Many thirteenth and fourteenth century Armenian manuscripts have lengthy colophons that transmit a dense mass of information regarding the Mongolic invasions of Armenia. Some of these are in fact genuine Kleinchroni­ken. The information that they furnish is quite useful for historical research on a variety of subjects: the chronology and geography of the phases of the Mongols’ ad­vance, the strategies of conquest, the control and use of the region, the politi­cal reactions in different parts of Armenia (whether the individual vassaldom of some princes of Greater Armenia or the alliance entered into by the Armenian king of Cilicia), and, last but not least, contemporary interpretations or «read­ings» of the invasions that illustrate the collective mentalité of the period.  
Amongst the various approaches possible, that chosen for the present con­tri­bution has been to focus upon the manner in which the Mongols are described in the first colophons referring to their arrival in Armenia. Indeed, these in­va­ders made a strong emotional impact upon contemporary Armenian witnesses, for they were very different from their predecessors in terms of physical ap­pea­rance, customs, religion and language. Attention is given not only to these initial co­lophons, but also to those that came soon thereafter and deal with individual fi­gures: the king Het‘um I (1226-1269), the Mongol khan Ghazan (1295-1304) and the Armenian prince Amir Hasan I (1284-1292). This last-mentioned ruler chose to maintain his family’s vassalage to the Mongol sovereigns in the eastern re­gion of Vayoc‘ Jor and was thereby able to continue to govern his own lands even while receiving honours and concrete signs of good-will from them.