Hayton of Corycus

Hayton of Corycus, also called Hetoum of Korykos, Haiton, Haitho, Antonius, Haython, Antonius Curchinus or Hayton of Korykos, was an Armenian monk and historian who died around 1308. The works of Hayton were widely published in Medieval times, to an extent comparable to the works of other travelers such as Marco Polo or Odoric of Pordenone. [Jackson, p.334]

Hayton was initially an Armenian noble, ruler of the city of Korikos. [Demurger, p.115] He was the son of Ochine of Corycus, brother of king Hetoum I. [Mutafian, p.77] Hayton later conspired against his younger cousin, king Hethoum II (grandson of Hetoum I) in 1293, and was exiled by Hethoum in 1294. Hayton then worked as a monk in Cyprus, where he joined the order of the Praemonstratensians at the Bellapais Abbey. Hayton apparently supported Amalric of Tyre in his usurpation of the throne of Cyprus against the unpopular king Henry II of Cyprus. [Mutafian, p.77]

Hayton later moved to Poitiers in France where the Pope resided, and became the prior of the Praemonstratensian abbey there. ["A History of the Crusades 3", Runciman, p.433] Hayton pleaded in vain for Amalric to be recognized as the proper ruler of Cyprus. He also advocated a crusade to re-capture the Holy Land in alliance with the Mongols. While in France, Hayton wrote a geography of Asia, the first of the Middle-Ages, titled "Histoire merveilleuse, plaisante et recreative du grand empereur de Tartarie, Grand-Khan". He also wrote "La Flor des Estoires d'Orient" (Latin: "Flos Historiarum Terre Orientis", "The flower of the stories of the Orient") in which he notably explained the motivation of the alliance between Armenia, Antioch and the Mongols in 1259-1260:

After the assassination of Hetoum II in 1307, Hayton returned to Cilician Armenia, where he became a Constable.

His son Oshin of Korikos became regent of the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia from 1320. ["Le Royaume Armenien de Cilicie", Claude Mutafian, p.80]

Notes

References

*"Histoire des Croisades", René Grousset
*"A History of the Crusades 3", Runciman
*"Le Royaume Armenien de Cilicie", Claude Mutafian
*
*Peter Jackson, "The Mongols and the West", Pearson Education Limited, 2005, ISBN 0582368960

External links

* [http://rbedrosian.com/hetumint.htm Flowers of the Histories of the East] by Hayton of Corycus (English translation)