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.

Biography
Hayton was initially an Armenian noble, ruler of the city of Corycus. He was the son of Ochine of Corycus, brother of king Hethum I. Hayton later conspired against his younger cousin, king Hethum II (grandson of Hethum I) in 1293, and was exiled by Hethum in 1294. Hayton then worked as a monk in Cyprus, where he joined the order of the Premonstratensians 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.

Hayton later moved to Poitiers in France where the Pope resided, and became the prior of the Premonstratensian abbey there. Hayton pleaded in vain for Amalric of Tyre 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.

After the assassination of Hethum 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.

Works
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 explained the motivation of an alliance between Armenia, Antioch and the Mongols in 1259-1260, though historian Angus Donal Stewart has pointed out that Hayton's work was designed to be pro-Armenian propaganda.

""The Khan wanted to go to Jerusalem in order to deliver the Saint Lands from the Saracens and to remit it to the Chistians. The king Hethum I was very happy with this request, and assembled a great score of men on foot and on horse, because, in that time, the Kingdom of Armenia was in such a good state that it easily had 12.000 soldiers on horse and 60,000 soldiers on foot"."

- "La Flor des Estoires d'Orient", circa 1300, Hayton of Corycus, Doc. Arm II, p. 170