Hetoum II ruled Cilician Armenia in one of its most turbulent stretches — he abdicated three separate times, twice entering a Franciscan monastery, only to be pulled back to the throne by political crisis. His reign overlapped almost exactly with the collapse of the Crusader states and the intensifying Mongol pressure on the region, forcing Cilicia into a precarious tributary relationship with the Ilkhanate while simultaneously negotiating with the Papacy for military support that never arrived.
Billon deniers of this type circulated alongside Mongol and Crusader issues in a shrinking commercial zone. Hetoum was eventually blinded and murdered in 1307 by his nephew Oshin's faction.
Hetoum II ruled Cilician Armenia in one of its most turbulent stretches — he abdicated three separate times, twice entering a Franciscan monastery, only to be pulled back to the throne by political crisis. His reign overlapped almost exactly with the collapse of the Crusader states and the intensifying Mongol pressure on the region, forcing Cilicia into a precarious tributary relationship with the Ilkhanate while simultaneously negotiating with the Papacy for military support that never arrived.
Billon deniers of this type circulated alongside Mongol and Crusader issues in a shrinking commercial zone. Hetoum was eventually blinded and murdered in 1307 by his nephew Oshin's faction.