Costandin II

Kostandin was born in 1277 in the family of King Levon II and Queen Keran ^[1] . He came from the Khetumid dynasty (Khetumyan), and owned the Kapan fortress. In 1296 , after the departure of his brothers, King Hetum II and Toros III , Kostandin helped his other brother, Smbat , usurp power in the country. He was one of those nobles and clergy who crowned Smbat in Sis ^[2] . However, during the reign of Smbat , Egyptian Mamluks invaded the country, who, having destroyed a number of settlements, killed and captured many people in slavery. Failure to defend the country caused a storm of indignation among the people and the nobility. Around the same time, in captivity, on the orders of Smbat , their common brother Toros was killed. As a result of all this, in January 1298, Kostandin overthrows his brother Smbat and takes his place. A year after coming to power, in 1299 , Kostandin returns the throne to his older brother Hetum II , who was released immediately after he came to power. Hetum II came to power again, reconciling Kostandin with Smbat , sends both brothers to Constantinople ^[3] .

1. ↑ sometimes the name of the king is spelled in Russian, as Konstantin
2. ↑ A number of historians have been numbering kings since 1198, when the Cilician ruler was first crowned according to Western European traditions. Therefore, Kostandin II is sometimes called Kostandin I
3. ↑ A number of historians, numbering since the founding of the Cilician Armenian state (1080), take into account the numbering of the son of Toros I (? - 1129/1130) - Kostandin , who died several months after his father. Therefore, Kostandin II is sometimes called Kostandin III . However, other sources question its existence.

• Sukiasyan A.G. History of the Cilician Armenian state and law . - Yerevan: Mitk, 1969.
• Claude Mutafyan . The Last Kingdom of Armenia = Le Royaume Arménien de Cilicie, XIIe-XIVe siècl. - “Mediacart”, 2009. - 161 p. - ISBN 978-5-9901129-5-7 .