Reflection of Mongolian Imperial Ideas in the Medieval Armenian Sources

Abstract

The article analyzes the information from Armenian sources of the 13th–14th centuries about the Mongolian imperial ideology refracted through the prism of the Christian worldview. In addition to historical works, the study looks at the colophons of manuscripts and some relevant poetic literary works. Armenian authors retell the legend that the Lord himself gave the whole world to Genghis Khan, and that the code of the Mongolian Imperial legislation – the Great Yasa – also has a heavenly origin. Apparently, these legends, which were interspersed with echoes of some real events from the early Mongolian history, were widely known among the multi-ethnic elite of the Hulaguid State. The Mongol invaders were perceived by the Armenians as “God’s punishment” for sins, which is proves to be quite a representative view at the Mongols in monotheistic cultures; in fact, this was an important factor legitimizing the Mongolian power. Circulating rumors about some Khan’s intention to be baptized gave additional weight to the legitimacy of the Mongol rule. The analyzed sources greatly vary in determining the extent of Mongolian aggression. Some of them give rather specific description of Mongolian military campaigns and list the countries and historic regions they conquered, ahile some speak about the nomads’ conquest of “the whole world”. Actually, the limits of “the whole world” in these works often coincide with the limits of Armenian cultural contacts and exclude countries that did not obey to the Mongols, despite the authors’ full awareness of the Mongols’ attempts to conquer them. Assessments of the Mongolian rulers were determined, first of all, by their attitude to Christians, while even the Ilkhans who professed Islam received positive reviews. Armenian authors clearly tried to avoid critical statements about not only Hulagu and his descendants, but also about the great Khans, and in this they are very close to the positions of their Georgian, Syrian, and Russian contemporaries. The author argues that in a number of cases Armenian historians have provided fairly accurate information about the fundamental principles of the Mongolian Empire, including its ideological foundations. Therefore, their information is very useful for the reconstruction of the formation of Mongolian imperial ideology in the 13th century.