thesis Overview 42 Chapter Two Hayton’s World 46 2.1 Third Crusade and Diplomatic Precedents 47 2.2 Papal-Armenian Relations and the Debate on Union 54 2.3 The Mongol Moment and Cilician Armenian Submission 62 2.4 Cilician Armenia, Ilkhanid Vassal 69 2.5 Target of the Mamlūk Sultanate 72 2.6 Ilkhanid-Armenian Relations during the 14th Century: A Turning Point 83 iv 2.7 Cypriot Connections 90 2.8 The Hospitaller Presence 97 2.9 Relations with Byzantium 102 2.10 Conclusion 106 Chapter Three A Biographical Portrait 109 3.1 Hayton, Hetʿumid Prince: Immersion in Politics, War and Diplomacy 110 3.1.1 Cultural Influence of the Hetʿumid Dynasty 117 3.1.2 Hayton, Cilician Patron 119 3.2 Political Outcast 124 3.2.1 The Cypriot Case 124 3.2.2 The Case of Cilician Armenia 132 3.3 Religious Overtures: Ties to the Premonstratensian Order in Cyprus 145 3.4 Translating Catholicism: The Cronicon and Attributed Genealogical Text 152 3.5 Participant in the Debate over Union with Rome 163 3.6 Conclusion 167 Chapter Four Hayton’s Geography 168 4.1 Situating Hayton’s Geographical Treatise 169 4.2 The Impact of the Crusades and the Mongol Conquests 171 4.3 Hayton’s Treatise in Relation to Armenian Literature 176 4.4 Ethnographical Treatment 181 4.4.1 Representations of Eastern Christians 182 4.4.2 Representations of Muslims and Others 194 4.5 Hayton’s Topographical Approach 197 4.6 Articulation of Expertise: The Case of the Land of Darkness 204 4.7 Situating Jerusalem 210 4.8 Conclusion 215 v Chapter Five Hayton’s Historical Treatment of the Mongols 217 5.1 Mongol Religion 218 5.2 The Vision of Chinggis Khan and Mongol Monotheism 220 5.3 Christian Heroes: Hülegü and Arghun 224 5.4 Conversions to Islam: Tegüder Ahmad and Ghazan 234 5.5 Cilician Armenian Mediation: The Baptism of Möngke Khan 246 5.6 Defining Cilician Armenia’s Role in a Future Crusade 253 5.7 Cilician Armenia’s Mediation in Near Eastern Politics 261 5.8 Conclusion 266 Chapter Six Hayton’s Crusade Strategy 268 6.1 Recovery Treatises and Scholarly Treatment 269 6.2 Clement V and Hayton’s Submission 276 6.3 Hayton’s Spiritual Justifications 284 6.3.1 The Inheritnce of all Christians and a Pan-Christian Allience 289 6.3.2 Alignment with Clement V 292 6.4 Assessment of the Egyptian Enemy 294 6.5 Logistics: passagium particulare 305 6.5.1 Logistics: passagium generale 308 6.6 Alliance with the Ilkhans 314 6.7 Cilician Armenia as an Intermediary in Crusade Plans 322 6.8 Impact of Hayton’s Crusade Proposal 324 6.9 Conclusion 332 Conclusion 334 Bibliography 341 vi List of Dynastic Tables Il-Khans of Persia Hülegü (1256-1265) Abaqa (1265-1282) Tegüder Aḥmad (1282-1284) Arghun (1284-1291) Gaikhatu (1291-1295) Baidu (1295) Ghazan (1295-1304) Öljeitü (1304-1316) Abū Saʿīd (1316-1335) Cilician Armenian Rulers Hetʿum I (1226-1269) Lewon II (1269-1289) Hetʿum II (1289-1293; 1295-1297; 1299-1305, joint rule 1305-1307) Lewon III (1305-1307) Ošin I (1308-1320) Lewon IV (1320-1341) Mamlūk Sultans Al-Żahir Baybars al-Bunduqdārī (1260-1277) Berke Khan ibn Baybars (1277-1279) Al-ʿĀdil Sulamish ibn Baybars (1279) Al-Manṣūr Qalāwūn ibn Alfi (1279-1290) Al-Ashraf Khalīl ibn Qalāwūn (1290-1293) Al-Nāṣir Muḥammed ibn Qalāwūn (1293-1294; 1299-1309; 1310-1340) Popes Gregory X (1271-76) Innocent V (1276) Adrian V (1276) John XXI (1276-77) Nicholas III (1277-80) Martin IV (1281-5) Honorius IV (1285-87) Nicholas IV (1288-92) Celestine V (1294) Boniface VIII (1294-1303) Benedict XI (1303-04) Clement V (1305-14) vii List of Abbreviations AFH Archivum Franciscum Historicum APH Archivum Pontificiae Historiae AR Armenian Review BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies CAJ Central Asiatic Journal CHI Cambridge History of Iran CHR Catholic Historical Review CSSH Comparative Studies in Society and History EKEE Epeteris tou Kentrou Epistimonikon Erevnon EHR English Historical Review HA Handes Amsorya HLF Histoire littéraire de la France HNA History of the Nation of the Archers IHR International Historical Review JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History JEMH Journal of Early Modern History JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JMH Journal of Medieval History JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam JSAS Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies JWH Journal of World History MSR Mamluk Studies Review P-B H Patma-Banasirakan Handes viii Note on Transliteration This study relies on the Hübschmann-Meillet-Benveniste (HMB) transliteration system for the Armenian nomenclature. The Mongol proper names are based on the UNESCO system while Arabic and Persian names largely follow The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition. ix Chapter 1 Introduction In the cultural mosaic of the fourteenth century Eastern Mediterranean, Cilician Armenian Hayton (Hetʿum/Hetoum), Lord of Korykos (c.1240-c.1316), forged a remarkable career.1 Scholars—both old and new—have presented Hayton as a cosmopolitan figure who bridged East and West during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. He was seen as a diplomat, Latin convert, historian, statesman, crusade strategist (and propagandist), and prince of the royal line of Cilician Armenia, located in south-western Asia Minor. An examination of Hayton’s extensive participation in East-West political, cultural, social and religious affairs, serves as a window into his world, illuminating the ways in which he operated during a moment of global politics enabled by the Mongol Empire. Born in the mid-thirteenth century, Hayton forged a remarkable career in politics and diplomacy in his kingdom and abroad.