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Toros II the Great ((アルメニア語:Թորոս Բ)), also Thoros II, (unknown〔 – February 6, 1169〔) was the sixth lord of Armenian Cilicia〔 or “Lord of the Mountains”〔 (1144〔/1145〔〔-1169〔〔〔). Thoros (together with his father, Leo I and his brother, Roupen) was taken captive and imprisoned in Constantinople in 1137 after the Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, during his campaign against Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch, successfully had laid siege to Gaban and Vahka (today ''Feke'' in Turkey).〔 All Cilicia remained under Byzantine rule for eight years.〔 Unlike his father and brother, Thoros survived his incarceration in Constantinople and was able to escape in 1143.〔 Whatever the conditions in which Thoros entered Cilicia, he found it occupied by many Greek garrisons.〔 He rallied around him the Armenians in the eastern parts of Cilicia and after a persistent and relentless pursuit of the Greeks, he successfully ousted the Byzantine garrisons from Pardzerpert (now ''Andırın'' in Turkey), Vahka, Sis (today ''Kozan'' in Turkey), Anazarbus, Adana, Mamistra and eventually Tarsus.〔 His victories were aided by the lack of Muslim attacks in Cilicia and from the setbacks the Greeks and the Crusaders suffered on the heels of the loss of Edessa.〔 Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, unhappy with Thoros’s progress in the areas still claimed by the Byzantine Empire, sought peaceful means to settle his conflict with Thoros, but his attempts bore him no fruits.〔 The recovery before 1150 of the Taurus fortresses by Thoros had not seriously affected Greek power, but his conquest of Mamistra in 1151 and the rest of Cilicia in 1152 had necessitated a great expedition. As a result, during the course of the next 20 years there were no less than three separate military campaigns launched by the emperor against Thoros, but each campaign was only able to produce a limited success.〔 Thoros’s accomplishments during his reign placed Armenian Cilicia on a firm footing.〔 == His early years == Thoros was the second son of Leo I, lord of Armenian Cilicia.〔 The name and the origin of his mother are not known with certainty.〔 It is possible that she was a daughter of Count Hugh I of Rethel, or she may have been the daughter of Gabriel of Melitene.〔 In 1136, Leo I (Thoros's father) was made prisoner by Baldwin of Marash who sent him off to captivity in Antioch.〔 In his absence, his three sons quarreled; the eldest, Constantine, was eventually captured and blinded by his brothers.〔 After two months of confinement, Leo I obtained his liberty by consenting to harsh terms.〔 In the early summer of 1137, Emperor John II Comnenus came to Cilicia with a full force on his way to take Antioch; his army successively retook Seleucia, Korikos, Tarsus, Mamistra, Adana, Tel Hamdoun (now ''Toprakkale'' in Turkey) and Anazarbus.〔 Leo I took refuge in the Taurus Mountains, but at last found the situation hopeless, and surrendered himself to the conqueror;〔 Thoros and his youngest brother, Roupen were also taken captive together with their father.〔 They were dragged away to Constantinople, where Leo I died in imprisonment in 1141.〔 Roupen, after being blinded, was assassinated by the Greeks.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thoros II, Prince of Armenia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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