ARMENIA, Cilician Armenia. Royal. Levon I. 1198-1219

ARMENIA, Cilician Armenia. Royal. Levon I. 1198-1219. AR Tram (20mm, 2.80 g, 4h). Pre-coronation issue. Zabel and Hetoum I standing facing one another, holding long patriarchal cross between / Crowned lion advancing right, head facing; long cross in background. Cf. AC 368 (for type); cf. CCA 1424-7 (same). Lightly toned. Near VF. Rare.

The eldest son of Hetoum I and Zabel, Levon II became king upon the abdication of his father in 1270. Active in the pursuit of trade agreements with the west, Levon attempted to preserve Armenian peace by also continuing to reinforce an alliance with the Mongols similar to that which his father had pursued in 1247. After continued Mamluk invasions, Levon joined the Mongols, as well as Georgian forces under King Demetrius II, at the second Battle of Hims in 1281, only to be defeated by their Mamluk enemies. In order to obtain peace, Levon was forced to cede important territories to the Mamluks, resulting in a ten-year truce beginning in 1285. In that decade of peace, Armenia flourished both economically and culturally, as some of the finest works of Armenian art were produced during this period. Of Levon's ten children who survived infancy, five eventually reached the throne over the following 30 years.