Land of Kaghrdik According to Armenian Sources

Abstract

Historians continue debating the details of Emperor John II Komnenos’ (1118–1143) campaigns in the east. The exact place of his death in Cilicia in 1143 is unclear due to vague account of the sources in possession. The Byzantine, Latin, and Syrian writers provide the most information about the emperor’s death. However, the Armenian sources, specifically the thirteenth-century chronicles of Smbat Sparapet, Vahram Rabuni, and Getum Patmich, provide unique information on the events in John Komnenos’ campaign of 1142–1143. These sources mention that the emperor’s entrails were buried in the land of Kagrdik. William of Tyre, a Latin chronicler, said that John II died at the place called Pratum palliorum. However, the linguistic analysis and comparison of various sources undertaken in this article has proved that the Kaghrdik was not the same as Pratum palliorum. The Kaghrdik was probably located near Anavarza. The discovery of the John II Komnenos burial place may shed light on the location of the twelfth- and thirteenth-century Orthodox churches in the Anavarza region. The comparative analysis has suggested that the Kaghrdik was most likely located in the vicinity of the ruins of Tumlu castle and St. Simankla monastery.

Keywords

• византия
• киликия
• кагрдик
• pratum palliorum
• иоанн ii ком- нин
• армянские хроники
• киликийские топонимы