Chapter III: Part 3

Is Ecclesiam suam, congregatam ex gentibus, non habentem maculam, neque rugam super gentes et Regna constituit; is extendit palmites ejus usque ad mare, et usque ad terminos terræ ipsius propagines dilatavit; cujus est terra, et plenitudo ejus, Orbis terrarum, et universi qui habitant in eo, ipse etiam Romanam Ecclesiam non solum universis fidelibus prætulit, sed supra cæteras Ecclesias exaltavit: ut cæteræ ab ea non tam vivendi normam, et morum sumerent disciplinam, sed et fidei etiam catholicæ documenta reciperent, et ejus servarent humiliter instituta. In Petro enim Apostolorum Principe, cui excellentius aliis Dominus ligandi et solvendi contulit potestatem, dicens ad eum: quodcunque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in cœlis: et quodcunque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in cœlis: Ecclesia Romana, sedes ejus, et Sessores ipsius Romani Pontifices, successores Petri, et vicarii Jesu Christi, sibi invicem per successivas varietates temporum singulariter succedentes, super Ecclesiis omnibus, et cunctis Ecclesiarum Prelatis, immo etiam fidelibus universis a Domino primatum et magisterium acceperunt: vocatis sic cæteris in partem solicitudinis, ut apud eos plenitudo resideat potestatis. Non enim in Petro, et cum Petro singulare illud privilegium expiravit, quod successoribus ejus futuris usque in finem Mundi Dominus in ipso concessit; sed præter vitæ sanctitatem, et miraculorum virtutes, par est in omnibus jurisdictio successorum; quos etsi diversis temporibus, eidem tamen Sedi, et eadem auctoritate Dominus voluit præsidere. Gaudemus autem, quod tu, sicut Princeps catholicus, Apostolicæ Sedis privilegium recognoscens, venerabilem fratrem nostrum Moguntinum Archiepiscopum, Episcopum Sabinensem, unum ex septem Episcopis, qui nobis in Ecclesia Romana collaterales existunt, benigne, ac hilariter recepisti; et non solum per eum institutis salutaribus es instructus, quibus juxta continentiam litterarum tuarum totum Regnum tuum licet amplissimum desideras informari, et universos Armenos ad Ecclesiæ Romanæ gremium revocare; sed _ad honorem, et gloriam Apostolicæ Sedis, quam constitutam esse novisti super gentes, et regna, diadema regni recepisti de manibus ejus_; et eum curasti devote, ac humiliter honorare: et nos per ipsum, et litteras tuas ad orientalis terræ subsidium invitasti. Ei ergo, a quo est omne datum optimum, et omne donum, perfectum, qui habet corda Principum in manu sua, quas possumus, gratias referentes, quod tibi tantæ humilitatis animum inspiravit; rogamus Serenitatem Regiam, et exhortamur in Domino, ac _per Apostolica tibi scripta mandamus_, quatenus in timore Domini, et Apostolicæ Sedis devotione persistens, ad expugnandam barbariem Paganorum, et vindicandam injuriam Crucifixi, tanto potentius, et efficacius studeas imminere; quanto fraudes et versutias hostium vicinius positus melius cognovisti: non in exercitus multitudine, aut virtute, sed de ipsius potius miseratione confidens, qui docet manus ad prælium, et digitos movet ad bellum; qu arcus fortium superat, et robore accingit infirmos. Jam enim per Dei gratiam ad commonitionem nostram multi Crucis signaculum receperunt, et plures Domino dante recipient, in defensionem orientalis Provinciæ opportuno tempore transituri. Jam etiam duo ex fratribus nostris de manibus nostris vivificæ Crucis assumpsere vexillum, exercitum Domini præcessuri. Confide igitur, et esto robustus, quia citius forsitan, quam credatur, orientalis Provincia subsidium sentiet expectatum. Dat. Later. viii. kal. Decembris.

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_Idem Innocentius Papa ad illustriss. Regem Armeniæ. Quod ipsi transmittat vexillum beati Petri, quo contra Crucis inimicos utatur._

_After some previous passages_:—Et tibi congaudemus, et Nobis, immo etiam universo Populo Christiano; quod eum tibi Dominus inspiravit affectum, ut Apostolicæ Sedis instituta devote reciperes, et præcepta fideliter observares, et contra inimicos Crucis propositum illud assumeres, ut in eos vindicare cupias injuriam Crucifixi, et hæreditatem ejus de ipsorum manibus liberare. Nos igitur de tuæ devotionis sinceritate confisi, ad petitionem dilecti filii Roberti de Margat militis, nuncii tui, in nostræ dilectionis indicium, vexillum beati Petri tuæ Serenitati dirigimus; quo in hostes Crucis duntaxat utaris, et eorum studeas contumaciam cum Dei auxilio, suffragantibus Apostolorum Principis meritis, refrænare. Datum Later. xvi. kal. Januarii.

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_Leonis Armeniæ Regis ad Innocentium III. epistola; qua ad præcedentem respondet, et privilegium ab eo petit._

_After some other passages_:—Paternitatis vestræ litteras, quas per dilectum fidelem Nuncium nostrum nobis direxistis, ea qua decuit reverentia, et devotione suscepimus; et per earum significata pleno collegimus intellectu, Vos charitatis visceribus Regiam Majestatem nostram amplexari. Continebant etiam quod in devotione, et amore Apostolicæ Sedis persisteremus; et in hoc semper perseverare cupimus; et optamus, et testis est rerum effectus, dum _de omnibus negotiis nostris ad Sedem Apostolicum appellamus_. Misistis autem nobis per eundem Nuncium vexillum sancti Petri in memoriale dilectionis Sedis Apostolicæ, quod semper ante nos portari contra inimicos Crucis ad honorem Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ faciemus ... Præterea nos obedientiæ vinculis de cætero Apostolicæ Sedi esse alligatos, non dubitetis; ea propter, si placet Sanctitati vestræ, cuilibet alteri Ecclesiæ Latinæ nec volumus, nec debemus alligari. Hinc est, quod Sanctitatem vestram humiliter flagitamus, quatenus nobis litteras apertas mittere dignemini, ut non teneamur videlicet cum Latinis de terra nostra de qualibet conditione, excepta sancta Romana Ecclesia, cuilibet Ecclesiæ Latinæ: et quod non habeat potestatem, nos, seu Latinos de terra nostra excommunicandi, vel sententiam in Regno nostro proferendi super Latinos quælibet Ecclesia, excepta, ut dictum est, Sede Apostolica.[6] Præsentium quoque latorem, dilectum, et fidelem nostrum militem, nomine Garnere Teuto ad pedes Sanctitatis vestræ dirigimus; cui super his, quæ ex parte nostra vobis indixerit, tanquam Nobis ipsis credere, ne dubitetis, &c.

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_Ex indulto Regis Armeniæ, a Domino Papa Innocentio III. sibi facto._

Volentes igitur, quantum cum Deo possumus, tuæ Serenitati deferre, et _cum honestate nostra petitineso Regias exaudire_; tuis precibus inclinati, auctoritate præsentium inhibemus, ne quis in te, vel Regnum tuum, aut homines Regni tui, cujuscunque conditionis existant qui mediantibus tamen ejusdem Regni Prælatis, Sedi Apostolicæ sunt subjecti, præter Romanum Pontificem, et ejus Legarum, vel de ipsius speciali mandato, districtionem Ecclesiasticam audeat exercere,[7] &c.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE ARMENIAN BARONS AND KINGS OF CILICIA

(ACCORDING TO CHAMCHEAN.)

Rouben I. 1080

Constantine I. 1095

Thoros I. 1100

Leon I. 1123

_Interregnum_ 1138

Thoros II. 1144

Thomas Bail, regent 1168

Meleh 1169

Rouben II. 1174

Leon II.[8] 1185

Sabel or Isabella, queen 1219

Philippus 1220

_Interregnum_ 1222

Hethum or Haithon I. 1224

Leon III. 1269

Hethum II., also called Johannes 1289

Thoros III. 1293

Hethum II. (second time) 1295

Sembad 1296

Constantine II. 1298

Hethum III. 1300

Leon IV. 1305

Odshin 1308

Leon V. 1320

Constantine III. 1342

Guido 1343

Constantine IV. 1345

_Interregnum_ 1363

Leon VI. 1368

End of the Armenian kingdom in Cilicia 1375

FOOTNOTES

[1] Nicetas II. p. 148. I wonder that Montesquieu, in making use of this passage of Nicetas (Grandeur et Decadence des Romains, ch. xxii.), has not been struck with its incorrectness; it did not escape the critical discernment of Gibbon: the Decline and Fall, etc. ch. 49. n. 17.

[2] Bruce’s Annals of the East-India Company, iii. 88. The mercantile companies trading to different parts of Asia found every where the Armenians in their way; the Armenians became jealous on the new intruders of their commerce, and tried to remove them by intrigues. See Hanway, i. 303.

[3] Pompey the Great had vanquished the Albanians, who brought into the field twelve thousand horse and sixty thousand foot. Plutarch in Pompeio., t. ii. p. 1165. Gibbon, chap. xlvi. n. 6.

[4] See the Notes 53 and 54 to the text of Vahram’s Chronicle.

[5] This part of Palestine and Syria, which belonged to the Latins.

[6] Leon was on bad terms with the clergy of Antioch, and the latin princes were eager to unite Cilicia with their dominions.

[7] There are some other matters, regarding the history of the Armenian kingdom in Cilicia, spoken of in the _Regesta Innocentii III._; but it is not our object to write the history of that kingdom. We only collect materials for a future historian, who might certainly draw some other valuable accounts from _Belouacensis Spec. Hist._, from _Sanutus_ and from _Hayto_ or _Hethum’s Hist. Orient_. We may here observe, that Vahram, who is eager to tell all that is to the honour and glory of the Church, says nothing about the baptism of the great Chan of the Moguls.

[8] Leon was the first king, the former princes are only called barons of Cilicia.

The Translator finds it necessary to remark for the information of the reader of “_The History of Vartan_,” that, not being in this country when the work went to press, there occurred some slight errors, particularly in the orthography of proper names. We shall at present only notice the following:—

Preface, p. vii, line 6, for _Esrick_ read _Esnik_.
p. xxii, line 13, for _of_ Moh. read _before_ Moh.
p. 5, line 21, for _Dadjgabdan_ read _Dadjgasdan_.
p. 75, line 21, for _Bardesares_ read _Bardesanes_.

Transcriber’s Note

The errors above refer to a different book. The following probable mistakes in _this_ one were noticed and changed.

Page 69, “geoprapher” changed to “geographer” (the geographer
alluded to)

Page 73, “Amenian” changed to “Armenian” (printed in Armenian,
at Venice)

Page 73, “seasame” changed to “sesame” (abounding in sesame,
panic, millet, wheat and barley)

Page 76, “certrin” changed to “certain” (it is likewise certain
that the language)

Page 90, “Mogolian” changed to “Mongolian” (the head of the
Mongolian confederacy)

Page 91, “Quardo” changed to “Quadro” (Quadro della Storia)

Page 92, “Palastine” changed to “Palestine” (our author means
Palestine and Syria)

Page 101, “calamitatess” changed to “calamitates” (Ad hæc
calamitates, miserias, paupertates)

Page 101, “omus” changed to “domus” (ejusdem domus decorem
diligere)

Page 101, “not ... faciuns” changed to “nos ... faciunt” (nos
oportet opponere; ut impetus, quem super eam faciunt)

LONDON:
Printed by J. L. Cox, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln’s-Inn Fields.