[115] In the year 713 A.E. [1264] King Het'um assembled his troops [including] many common infantrymen, and made an expedition to the district of Aleppo, to the towns of Ma'arrat Masrin (Mardmsrin), Sarmin (Srmin), and Fu'a (Fugha). There he acquired a small amount of goods and servants. And it was there that King Het'um had a very narrow escape. For [the king] had taken [only] two eunuchs from his servants, and [only] Kostandin Aplhasanants' from his princes [and with these] he had separated from his troops and entered the city. Furthermore he did so carelessly, wearing neither armor nor helmet. Suddenly he encountered some 20 infidels dressed in armor, who came and entered the prominence in the center of the city, where those fleeing had gathered, in order to protect them. Face to face with them, the king did not know what was happening, and the infidels did not recognize who that person [they had encountered] was. One of them attacked and thrust his sword at the king, and the eunuch Joscelin took the blows. Then again [the infidel] went to strike the king with his sword. [This time] Prince Kostandin raised the sword he had brought along, and was able to separate the king [from the attackers]. He then turned against them and the infidels went and entered that prominence. Thus was the king saved from all of them. He returned to his land with a great deal of spoil, and everyone was happy. In the same year King Het'um again held a levee and went against the fortress of Ayntab (Ant'e"p'), but was unable to do anything to them and so returned to his own land. After some days, in wintertime, King Het'um thought to go again to the fortress of Ayntab. He went as far as the town of Burdj al-Rasas (purch E"r'asas) [g242] and halted there. For the sun had been dimmed by the clouds and did not appear for five days; and because of the severity of the wind and rains they were not able to come out of their tents, and the attendants and common infantrymen were suffering because of this. So they resolved to turn back, saying that God did not want our journey here. A certain Frank physician named Martin, who was present there and was respected by the king, spoke to the king and to the grandees who had assembled and were debating, some advocating turning back and others not. He said: "Oh king and princes, tonight sleep outdoors, out of the tents and then consider whether to go or to stay." And what he had suggested was praised by many of them, and they turned back in peace. In the same year King Het'um again mustered troops to go to the Aleppo country to enslave and lay waste, but he was unable to realize his plan because it was winter.

[116] In the year 713 A.E. [1264] Hulegu-Khan sent one of his Ten Thousanders and many troops with him to the impregnable fortress of Pir, which was under infidel control. The Ten Thousander, whose name was Turpa, put up barricades and inflicted considerable tribulation on the fortress. He demolished the struts of the wall together with its citadel. Turpa the Ten Thousander summoned King Het'um to come to him. The king assembled his forces and relations in the fortresses called T'il Hamdun, and there he celebrated the feast of the Epiphany. After a few days King Het'um took his troops and went to Turpa. He reached a place called Bambkdzor and sent 200 of his cavalry to go in advance to Turpa [g243], after which he himself would follow. At this point, a bearer of glad tidings came to the king and to his eldest son, Lewon, [informing them] that a son had been born to Lewon, paron of the Armenians, in the city of Mamistra, and this was in the month of January...[words missing] and who can relate the joy of the king, the grandees, and the common folk at that news? Then [because of the celebration] many of the worst and ignoble clans as well as even the eunuchs merited glories and the honor [of the ceremony] of being seated on horses. News reached the king about the departure of Turpa from Bira, because the sultan of Egypt was coming against him. When the king heard this, he returned to his home. In the same year, on the day of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on Easter Sunday, the son of Lewon, paron of the Armenians, was baptized in the capital of Sis, in the great church of Saint Sophia by the blessed patriarch Kostandin. [The child] was named Kostandin. On the occasion of such joy, the two sons of Smbat, sparapet of the Armenians, Het'um and Vasil, who was nicknamed T'at'ar, were seated on horses and many others with them. And there was great merry-making as a result. In the same year Baybars Bundukdari (Pekpars Ptuxtar), sultan of Egypt, together with his general Samm al-Mawt (Smlmo't') and other grandees, mustered their troops and set out for Cilicia to enslave and destroy. Now the Armenian king, Het'um, held a general levee together with his brothers: Smbat, who was lord of the impregnable fortress of Paper'o'n, Smbataklay, Astar'os, Farxni, Papatul, Sik and Murandin; and O'shin, lord of the lofty stronghold of Kur'iko's, Mitizo'n, Manio'n, Kanch', and other smaller fortresses [g244]. [Het'um, with these lords] and his other grandees and commoners, went to the place called the Gate of Antioch and stayed there, awaiting the infidels. Now the impious sultan together with his troops came as far as the borders of Antioch, to the banks of the Sew [Black] River, and halted there for a few days. He secretly sent his spies who came and observed such a multitude of believers assembled and waiting to see if the sultan would come. The spies returned and informed the sultan about what they had seen. Thus the sultan was afraid to enter the land of Cilicia. Rather he turned and went to Egypt, while the king and all his troops returned to their villages and towns, thanking the Lord. In the same year on the 26th day of December, O'shin, brother of King Het'um and lord of Kur'iko's, passed to Christ in the capital Tarsus. They brought him to the capital Sis and buried him near the tomb of his father.

[117] In the year 715 A.E. [1266] the sultan of Egypt again mustered his troops and came as far as the place where the Crusading Brothers' fortresses were located. He took from them Arsuf, Safad (Safe't') and other strongholds. Then he headed for the country of Cilicia and came as far as Damascus where he halted for a few days. He sent emissaries after ambassadors to King Het'um who came to him to persuade him that there should be peace between them. The sultan wanted peace, however he demanded from the king [the surrender of] fortresses and other places at the borders of his land. The king did not accept these demands for two reasons. First, out of [g245] fear of the Archers [Mongols], so that they would not say that 'King Het'um is under [the domination of] the sultan of Egypt to whom he has given as a reward places and fortresses which we ourselves freed.' The other reason for not acceding to the request—though what was requested was a small thing—was the matter of a ruined placed called Shih (Sheh). The sultan had said: "Give that place to me and I will construct a market there for you and me." The king did not give it to him so that he would not fall under his sway. For many years the king had been victorious and renowned, while the sultan had been the slave of another vile slave who subsequently had become so powerful that [people] feared him. On many occasions the king had sent the most respectworthy men with gifts to the sultan to make peace. But the sultan would not agree, rather he kept demanding the aforementioned places. Then he took his troops and came as far as Aleppo, designating a certain one of his grandees named Samm al-Mawt (Smlmo't') as military chief, and the sultan of Aleppo, Alfi, as second-in-command. Then he sent them to go against the forces of King Het'um in the country of Cilicia, while he himself remained where he was. They came and reached the place called Nikopo'lis, by the base of Black (Seaw) Mountain, and they encamped there. Now it happened that the troops of King Het'um at that time were divided into three parts: one was with the king who had gone at the request of the Nation of Archers to render military assistance; a second was in the place called Dur'n; and the third had gone against the infidels at the place called Mar'i on August 23, a Monday, and encamped there. At daybreak on Tuesday [g246], the infidels reached the place where the camp of the Christians was located, and halted there for a while with [the two armies] facing each other. Then, prompted by the devil, the forces of the believers took to flight, without a fight or a battle. The sons of Lewon, paron of the Armenians, and his brother, T'oros, turned from the [fleeing] troops and went to fight against the infidels. T'oros was slain in that same battle, and Lewon, paron of the Armenians, was captured, as was the son of the sparapet of the Armenians, Smbat, Vasil, nicknamed T'at'ar, and others with them, [including] a certain Chilart and Atom. [118] They were taken to Sis and were placed in confinement in their temple [mosque] and remained there for some days. [The Muslims] looted the city, then set fire to all the cultivated places, burning everything. There was no counting the number enslaved or killed. Fighting against the citadel, they harassed [the residents] to surrender it, but they refused to do so. When the infidels saw that they were unable to take the fortress, they burned and looted the flank of the mountain and the plain. There were [two areas] with caves where a stronghold had stood since ancient times, one called Kema and the other, Beknk'ar. Many had assembled here with their wives and children. When they saw the unbelievable multitude of infidels coming against them, their strength abandoned them and they were unable to fight. Putting swords to work, the infidels killed so many from that multitude that, it is said, 20,000 people were slain on just that one day. Those who were spared the sword were led into slavery. But [the infidels] did not exit by the same route by which they had entered [Cilicia]. Rather, they went with all their spoil via the gate of Antioch where they sold many of their belongings. Then they went [g247] to their own land and took the captive paron Lewon to the sultan, as a gift brought from afar. When the sultan saw Lewon, paron of the Armenians, and Vasil, nicknamed T'at'ar, he regarded them as more valuable than myriad upon myriad of gold and silver. He took them to Egypt and placed Lewon, paron of the Armenians, and Vasil and those with them into confinement in a very small building in the city of Cairo. He designated guards and attendants for them and constantly honored and exalted them. Now when the Armenian king, Het'um, realized what had happened he fell into a deep depression and grieved, and did not know what to do. After a few days he resolved to find some means of freeing his son, and so he sent some of his attendants to the sultan to find out his intentions, that is, if there was some way of releasing Lewon, paron of the Armenians. The sultan did not want to reveal a solution right off, for the king was constantly sending him the finest of gifts. But after [Het'um] had sent to him many times, [the sultan] revealed his secret desire. He had a dear and valiant comrade who had been under the authority of the sultan of Aleppo. Now when Hulegu-Khan had come and ruined Aleppo and the survivors had fled, this Baybars—who would later become sultan—and his friend fled along with them [g248]. [Baybars'] horse stopped and would not advance, while his friend had a very fast steed. [The friend] dismounted, mounted Baybars on his own horse and set it on the way. [The friend] remained behind and was seized and taken captive to the East, by the khan's troops. Meanwhile Baybars had continued on to Egypt where he succeeded and became the sultan of Egypt. Now when Lewon, paron of the Armenians, fell into his hands, [Baybars, knowing] that King Het'um was an advisor and friend of Abagha-Khan, thought to find out whether his benevolent comrade (khoshdash) was still alive, and if so, [he wanted Het'um] to produce him. So the sultan said to those who had come to him: "Tell the king that if he can free my comrade from the Nation of Archers and bring him to me, I will release his son, Lewon." As soon as the king heard this, he began to prepare gifts to take East for making this request to Abagha-Khan.

[119] In the year 716 A.E. [1267], King Het'um went East to Abagha-Khan and requested the comrade of Sultan Baybars, whose name was Sunqur al-Ashqar (Snghurashkharh). The khan granted this, if [the captive] could be found. So the king inquired about Sunqur al-Ashqar, but they did not find him. The king sadly returned to his own land. He sent to the sultan saying that he had not found him. Growling, the sultan said: "if you do not bring him to me, I will not free your son."

Now in 717 A.E. [1268] King Het'um consulted with his brothers and again they sent the sparapet's son Lewon, a God-fearing prince, to Abagha-Khan to request Sunqur al-Ashqar a second time. When Lewon reached the khan and made the request again, [he asked] [g249] that they search through the army far and near to find Sunqur al-Ashqar. So ordered the khan and they took [Lewon] along with them in their troops. And they found him. Then they gratefully returned to the country of Cilicia, arriving at the capital of Sis. They sent bearers of glad tidings to the sultan, informing him that they had found the one who had been requested. Then the sultan went on the move with all his troops to the city of Tripoli where he inflicted numerous difficulties on that city. Thence he took his troops on a five day journey, day and night until they unexpectedly came out against the renowned city of Antioch. He took [the city] in four days, on a Saturday, the sixth of May. No one can relate the multitude of the slain there, nor the multitude of captives, nor the treasures which were gathered up and taken to Egypt. However only a few [individuals] of Armenian nationality were killed there, since the sultan released those he found there to go to the country of Cilicia. Similarly the sparapet of Antioch was freed with his flock to come to the country of Cilicia. And some say that it was at his dictate that the city was betrayed into the hand of the sultan. Only God knows the truth of this matter. When the sultan had returned to Antioch to return to Egypt, he sent to King Het'um to send hostages for his son, Lewon, so that he be released, and that when [Het'um] would see his son, he should send [Baybars'] comrade, Sunqur al-Ashqar. The king immediately did so. He sent as a hostage O'shin, his own sister's son, the son of his brother Het'um, Raymond, and the son of Kostandin, the king's father, Vasak, lord of Chancho. When they reached the sultan, Lewon, paron of the Armenians, was freed and came [g250] to the land of Cilicia with many gifts, where the entire Armenian nation came before him in delight. At the same time Prince Lewon, son of Smbat sparapet, took Sunqur al-Ashqar and delivered him to the sultan who rejoiced exceedingly at the sight of him. He gave many gifts to Prince Lewon and the hostages returned with many favors. In the same year King Het'um convened an assembly of leaders and vardapets and renowned men from the East and Cilicia in the capital of Sis. And the king ordered them to elect a worthy [individual] to occupy the patriarchal throne. With many prayers and with the king's request and with [the consent of] the entire assembly, they ordained the worthy vardapet, Yakob, as kat'oghikos of the Armenians [Hakob I Klayets'i, 1268-1286], in the [church of] Saint Sargis, on the 12th of the month of February. At that time Lewon, paron of the Armenians, was still in captivity among the Egyptians, as he was not freed until the month of June.

[120] In the year 718 A.E. [1269] a severe earthquake occurred in the land of Cilicia and many structures in many places were transformed into ruins. This was even more devastating around Black Mountain; and the impregnable fortress of Sarvandaw became a ruin with its inhabitants dying in the blessed congregation of Ark'akaghin and priests and clerics dying under the collapsed houses. On that stretch of the mountain flank, many buildings and the fortress of Deznk'ar and many other places were completely demolished. In the same [g251] year the paron of the Armenians, Lewon, went East to Abagha-Khan. The latter received him with honors and returned him to his own land of Cilicia with many gifts. In that year Het'um, the son of the sparapet of the Armenians, passed away on the 15th of July and was buried in the blessed congregation of Mlich. And in the same year on the 29th day of September, Vasil, the other son of Smbat sparapet, reposed in Christ in Tarsus. He was buried in the blessed congregation of Mlich. May the Lord have mercy on him. In the same year on Tuesday, the 29th of October, as the sun was setting, Het'um, king of the Armenians, quitted this life and was gathered by his fathers at the foot of Bardzrberd at the village called Akner. They took [his body] to the blessed congregation of Drazark and buried it by the tomb of the blessed patriarch Grigori...[words missing] who died with a goodly confession and had [previously] become a cleric named Makar.

In the year 720 A.E. [1271] on the 6th of January, Lewon, son of King Het'um, was anointed king of the Armenians in the capital of Tarsus in the church of Saint Sophia. All the nations of Christians had gathered there to witness a sight worthy of joy. Many received wealth on that day and many were released from the confinement of prison. After a few days, when the assembly had dissolved, the newly-crowned king went to Isauria to see [g252] that district. Then he joyfully returned to his home. In the same year the sultan of Egypt, Baybars Bundukdari, moved to enter the country of Cilicia. King Lewon sent a embassy to him and he returned to his own land of Egypt, while the king went East to Abagha-Khan. The khan granted 20,000 men for him to take back to his land for its protection. After a few months, the khan himself would arrive. King Lewon took a few of them and returned to his own land. In the same year a certain Frankish king, named Edouard [I, d'Angleterre] came by boat with 2,000 men to Acre (Acca) where he encamped and remained with other kings who were his comrades. In the same year in the month of October, King Lewon became father to a male child in the city of Mamistra and there was joy in all parts of his realm.

[121] In the year 721 A.E. [1272] on the day of the baptism of the lord, which was January 6th, there was great joy in the capital, Sis, and on the same day snow fell generally all over the land of Cilicia right up to the shore of the Ocean Sea. In the same month and year the blessed vardapet Kiwrakos [of Gandzak] died. May the Lord have mercy on him. In the same year, Maria, one of King Het'um's concubines, a Muslim, attracted others of the same faith and they planned among them to kill King Lewon with a fatal poison. They were just waiting for the appropriate moment [g253]. But by the providence of God, the woman's evil work was revealed by an eleven-year-old boy, and the king survived. The king did not deal with them according to what they deserved, but with compassion.

In the same year King Lewon commanded that a fortress be built at the foot of the Taurus Mountains, across from the tomb of the valiant general Andreas, a half day's journey distant from it, to protect that district and its renowned road of Xoz dzor. This was completed in the same year it was begun, and was named Katareats'. In the same year the king's son was baptized in the city of Sis, with the Syrian patriarch Ignatios taking [the baby] out of the font. He was named T'oros, after his father's brother who was slain in battle by the Egyptians. One day in the same year, one of the servants of Edouard, who had come over the sea and was in Acre, came to the king who was sitting alone [dressed] in a thin garment. He removed all the servants [from the king's presence] and approached the king's ear as though to tell him some secret. Then he pulled out a knife and struck the king in the breast. The king recoiled and moved his right hand close to his sword, then drew out the sword and struck...[end of text] [g254]