Balian of Ibelin
 | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2021) ) |
Balian | |
|---|---|
| Father | Barisan of Ibelin |
| Mother | Helvis of Ramla |
Balian of Ibelin (French: Balian d'Ibelin; c. 1143–1193), also known as Barisan the Younger, was a crusader noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was lord of Ibelin from 1170 to 1193. As the leader of the defense of the city during the siege of Jerusalem in 1187, he surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin on 2 October 1187.[1]
Early years
Balian was the youngest son of
His precise year of birth is unknown, but he was of the age of majority (usually 15) by 1158, when he first appears in charters, having been described as under-age ("infra annos") in 1156.
After the death of Balian's eldest brother Hugh c. 1169, the castle of Ibelin passed to the next brother, Baldwin. Baldwin, preferring to remain lord of Ramla, gave it to Balian. Balian held Ibelin as a vassal of his brother, and indirectly as a rear-vassal of the king, from whom Baldwin held Ramla.
Succession disputes
Baldwin supported
In 1183 Balian and Baldwin supported Raymond against
Dispute between Raymond and Guy
Balian remained in the kingdom, as an advisor to Guy. At the end of 1186,
Battle of Hattin
Since al-Afdal's army had been allowed to enter the kingdom through their alliance with Raymond, the count now regretted his actions and reconciled with Guy. Guy marched north and camped at
The defeat led to a changing of the guard in Jerusalem: King Guy was taken prisoner, and nearly every town and castle soon fell to Saladin. Balian, Raymond, Reginald, and Payen of Haifa were among the few leading nobles who managed to escape to
Defense of Jerusalem
When Balian and his small group of knights arrived in the city, the inhabitants begged them to stay, and Balian was absolved of his oath to Saladin by
Saladin was able to knock down portions of the walls, but was unable to gain entrance to the city. Balian then rode out to meet with the sultan, to report to him that the defenders would rather kill each other and destroy the city than see it taken by force. After negotiations, it was decided that the city would be handed over peacefully, and that Saladin would free seven thousand men for 30,000
Balian as king-maker, and the Third Crusade
The fall of Jerusalem, and the death of Sibylla at the
Isabella's marriage was annulled by
Balian and Maria's role in Isabella's divorce and their support for Conrad as king earned them the bitter hatred of Richard and his supporters.
- Steeped in Greek filth from the cradle, she had a husband whose morals matched her own: he was cruel, she was godless; he was fickle, she was pliable; he was faithless, she was fraudulent.
On 28 April 1192, only days after his kingship was confirmed by election, Conrad was
Balian became one of Henry's advisors, and later that year (along with William of Tiberias), he commanded the rearguard of Richard's army at the Battle of Jaffa of 1192. Later, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Jaffa in 1192 between Richard and Saladin, essentially ending the crusade. Under this treaty, Ibelin remained under Saladin's control, but many sites along the coast which had been reconquered during the crusade were allowed to remain in Christian hands. After Richard departed, Saladin compensated Balian with the castle of Caymont and five other nearby sites, all outside Acre.
Legacy
Balian died in 1193, in his early fifties. With Maria Komnene he had four children:
- Helvis of Ibelin, who married (1) Reginald of Sidon; (2) Guy of Montfort.
- John of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut and constable of Jerusalem, and regent for his niece Maria of Montferrat, Queen of Jerusalem. He married (1) Helvis of Nephin; (2) Melisende of Arsuf.
- Margaret, who married (1)
- John of Ibelin, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon
Balian's
Balian became a common name in the Ibelin family in the 13th century. Balian, lord of Beirut, son of John and grandson of the above Balian, succeeded his father as lord of Beirut in 1236. Balian of Beirut's brother, also named John, had a son named Balian; this Balian was lord of
The name also passed into the family of the Greniers of Sidon, since Balian's daughter Helvis and Reginald of Sidon named their son Balian.
Popular culture
A highly fictionalized version of Balian, played by English actor Orlando Bloom, is the protagonist of Ridley Scott's 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven.
References
- ^ "Saladin's Conquest of Jerusalem (1187 CE)". www.worldhistory.org.
- ^ Pirie-Gordon 1912, p. 458.
- ^ Pirie-Gordon 1912, p. 460.
Sources
- De Expugnatione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum, translated by James A. Brundage, in The Crusades: A Documentary Survey. Marquette University Press, 1962.
- William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trans. Columbia University Press, 1943.
- Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier, edited by M. L. de Mas Latrie. La Société de l'Histoire de France, 1871.
- La Continuation de Guillaume de Tyr (1184–1192), edited by Margaret Ruth Morgan. L'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 1982.
- Ambroise, The History of the Holy War, translated by Marianne Ailes. Boydell Press, 2003.
- Chronicle of the Third Crusade, a Translation of Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi, translated by Helen J. Nicholson. Ashgate, 1997.
- Peter W. Edbury, The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation. Ashgate, 1996.
- Peter W. Edbury, John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Boydell Press, 1997.
- Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. London, 1984.
- Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Institute, 1982.
- Pirie-Gordon, H. (1912). "The Reigning Princes of Galilee". The English Historical Review. XXVII (CVII, July). Oxford Academic: 445–461. .
- Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.