In a letter dated July 1, 1322, and sent from Avignon, Pope John XXII reminded Mongol ruler Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan of the alliance of his ancestors with Christians, asking him to intervene in Cilicia.

[2] Oshin murdered a number of members of the royal family to consolidate his own power, and Leo's reaction upon reaching his majority in 1329 was violent.

[2] Leo was strongly pro-Western and favored a union of the Armenian and Roman Churches, which deeply displeased the native barons.

His second marriage on December 29, 1331 to Constance, daughter of Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou, widow of Henry II of Cyprus, further aroused anti-Western sentiment.

[3] In 1337, Al-Nasir Muhammad invaded again, taking the city of Ayas, and Leo was forced to conclude a humiliating truce, surrendering territory and a large indemnity and promising to have no dealings with the West.