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

CHAPTER TWO
ARMENIA AND THE TURCO-MOHGOL INVASIONS
In the early 1220'a when Mongol troops first passed
through the Caucasus, the Armenian population, living
there and in many other localities across Asia Minor,
dwelled under considerably diverse circumstances. The
many states in which the Armenians were settled in the
late 12th and early 13th centuries had-.-arisen as the
result of the Saljuq Turkish invasions of the mid llth
century, and for our purposes may be viewed as differing
from each other principally on the basis of the amount
of political and cultural autonomy enjoyed by their
Armenian inhabitants. The nature of the Saljuq invasions/
migrations and certain aspects of the consequences of
Turkish domination merit a brief examination prior to
reviewing the Turco-Xongol invasions/migrations of the
13-14th centuries because, in a certain sense, the
invasions of the llth century were a "dress rehersal"
for several subsequent invasions of Armenia from the
Orient. A characterization of the Saljuq invasions and
domination will provide not only an introduction to the
complexities of medieval Armenian society, but also will
throw into sharper relief fundamental similarities and
dissimilarities with the Khwarazmian, Mongol, and Timurid
invasions and administrations. This chapter first examines
briefly some of the more salient features of political
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