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

villages around Melitene/Malatya , and still were active
2
in the same area at the close of the decade . Further-
more, the arrival in HulegU'a realm of some seven of
Chingiz-Khan' s unruly grandchildren from the North, and
their partial settlement in the Caucasus (mid-1250's)
introduced another centrifugal force given over to pillaging.
In the late 1250's the Caucasus was ravaged by one of
these arrivals, Xul . In 1268 another of the emigres,
Tegttder, rebelled from the fl-Khans, causing chaos and
destruction in Armenia and Georgia .
Because of anti-Islamic feeling among the Mongols
at the time of the invasion, the shamanist Turkmens1 rage
often was channeled against Muslims—much to the delight
of beleaguered Christians. However, Mongol religious
policy was quite complex, and underwent numerous
shifts. For ezaaple, at the time of the census conducted
by Arghun and Buna (1243), Kirakos said that Buqa
"...had assembled brigands from among the Persians
and TaSika, who mercilessly performed deeds of cruelty
BH p. 420.
BH pp. 425-26.
pp. 327, 329.
KG pp. 258-67; Mur. pp. 129-37.
207