THE POLITICAL POWER OF THE MEDIEVAL ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITIES AND THE MAMLUK-ILKHANATE WARFARE BETWEEN 1284 AND 1304: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH AND THE ASSYRIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH IN CILICIAN ARMENIA AND ILKHANATE by Aidar Saduakassov A thesis submitted in partial fulfilMent of the requireMents for the degree of Master of Arts in Eurasian Studies at NAZARBAYEV UNIVERSITY - SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES NUR-SULTAN, KAZAKHSTAN 2021 i ii © 2021 AIDAR SADUAKASSOV All Rights Reserved iii TABLE OF CONTENTS AcknowledgeMents......................................................................................................... v Abstract........................................................................................................................... vi Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Literature review..................................................................................... 8 1.1. The Mongol MaMluk Interactions...................................................................... 9 1.2. The political power of Nestorian clergy in Ilkhanate in the end of 13th century............................................................................................................................ 14 1.3. The political power of the Armenian ecclesiastical authorities in the end of 13th century............................................................................................................................ 17 1.4. The MaMluk Sultanate and the religious policies towards domestic Christians........................................................................................................................ 21 Chapter 2. PriMary sources............................................................................................. 29 2.1. Latin priMary sources ........................................................................................ 29 2.2. Armenian priMary sources................................................................................. 32 2.3. Persian priMary sources..................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3. Syriac source analysis................................................................................... 40 Chapter 4. The political power of the Nestorian ecclesiastical authorities and the Mongol conquest of MaMluks between 1284 and 1304................................................. 52 4.1. The political power of Nestorian clergy before the reign of Arghun khaN......... 53 4.2. The formation of the political power of the Nestorian clergy during Arghun khaN................................................................................................................................. 60 4.3. The political power of the Nestorians during the intermediary period............... 67 4.4. The political power of the Nestorian clergy during Ghazan khan ....................... 68 iv 4.5. The significance of the Nestorian clergy to the MaMluk Mongol warfare within the broader context which unifies 3 periods of khanships................................... 76 Chapter 5. The political power of the Armenian ecclesiastical authorities and the Mongol conquest of MaMluks between 1284 and 1304................................................. 82 5.1. The historical development of the Armenian Apostolic Church before 1269.... 84 5.2. The effect of the Mongol conquest to the Armenian ecclesiastical authorities during the power of Lewon II (1269-1289) ................................................................... 91 5.3. The political power of the Armenian ecclesiastical authorities in the Cilician Armenia during the power of Hetum II and his brothers (1289-1307).......................... 100 Chapter 6. Comparative analysis of the political power of the Armenian and Nestorian ecclesiastical authorities between 1284 and 1304.......................................... 113 Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 123 Bibliography................................................................................................................... 128 Appendix......................................................................................................................... 135 v Acknowledgements I would like to thank My thesis advisors Professor Daniel Beben and Professor Daniel Scarborough of School of Sciences and Humanities at Nazarbayev University. Their considerable expertise in IslaMic-Christian Medieval history as well as in historical Methodology contributed Mine and helped Me to accomplish this project. Furthermore, I would like to express My gratitude to Professor Beben and Professor Scarborough for their contribution in finding priMary sources that was quite challenging due to the pandeMic outbreak. Without their help it would not be possible to finish this thesis. They were always in touch with Me, and under their supervision I received an eye-opening acadeMic experience that for sure will contribute to my future acadeMic career as a scholar. I also would like to acknowledge Professor Reuven AMitai of the Hebrew University of JerusaleM who is the external reader of the thesis. I aM grateful for his valuable suggestions and feedbacks regarding religious and Military history of Cilician Armenia. Professor AMitai’s acadeMic input enhanced My knowledge about Caucasian and Middle Eastern history. I aM also grateful to Professor AMitai for his suggestions regarding the ArmeniaN priMary sources and ways of utilizing theM. Furthermore, I would like to express My gratitude to Professor Uli SchaMiloglu for his acadeMic contribution to My research project. Particularly, his expertise in Syriac and Latin Medieval sources related the Mongol EMpire helped Me to develop this paper. Undoubtably, his knowledge in the Mongol history is much appreciated. Finally, I would like to express My profound gratitude to My friends and faMily who always believe in Me. My friends and My faMily undoubtably support My acadeMic growth encouraging me to further creations. vi Abstract The Modern history often avoids researching the Marginalized Medieval Christian religious institutions due to the lack of their political significance. However, the Medieval accounts present the information about their significant role in the Mongol conquest of the MaMluk Sultanate. From the one hand, the study of the ecclesiastical representatives of the Assyrian Apostolic Church in the Mongol court is one of the underexplored topics in the Medieval history of Central Asia and Middle East. Morgan and Grousset explored the significance of the Nestorian authorities in the court as a Matter of the personal favorability of khans, however, the effect of the Mongol conquest to the power of Christians in Ilkhanate was undefined. Russell tried to exaMine this connection; however, her paradigm lacks scientific proofs and proper Methods of analysis. On the other hand, the studies of the Armenian Apostolic Church were better developed. Ghazarian analyzed the effects of the LatiN-Armenian encounters to the Armenian domestic politics. Dashdonbog explored how the Mongol- Armenian relationships affected the institutional power of the Armenian Church. However, the authors fail to exaMine the question of why the Armenian Church becaMe one of the Most significant religious entity aMong Marginalized Christian religions in the Middle East. This comparative study explores the relationships between the MaMluk-Ilkhanate warfare during 1284 and 1304 and the political power of the Nestorian and Armenian clergies in Ilkhanate and Cilician Armenia. The Main argument is that the political power of the Nestorian and Armenian ecclesiastical authorities was daMaged by the Mongol-MaMluk warfare between 1284 and 1304. In particular, apart the Military daMages of the warfare, the consequences of IslaMization of ilkhans and reciprocity with Catholics becaMe significant factors that explain the downward trend in political power of the Christian clergies in Cilician Armenia and Ilkhanate. Mainly, these factors were the intentional discourses to stiMulate the Military capabilities of the Armenians and Mongols through the attraction of the domestic and foreign alliances against vii MaMluks. Furthermore, the study will also prove that the political ties between Armenian kings and ecclesiastical authorities affected the survival of the Armenian Church and localization of the Nestorian clergy. Hereby, the institutional power, political positions in the courts, patronage and social status as well as repressions and institutional devastations are the Main variables that determine the political power of the ecclesiastical authorities in Ilkhanate and Cilician Armenia. The thesis Mainly explores the periods of Lewon II and Hetum II reigns in Cilician Armenia; and siMultaneously evaluates the period from Arghun khaN’s reign to Ghazan khan’s rule in Ilkhanate. The study uses content and linguistic-political discourse analyses as Major Methodological tools. The research is based on Syriac, Latin, Armenian and Persian priMary sources that were conducted between 13th and 16th centuries. In particular, the diplomatic reports, correspondences between rulers, ecclesiastical and IslaMic chronicles will be evaluated throughout the study. Hopefully, this paper will contribute to the political, Military and religious