The Turco-Mongol Invasions and the Lords of Armenia in the 13 ...

In theory as well as in practice, the Mongols
regarded all conquered lands as their own property. They
did not hesitate to favor submissive princes or punish
the recalcitrant by giving lands or taking them away.
The Mongols were adroit at exploiting antagonisms existing
within branches of the same family. Thus, when Awag
(ca. 1243), harried by the Mongols' excessive demands,
fled to the court of queen Rusudan (herself a fugitive
from the Mongols), Kirakos noted that the Mongols gave
his land to SahnSah because of the latter's greater
faithfulness « Another striking example of precedence
manipulation within a single family concerns the Georgian
royal Bagratids themselves. The Mongol commander Baiju
furious with Rusudan for not surrendering to him,
2
enthroned her co-opted eon, David Rusudanean . Eventually
sanctioning two monarchs, the Mongols effectively
divided the kingdom and the royal treasury, expropriating
one third of it for themselves . But following Rusudan's
death (ca. 1247) and before the enthronement of the
two rulers, the Mongols again manipulated the precedence
of the lords to suit their principal aim, namely of
encouraging centrifueation. The History of. K'art'li^
after noting Georgia's rulerless condition, continues:
KG p. 265.
KG p. 289. Also see Appendix B.
KG p. 317.
181