KeghartKing Levon V, the last king of Cilician Armenia, “ascended” his crumbling throne of a decimated and impoverished kingdom under extremely trying circumstances as the capital of Sis on Sept. 14, 1374. He was crowned first by a Roman bishop, and then according to an Armenian ceremony. Within ten months (April 13, 1375) this last ‘stronghold’ of a free Armenian state fell to the dastardly attacks of renegade Armenians and the large army of the neighboring Memlukes. The king with his family was taken prisoner to Cairo, where they remained for over seven years. A Franciscan monk named Jean Dardel became the king’s councilor and worked to obtain his release. Finally, after a payment of ransom by the kings of Castile and Aragon, Levon left Egypt on Oct. 7, 1382 for Cyprus. He then travelled to France where he retired. He died on Nov. 29, 1393 in Paris. He is now buried in the St. Denis Cathedral, outside Paris, the resting place of all French kings and queens.
King Levon V, the last king of Cilician Armenia, “ascended” his crumbling throne of a decimated and impoverished kingdom under extremely trying circumstances as the capital of Sis on Sept. 14, 1374. He was crowned first by a Roman bishop, and then according to an Armenian ceremony. Within ten months (April 13, 1375) this last ‘stronghold’ of a free Armenian state fell to the dastardly attacks of renegade Armenians and the large army of the neighboring Memlukes. The king with his family was taken prisoner to Cairo, where they remained for over seven years. A Franciscan monk named Jean Dardel became the king’s councilor and worked to obtain his release. Finally, after a payment of ransom by the kings of Castile and Aragon, Levon left Egypt on Oct. 7, 1382 for Cyprus. He then travelled to France where he retired. He died on Nov. 29, 1393 in Paris. He is now buried in the St. Denis Cathedral, outside Paris, the resting place of all French kings and queens.
Keghart
Keghart