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

The initial Mongol expedition of 1220/21 waa in
the Caucasus primarily for reconnaissance. Apart from
reporting the pilfering of herds and the sack of some
few cities, the Caucasian sources do not dwell on unbridled
Turkmen activity at that time. Ihia reconnaissance army
waa disciplined and obedient to ita commanders.
The nature of Turkmen activity becomes clearer with
the destructive sojourn of Jalal al-Din on the Armenian
highlands (1225-ca. 1230). During these five bloody years,
Jalal held the loyalty of the Turkmans in his company by
giving them full rein, and directing them especially
against Christians. While the actual devotion to Islam
of Jalal or of his rude hordes ia questionable, his
tecnique of directing rampages against Christians effectively
satisfied the army's lust for plunder and simultaneously
provided a religious justification for ita actions.
Jalal'a career was that of a Turkmen brigand and he died
the death of an unsuccessful brigand chief. He waa abandoned
by the army when he waa unable to provide it with more
loot. With his murder, as we have aeen, Turkmena in email
bands continued harassing sedentary populations and
caravans all over the Middle East .
When the Mongols returned in 1236, the Turkmen element
in their midst was satiated somewhat by the sack of resisting
cities. However, even in this early period of Mongol rule,
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