Leo V or Levon V (occasionally Levon VI; hy, Լևոն, ''Levon V''; 1342 – 29 November 1393), of the

House of Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...

, was the last Latin king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. He ruled from 1374 to 1375. Leo was described as "Leo V, King of Armenia" on his own personal seal (),Mutafian, p.90 and as "Leo of Lusignan the Fifth" in the

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from ...

inscription on his

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

: .

Family and early life

Leo was the son of John constable of Armenia, Constable and Regent of Armenia. According to the contemporary chronicler Jean Dardel, Leo's mother, Soldane, was the daughter of a Georgian king. Soldane is otherwise unknown from the medieval sources, and scholars such as Rüdt-Collenberg have cast doubt on the credibility of Dardel's genealogy. Surviving documentary evidence suggests that Jean de Lusignan never married Leo's mother and she was, rather, his concubine. Were this identification to be true, this would make Leo the only Armenian king to not just be the descendant of the

Rubenid The Rubenids ( hy, Ռուբինեաններ) or Roupenids were an Armenian dynasty who dominated parts of Cilicia, and who established the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The dynasty takes its name from its founder, the Armenian prince Ruben I. The ...

, Hethumid, and

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...

dynasties on his father's side, but also the descendant of the Bagratid,

Artsruni The Artsruni ( hy, Արծրունի; also transliterated as Ardzruni) were an ancient noble (princely) family of Armenia. Background and history The Artsruni's claimed descent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria (705 BC–681 BC). Although ...

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquer ...

, Artaxiad, and Orontid dynasties on his mother's side.

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

, in order to wipe out all claimants to the throne, had given orders to kill Leo and his brother Bohemond, but they escaped to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

before the murder could be carried out. He was made a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the Chivalric Order of the Sword in 1360 and Titular Seneschal of Jerusalem on October 17, 1372.

King of Armenia

Leo was elected to the throne on the death of his distant cousin

Constantine VI of Armenia Constantine IV (also Constantine VI; hy, Կոստանդին, Western Armenian transliteration: ''Gosdantin'' or ''Kostantine''; died 1373) was the King of Armenian Cilicia from 1362 until his death. He was the son of Hethum of Neghir, a nephew o ...

in 1373. After a short regency by Mary of Korykos, widow of Constantine, Leo left Famagusta in spite of the ongoing conflict between Cyprus and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. Landing at

Korykos Corycus ( el, Κώρυκος; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; hy, Կոռիկոս, translit=Koṙikos; tr, Kız Kalesi, lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley calle ...

, he managed with difficulty to reach Sis, which was already being besieged by the Muslim emir of Aleppo. Leo and his wife, whom he married at

in May 1369, Marguerite of Soissons, daughter of Jean de Soissons and wife, were crowned at Sis on July 26 or September 14, 1374, according to both the Latin and Armenia rites. His right to the throne was challenged by Ashot and Leo's short reign was marked by numerous disputes between the various factions. After several battles against superior

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

forces, he locked himself in the fortress at Gaban (modern Geben) and eventually surrendered in 1375, thus putting an end to the last Armenian state until the establishment of the short lived First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) and the Republic of Armenia in 1991. The Mameluks took Leo to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

with his family, where he was placed under surveillance for several years.Mutafian, ''Leon V'' In August 1377, he met with Jean Dardel, a Franciscan who was on his way for a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Leon befriended him and employed him as his secretary. Dardel returned to Europe to plead the case of Leon V, and managed to convince King

John I of Castile John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile. Biography His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 137 ...

to pay a ransom of precious stones, silks, and birds of prey in 1382. His wife had died in

, between 1379 and July 4, 1381.

Life in Europe

Leon de Lusignan arrived ill and poor to

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

. In 1382 or 1383, the King of Castile named Leon Lord of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. John I granted him for life the town of

Andújar Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people (2005) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andú ...

, Guadalajara and Villareal (today Ciudad Real) and a yearly gift of 150,000 maravedis. Leon rebuilt the towers of the Royal Alcázar. According to father

Juan de Mariana Juan de Mariana, , also known as Father Mariana (25 September 1536 – 17 February 1624), was a Spanish Jesuit priest, Scholastic, historian, and member of the Monarchomachs. Life Juan de Mariana was born in Talavera, Kingdom of Toledo. He st ...

, Leon left Castile for France after the death of his protector in 1390. Federico Bravo, however, states that he left after two years of ruling, and five years later, the Madrilenians were conceded the revocation of the lordship by John. Leon V apparently went to Paris in June 1384, and received the Saint-Ouen castle and a sizable pension from King

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

. He attempted to reconcile the French and the English (at the time fighting the Hundred Years' War) in order to set up a new Crusade and obtain help to recover his lands, but the meeting he organized in 1386 between Boulogne and Calais were unsuccessful. Leon continued his diplomatic mission to England in 1389 and in 1392.

Death

Leon V never recovered his throne, and died in Paris on November 29, 1393. His remains were laid to rest in the Couvent des Célestins, the second most important burial site for royalty after Saint-Denis, located near what is now the

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The prestigious convent was located nearby Leon's residence of

Hôtel des Tournelles The hôtel des Tournelles () is a now-demolished collection of buildings in Paris built from the 14th century onwards north of place des Vosges. It was named after its many 'tournelles' or little towers. It was owned by the kings of France for ...

, itself near Hôtel Saint-Pol, the favourite residence of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

and Charles VI in the area of

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...

. Leon received lavish funerals and had a lavish tomb, located in the choir of the church. However, the convent was profanated during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. After the revolution, his tombstone was recovered by Alexandre Lenoir who placed it in his Musée des monuments Français in the

Saint-Denis Basilica The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, a northern ...

. In 1815, during the Restoration, a new

was established for Leon V at the royal Saint Denis Basilica where most representatives of the French monarchy lie. The effigy on the tombstone, by an anonymous artist, is of a high realism and quality, and it is thought that it was made while Leon was still alive. Leon V is depicted holding a scepter (now broken) and gloves, symbol of great princes. The tombstone bears the following inscription in

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

: English translation:Translation by Pierre-Yves Le Pogam, ''Tomb of Leon V de Lusignan'' He had one legitimate daughter, Marie de Lusignan (ca 1370 –

, before July 4, 1381, who predeceased her mother and father), and two illegitimate sons, Guy de Lusignan or Guido de Armenia (died 1405), a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

, Bayeux,

and Arras and Captain de la Tour d'Amblay, and Stephan or Etienne de Lusignan, a

in Sis. Upon his death the title of King of Armenia was claimed by Leo's distant cousin

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

Notes

References

* * *Claude Mutafian
''Leon V of Lusignan, last king of Armenia''
(PDF) *Pierre-Yves Le Pogram
''Tomb of Leon V de Lusignan''
(PDF)

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leo V, King Of Armenia House of Poitiers-Lusignan 1342 births 1393 deaths Roman Catholic monarchs Kings of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia History of Madrid