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

part* of the Armenian highlands, attacked churches,
monasteries, wealthy and poor Christians. Already in
the late 1270's Turkmen* killed Sargis, the influential
bishop of Erzinjan . in 1290, the anti-Christian lord
of Mayyafarikin had the Armenian lord of Mus assassinated
w 2
and then persecuted the monks of Taron. In 1290/91 a
peripatetic Armenian priest, Grigor, was killed at Zarberd,
and 45 Armenian meoatuns in the city were arrested. It
16 interesting that this episode is recounted both in
Bar Hebraeus and in an Armenian martyrology. In the
Armenian account, the Mongol governor barely restrained
a Muslim mob from killing the 45 merchants. Ihis scene
is reminiscent of Kirakos' account of Chaehatai * s rescue
of the arrested naxarars (1249/50). It is one of the
last examples of such restraint to be found in the sources:
...But a certain chief named T'at'laray.of the
Nation of the Archers, got up, mounted a horse,
[came] with his troops, snatched the bound [prisoners]
away from them and set them free in peace. Then
he threatened [the would-be killers] saying: 'Were
you to slay such citizens,_what answer should I give
to the world-conquering Khan by whom I was sent
to guard this city? 4.
SA p. 162. Samuel's contlnuator places the murder in 1272,
though the Annals of Bishop Step'annos (MC vol. 1 p. 44)
puts it in 1276. See above oh. two pp. 120-21 n. 1.
BH p. 464.
BH pp. 4B3-84.
AHM p. 115.
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