The Military and Political Conflicts of the Seljuks of Anatolia with the Armenian Government of Cilicia and its Reflection in the Bilingual Coins of the King Hethum I

Document Type : Research Articles

Author

PhD student of history, University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran

Abstract
The Armenian government of Cilicia (473-776 AH/1080-1375AD) was one of the most important governments located in the south and southeast of the Anatolian peninsula during the 5th to 8th centuries AH/11th to 14th AD. This government was established by Armenian immigrants who fled to Cilicia after the collapse of the Bagratid kingdom of Great Armenia (436 AH/1045 AD) by the Byzantines and the subsequent attacks of Turkomans and Seljuks. One of the most interesting chapters in the history of this government is its relations with the Seljuks of Anatolia and the minting of Armenian and Arabic bilingual coins in the names of two Seljuk sultans in the first half of the 7th AH/13th AD century. Now the question is, what causes or motives caused the leaders of the Kingdom of Cilicia to do such a thing? Was the minting of such coins in the first half of the 7th AH/13th AD century the result of a series of wide-ranging conflicts in the previous years? In the present study, an attempt has been made to answer the question by using the qualitative research method, adopting an analytical-descriptive approach and rereading the narratives of the Persian and Armenian chronicles. What is obtained from the examination of historical narratives indicates the extensive political and military conflicts between the Seljuks of Anatolia and the Armenians of Cilicia, the outcome of which was reflected in the bilingual coins of the Kingdom of Cilicia during the reign of Hethum I.

Keywords


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  • Receive Date 04 March 2024
  • Revise Date 03 May 2024
  • Accept Date 10 June 2024