Although Levon II was constantly at war with against external enemies, he managed to accomplish all the above mentioned tasks. On one occasion, defending the rights of one of his relatives (Prince Rouben Raymond of Antiochia) when his properties were confiscated, he was forced to declare war against this principality. At the same time Armenia was attacked by the sultan of Konya, who was a Seljuk Turk - later it transpired that the prince of Antiochia had bought his alliance by offering him gifts and money. Levon II fought simultaneously both enemies and defeated them one after the other, in the process taking Antiochia. This he accomplished despite the high treason of the Templar Knights order, whom Levon II had hired at a very high price. 64
Later, the sultan of Aleppo, son of the great Saladin, had the courage to demand tax from Armenia. Levon II attacked Aleppo, defeated the army of the sultan and forced him to pay the same amount which he had demanded from Armenia. 65
At the end of his reign, in 1217, the sultan of Konya attacked the city of Kapan and surrounded it. The Turks managed to repel the Armenian army which had been sent to the aid of the besieged city. Then Levon II attacked Konya and forced the sultan for the good of his realm, to end the siege of Kapan and ask for peace. 66
We have mentioned the most important events of the glory days, characterized by the alliance of Levon II and his closeness to the western world. The famous researcher Heyd writes: "He [Levon II] knew the need for a serious alliance with the powers of the western world and the crusaders, for himself and his successors, with their support and assistance be able to simultaneously fight the Muslim emirs and Byzantine. As soon as he decided to follow this policy, he synchronized his actions according to the following plan: he allied himself with Fredrik Barbarossa and thereby became heir of the Holy Germanic Empire and its subject who per se was one of the most impressive allies of the Latin countries in the east. He did his best to make Europe interested in the successes and the welfare of his country, and in order to achieve this he accepted the system of the western countries during the Middle Ages, expanded the trade-exchange with Europe, divided the estates amongst the barons and the major religious and military powers and finally tried to make peace between the Armenian Apostolic and the Catholic Churches." 67
Tournebize describes the personality and characteristics of this great ruler thus: "The Armenian principality of Cilicia reached the peak of its power and glory during the reign of Levon II. Despite its belonging to the past, his rule is still worth praising. If one only would know the difficulties which he had to go through in order to reach the royal throne, how stubborn and purposeful he was to that end, at the same time that he was willing to compromise and friendly! His contemporary historians praise his courage, his competence in riding and his kindness and cheerful personality. But the obvious feature which distinguishes him from others is his long term awareness, his skilful diplomacy and political views. Through the alliances which he skilfully established with the Christian courts, he sparked their interest in the welfare of his family and that of his country. He also managed, among his surroundings, to select the most competent persons and delegate the different duties of the country to them. When he heard of a competent counsellor, scientist, rhetorician, skilful author or military man, he tried to convince this person to begin serving him at once. The majority of these able persons were, of course, the noblemen and the military and among these princes who ruled over 72 important fortresses in New Armenia, whom historians have mentioned, by the side of the Armenian names we find also Greek, German and especially French names (among others Roger du Mont, Thomas Maslebrun, Guillaume d'Isle and many others)." 71
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