1 o4 Description of a Cupper Coin of Leu, Spc, [No. 39, 



ed them to carry out his object. Both the Pontiff and the Emperor 

 agreed to the proposition ; and the ambassadors returned to Cili- 

 cia in the company of Conrad, Archbishop of Mentz, whom Celes- 

 tinus and Henry sent with a magnificent crown for the purpose of 

 gratifying Leo. At the same time the Emperor forwarded a splen- 

 did standard, having in the middle the device of a lion, in reference 

 to his name. On the arrival of the deputies the ceremony of co- 

 ronation took place in the city of Tarsus, on the Cth of January 

 1198, in the presence of a vast assembly of the nobles, clergy, laity 

 and all ranks of people ; and an excellent oration was pronounced 

 on the occasion by Nerses Lambronensis, Archbishop of that place : 

 this memorable transaction is related at length in the great History 

 of Armenia by Father Chamchean, vol. III. pp. 164, 170 ; and 

 also in the " Conciliatio Ecclesia Armence cum Romana" by Clemens 

 Galanus. torn. I., p. 346, seq., who has produced several Epistles 

 from the Regesta of Innocent III. having reference to this affair. 

 Besides the above marks of distinction, the Emperor of Constanti- 

 nople, Alexius Angelus, sent also a crown to Leo, and thus this 

 Armenian prince of Cilicia is, as Professor Neumann observes, the 

 only king who received the crown by both the Emperors of the 

 west and the east, and by the consent of the Pope. These royal 

 favors were conferred upon Leo in order to preserve a friendly re- 

 lation with him ; for the Latins and the Greeks thought him to be 

 a very useful ally against the overpowering Saladin. Be this as it 

 may, after the above event, Leo took the title of Thagavor or King, 

 as did also all his successors ; for the former rulers w r ere only styled 

 Barons of Celicia : he was likewise called " the Great" on ac- 

 count of his courageous actions. Leo died in 1219, having reign- 

 ed in all 34 years, 12 as baron and 22 as king. His remains were 

 interred in Sis, and a magnificent church built on the spot. From 

 the above facts, it will appear evident that the coin must have been 

 struck in the reign of Leo II., and the occurrence, at the same time, 

 of the lion's head, the title of King and the double cross decides the 

 question, I think, at once in favor of that sovereign. Under these 

 circumstances, the date of the coin might be placed between 1200 

 and 1215, or very nearly 650 years ago. 



With regard to Sis it is to be observed that it was once a famous 



