Bohemond II of Antioch

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Bohemond II
Roman Catholicism

Bohemond II (1107/1108 – February 1130) was

Battle of the Field of Blood, Baldwin II of Jerusalem
took over the administration of Antioch. However, he did acknowledge Bohemond's right to personally rule the principality upon reaching the age of majority.

Bohemond came to Antioch in autumn 1126. He launched successful military campaigns against the nearby Muslim rulers, but his conflict with

embalmed head to the Abbasid Caliph
.

Early life

Bohemond II was the son of Prince

Tancred in Syria to administer Antioch.[4] Two charters show that Tancred styled himself prince of Antioch in 1108.[5] In September of that year, Bohemond I was forced to sign the Treaty of Devol, which authorized the Byzantine Empire to annex Antioch upon his death.[6]

Bohemond I died in Apulia in 1111. Bohemond II was still a minor,[7] so his mother took charge of the government of Taranto.[8] The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sent envoys to Tancred to demand control of Antioch, but Tancred refused to obey and continued to govern the principality.[9] Tancred died in 1112 and bequeathed Antioch to his nephew, Roger of Salerno.[10][11]

Roger's legal status during his rule in Antioch is uncertain.[12] According to William of Tyre, Tancred made Roger his successor "with the understanding that, at the demand of Bohemond or his heirs, he should not refuse to return it," suggesting that Roger was simply regent for the child Bohemond.[13] Roger adopted the title of prince, which implies that he regarded himself the ruler of Antioch in his own right.[12][14] The contemporaneous Fulcher of Chartres accused Roger of depriving of "his inheritance his own lord, the son of Bohemond [I], then living in Apulia with his mother."[15] Charters issued in Bohemond's Italian domains between 1117 and 1119 emphasized that he was the son of the prince of Antioch, but did not style him prince.[16]

After Roger and most Antiochene noblemen perished in the

Battle of the Field of Blood on 28 June 1119, King Baldwin II of Jerusalem hurried to Syria to save Antioch from Ilghazi, the Artuqid ruler of Mardin.[17][18] The notables of Antioch proclaimed Baldwin ruler of Antioch, but they emphasized that Antioch was Bohemond's "rightful inheritance," according to Walter the Chancellor.[15][19] Baldwin promised to cede Antioch to Bohemond if Bohemond came to the principality.[15] Those who were present at the meeting agreed that Bohemond should marry Baldwin's daughter, Alice.[19][20] They also decreed that Bohemond would not be entitled to reclaim grants made during his absence from the principality.[20]

Baldwin II was captured in 1123,

William II of Apulia, stipulating that the one who first died without issue was to will his principality to the other; however, the reliability of William's report is suspect.[23][24] Alexander of Telese recorded that before leaving for Syria, Bohemond entrusted his Italian domains to the Holy See, but Romuald of Salerno said that he made Alexander, Count of Conversano, the overseer of those lands.[23][25] Bohemond sailed from Otranto with a fleet of twenty-four ships in September 1126.[26]

Prince of Antioch

The crusader states around 1135

Bohemond landed at the port of St. Symeon in the Principality of Antioch in October or November.[20][22] He went to Antioch to meet Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who subsequently ceded Antioch to him.[26] Bohemond was officially installed as prince in Baldwin's presence.[27]

Munqidhites of Shaizar, which was recorded by Usama ibn Munqidh, also occurred during this period.[26][27]

Bohemond came into conflict with

Joscelin I of Edessa in 1127,[28][22] although sources do not reveal the reason behind the enmity of the two Christian rulers.[28] According to Runciman, Joscelin seized former Antiochene territories from Il-Bursuqi, governor of Mosul. Furthermore, Bohemond refused to cede Azaz to Joscelin, despite the fact that Roger of Salerno promised it to Joscelin as the dowry of his second wife, Maria of Salerno.[29] Taking advantage of Bohemond's absence due to a campaign, Joscelin invaded Antioch with the assistance of Turkish mercenaries, plundering the villages along the frontier.[29]

Imad ad-Din Zengi, Il-Bursuqi's successor as governor of Mosul, to seize Aleppo without resistance on 28 June 1128.[31]

Meanwhile, Bohemond's cousin William II of Apulia had died without issue on 25 July 1127.[24] Pope Honorius II tried to prevent Count Roger II of Sicily (the cousin of both William and Bohemond) from seizing Apulia, but Roger did not obey him.[25] In May 1128, he invaded Bohemond's Italian principality,[25] capturing Taranto, Otranto and Brindisi without resistance.[25] He completed the conquest of the whole principality around 15 June.[25]

Taking advantage of the disputes between the Assassins and Taj al-Muluk Buri, atabeg of Damascus, Baldwin II of Jerusalem invaded Damascene territory and laid siege to Banias in November 1129.[32] Bohemond and Joscelin joined Baldwin, but a heavy rainfall forced the crusaders to abandon the siege.[32][28]

Bohemond decided to recover Anazarbus and other territories which had been lost to the Cilician Armenia.[33] He invaded Cilicia in February 1130, traveling along the Ceyhan River.[34] Leo I of Cilicia sought assistance from the Danishmend Emir Gazi who made a surprise attack on Bohemond's army.[35] Bohemond and his soldiers were massacred in the battle.[36][37] According to Michael the Syrian, the Turks killed Bohemond because they did not recognize him; had they recognized him, they would have saved him so they could demand a ransom from him.[38] Gümüshtigin had Bohemond's head embalmed and sent to Al-Mustarshid, the Abbasid caliph.[35]

Family

Bohemond's wife, Alice, was the second daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Morphia of Melitene.[39] Their only child, Constance, was two when Bohemond died in 1130.[40] Alice tried to secure the regency for Constance for herself, but the Antiochene noblemen preferred her father, Baldwin II of Jerusalem.[40] After Bohemond's death, Roger II of Sicily laid claim to Antioch, but he could never assert it against Constance.[41]

Genealogy of the Norman rulers of Antioch and southern Italy[42]
Tancred of HautevilleFressenda
Alberada of BuonalbergoRobert GuiscardSikelgaitaWilliam of the PrincipateRoger I of Sicily
Constance of FranceBohemond I of AntiochRoger BorsaEmmaRoger II of Sicily
Bohemond II of Antioch
Richard of the Principate
Roger of Salerno

References

  1. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 125, Appendix III (Genealogical tree No. 2.).
  2. ^ a b Houben 2002, p. 31.
  3. ^ The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2016). "Bohemond II Prince of Antioch". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ^ Barber 2012, p. 83.
  5. ^ Asbridge 2000, p. 137.
  6. ^ Asbridge 2000, pp. 137–138.
  7. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 51.
  8. ^ Norwich 1992, p. 304.
  9. ^ Asbridge 2000, p. 138.
  10. ^ Barber 2012, p. 103.
  11. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 124.
  12. ^ a b Asbridge 2000, p. 139.
  13. ^ Asbridge 2000, pp. 141–142.
  14. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 126.
  15. ^ a b c Asbridge 2000, p. 141.
  16. ^ Asbridge 2000, p. 142.
  17. ^ Barber 2012, pp. 123–124.
  18. ^ Runciman 1989, pp. 149, 152.
  19. ^ a b Runciman 1989, p. 152.
  20. ^ a b c Asbridge 2000, p. 146.
  21. ^ Nicholson 1969, p. 419.
  22. ^ a b c d Nicholson 1969, p. 428.
  23. ^ a b Houben 2002, p. 43.
  24. ^ a b Norwich 1992, p. 307.
  25. ^ a b c d e Norwich 1992, p. 312.
  26. ^ a b c d Runciman 1989, p. 176.
  27. ^ a b c d Asbridge 2000, p. 147.
  28. ^ a b c Asbridge 2000, p. 127.
  29. ^ a b c d Runciman 1989, p. 181.
  30. ^ Nicholson 1969, pp. 428–429.
  31. ^ Runciman 1989, pp. 181–182.
  32. ^ a b Runciman 1989, p. 180.
  33. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 182.
  34. ^ Runciman 1989, pp. 182–183.
  35. ^ a b Runciman 1989, p. 183.
  36. ^ Nicholson 1969, p. 431.
  37. ^ Barber 2012, p. 152.
  38. ^ Barber 2012, p. 395.
  39. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 176, Appendix III (Genealogical tree No. 1.).
  40. ^ a b Runciman 1989, p. 184.
  41. ^ Houben 2002, pp. 44, 78.
  42. ^ Runciman 1989, Appendix III.

Sources

Further reading

Bohemond II of Antioch
House of Hauteville
Born: 1107 or 1108 Died: February 1130
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Prince of Taranto

1111–1128 		Succeeded by
Prince of Antioch
1111 or 1119–1130 		Succeeded by
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