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

ut precisely that narrow scope and those mundane interests
are what make such sources valuable. The early 13th
century was a period of vigorous building activity across
the Armenian highlands, and it was customary for the lordly
patrons of this activity to inscribe the walls of their
edifices with sometimes lengthy inscriptions. Besides
containing much of interest for economic history, the inscrip-
tions often contain lordly titles and valuable geneological
information. The 13-l4th century Armenian sources are
not well known to Western scholars, and consequently, are
under-utilized in their studies. For this reason, and
because the sources are scattered, a more detailed investi-
gation of these sources and their authors appears justified
(see below). Conversely, sources familiar to scholars--
Juvaini, Rashid al-Din, etc.—are but briefly examined
for their relevance to the two specific areas of interest
to this study. These latter will be addressed first.
Persian literary histories of the 13-l4th centuries
tend to be of importance more for the study of the invasions
and their economic impact on the Armenian highlands, than
for the history of the lords. The histories of Juvaini (d.1283)
'Ala ad-Din 'Ata-Halik Juvaini (ca. 1226-83) was in an
excellent position to obtain information about various parts
of the Mongol empire and particularly about the Caucasus.
His great-grandfather had been an advisor to the Khwarazm Shah
Tekish, and other relatives had served the Saljuq.s in Iran
[Juvaini, The History of the World-Conqueror, J.A. Boyle, trans,,
vol. I (Manchester, 1955) p. xvj. His grandfather was the
11