Hethum I of Armenia (1213-1270, travelled 1254-1255)

by Caroline Stone (see Chinese translation)

Hethum (1213-1270, also known as Haiton, Hayton and other alternative names) became king of Cilician Armenia through marriage to the legitimate heir, Queen Isabella. It was the period of the Crusades and Armenia had close links with the Crusader States. As a result, the country was threatened by Muslims, especially by the Mamluk Dynasty of Egypt. It was also the time of the Mongol invasions and Hethum, with the aim of protecting his country and in the hope that Mongols were preparing to convert to Christianity, which, at the time seemed possible, decided to offer suzerainty to the Great Khan. For this purpose, in about 1246, he sent his brother Smbat (Sempad) out to the court at Karakorum, to offer submission and accept vassalage. His meeting with the Great Khan Güyük took place in 1247 and was successful. He returned to Armenia in 1250.

Some years later, in 1254, in order to renew the agreement, Hethum, at the behest of Batu and Mongke Khan, travelled out to their Ordu on the banks of the Et’il (Volga). He travelled swiftly and in disguise, in order to escape the hostile attention of Kaykaus II, Sultan of Rum, who did not want aid to come to the Christians.

The primary account of Hethum’s journey is to be found in Kirakos of Gandzaketsi (Kirakos Ganjakets'i), History of the Armenians –- a very important source also for the Mongol invasions and the Crusades, written in 1241-1265. As a young man, in 1230, Kirakos and his teacher, Vanakan, were captured by the Mongols and served the Khans as secretaries for their correspondence with the West. In 1236, a ransom was paid for Vanakan, and Kirakos succeeded in escaping. As a result, Kirakos learned Mongolian and compiled the first list of words from it with equivalents in a European language. He met Hethum on his return at Vardenis, not far from Lake Sevan, and set down details of the journey, including a detailed "Itinerary" in Chapter 58, and describes him receiving nobles and envoys:

He received them all with love, for he was a gentle man, wise and learned in the Scriptures. And he gave them presents in accordance with his means and sent them all away happy…..He received the Christians of all nations and besought them to live in love with one another, as brothers and members of Christ . . .

This was a very different attitude from that of the Crusaders, who treated the Eastern Christians as heretics and with the greatest contempt.

This account, besides details of the route, its geography and wildlife, gives some information on Mongol –- and to a lesser extent –- Chinese culture and customs, as well as Buddhism. Part of this is fairly well-informed, for example:

There is, too, a land of many idol-worshippers who worship extremely large clay idols named Shakmonia [Shakyamuni] and say that he is god for 3040 years. Then another thirty-five duman years [elapse] (one duman being 10,000) after which [Shakyamuni] is removed from godship. Then there is another one named Madri [Maitreya] of whom they also made a clay image of unbelievable size in a beautiful temple.

Other details are fantastic, the usual report of dog-headed men, etc. – perhaps the result of misunderstandings, or lost in translation.

Hethum very actively tried to persuade the European rulers, particularly of the Crusader States, to ally themselves with the Mongols –- even if it meant submitting to their suzerainty, in order to form a block against Muslim aggression, both Mamluk and Seljuk. In this he was unsuccessful, but Armenian troops were present at the sack of Baghdad by the Mongol army under Hulagu in 1258, and the siege of Aleppo and the fall of Damascus in 1260. However, the account of Hethum riding in triumph into Damascus with the Latin Bohemond and the Christian Mongol general Kitbuqa, related by the 14th century chronicler known as “The Templar of Tyre”, is probably apocryphal.

Hethum’s active support of the Mongols –- who eventually converted to Islam – inevitably led to reprisals. In 1266, the Mamluks under Sultan Baibars invaded Cilician Armenia, with the intention of destroying the Christian states of Western Asia. This occurred just as Hethum was about to set out on another journey to the Mongol Khan to ask for help. The result was a disastrous defeat and some 40,000 Armenians captured, including the Hethum’s son Leo, and taken away as slaves. Leo was eventually ransomed. Hethum abdicated in his favour in 1270 and retired to a monastery.

Kirakos of Gandzaketsi’s History seems to have circulated widely (see Bibliography) and Hethum is mentioned in several other contemporary chronicles. He was also an important source for his nephew, Hethum of Korikos (Hayton of Corycos), when writing –- or rather dictating –- his La Flor des Estoires d'Orient, which was well known and widely translated in the Middle Ages and after, and was a very important source of knowledge about, and influence on, attitudes to Asia.