Thoros II (; died 6 February 1169), also known as Thoros the Great, was the sixth lord of

Armenian Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

from the

Rubenid The Rubenids () 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 Rubenids were princes, later ...

dynasty from 1144/1145Kurkjian 1958, p. 506 until 1169. Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was kidnapped in 1137 by the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

John II Comnenus John II Komnenos or Comnenus (; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Iren ...

during his campaign against

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

and the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch (; ) was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...

. All of Cilicia remained under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

rule for eight years.Kurkjian 1958, p. 221 Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

garrisons.

Early life

Thoros was the second son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia. In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was arrested by

Baldwin of Marash Baldwin of Marash (died 1146) was a Crusader baron in northern Syria, the lord of Marash from at least 1136. Biography The chronicler Gregory the Priest says that Baldwin was the brother of Prince Raymond of Antioch and therefore the son of Duke ...

. After two months of confinement, Leo I obtained his liberty by consenting to harsh terms. Leo I took refuge in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror; Thoros was kidnapped with his father and his youngest brother, Roupen. They were dragged away to Constantinople, where Leo I died in imprisonment in 1141. Roupen, after being blinded, was assassinated by the Greeks.

Lord of Armenian Cilicia

The liberation of Armenian Cilicia

The first Byzantine attack against Cilicia

Wars with the Seljuks and Antioch

Other view is that after the battle Raynald was forced to return home, covered with humiliation; and later on, Thoros voluntarily surrendered to the brethren the fortresses in question, and the Knights in turn took oath ''"to assist the Armenians on all occasions where they needed help."'' The Armenians attacked the few remaining Byzantine fortresses in Cilicia.

The sack of Cyprus

Last years

After his abdication, he became a monk. He died in 1169. He was buried in the monastery of Drazark.

Marriages and children

# c. 1149 An ''unnamed'' daughter of Simon of Raban (or, according to other views, Isabelle, daughter of Count

Joscelin II of Edessa Joscelin II (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor, Joscelin I, and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography Youth In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. The next ...

) #*Rita (c. 1150 – after 1168/1169), the wife of Hethum III of Lampron #*Irene, the wife of Isaac Komnenus of Cyprus # c. 1164 An ''unnamed'' daughter of the future regent Thomas #* Roupen II of Cilicia (c. 1165 – Hromgla, 1170)

In popular culture

Real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...

video game '' Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition'' contains a five-scenario campaign centered around Thoros II and his rule of Cilician Armenia.

Footnotes

Sources

* Edwards, Robert W.: ''The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia'', Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII, Dumbarton Oaks: Trustees for Harvard University, 1987, Washington, D.C.; * Ghazarian, Jacob G.: ''The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia during the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins (1080–1393)''; RoutledgeCurzon (Taylor & Francis Group), 2000, Abingdon; *

External links

Smbat Sparapet's Chronicle

(Kurkjian's History of Armenia, Ch. 27) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoros Ii, Prince Of Armenia 1169 deaths Christians of the Second Crusade Year of birth unknown 12th-century Armenian people Monarchs of the Rubenid dynasty 12th-century births 12th-century rulers of Armenian Cilicia