THE ROLE OF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE AT THE FINAL STAGE OF THE “ANTIOCHIAN WAR” (1216)

Abstract

For about fifteen years, King Levon I struggled to defend the legitimate rights of his brother’s grandson, Raymond-Ruben, in order to raise him to the Antioch’s throne. After several attempts, he eventually took over Antioch in 1216. Taking into consideration previous years’ experience, this time the Armenian king tried to prevent Cilicia from being attacked simultaneously by three neighboring states. To this end, he made great diplomatic efforts, not only releasing Muslim captives and sending expensive gifts to al-Malik al-Zahir, but also sending him two skillfully worded letters that no doubt played an important role in making the Ayyubid Sultan of Aleppo change his mind and abdicate from the idea of attacking Cilicia. No less important role was played in this matter by Sultan of Egypt al-Malik al-Adil, who had close ties with King Levon since 1208, acted as his patron and forbade his nephew to participate in the adventure initiated by the Sultan of Iconium. XIII-century Arab historians Kamal ad-Din Ibn al-Adim, Ibn Wasil and Izz al-Din Ibn Shaddad provide exceptional information about the diplomatic steps of the Armenian kingdom, as well as the complex relations between the Ayyubids of Cairo and Aleppo.