Joscelin II, Count of Edessa
| Joscelin II | |
|---|---|
Joscelin III of Edessa Isabella of Courtenay | |
| House | Courtenay |
| Father | Joscelin I |
| Mother | Beatrice of Armenia |
Joscelin II (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling
Joscelin I, and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia
.
Biography
Youth
In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by
Danishmends
, and Edessa passed to Joscelin II. Joscelin II refused to march the small Edessan army out to meet the Danishmends, so Joscelin I, in his last act, forced the Danishmends to retreat, dying soon after.
Count of Edessa
Joscelin II ruled the weakest and most isolated of the
atabeg of Aleppo, and the campaign ended with the unsuccessful Siege of Shaizar of 1138. Upon returning to Antioch, Joscelin II exploited local sentiment against the Byzantine Empire
to instigate a riot that forced John to return home.
In 1143 both John II and
Turbessel, where he held the remnants of the county west of the Euphrates
.
Captivity
After
Nur ad-Din. The Second Crusade, called in response to the fall of Edessa, shifted its focus to Damascus. In 1150 while en route to Antioch to enlist help, Joscelin II was taken prisoner by Nur-ed-Din's Turkomans.[2] Joscelin II was taken to the city of Aleppo where he was led before a hostile crowd and publicly blinded. He spent the remaining nine years of his life in captivity in a Muslim prison.[3] He died in the dungeons of the Citadel of Aleppo
in 1159.
Family
He married Beatrice of Saone, the widow of the wealthy Antiochene baron, William of Zardana. She gave birth to at least two daughters and a son surviving to adulthood:
- Sibylla of Jerusalem were in turn monarchs of Jerusalem, as was his great-grandson Baldwin V of Jerusalem.
- Acre.[4]
- Isabella of Courtenay, possibly married Thoros II, Prince of Armenia had two daughters.[5]
Notes
- ^ Nicholson 1969, p. 423.
- ^ Nicholson 1969, p. 517.
- ^ Nicholson 1969, p. 533.
- ^ Phillips 2008, pp. 208–210.
- ^ Rudt de Collenberg 1968, p. 130.
References
- Nicholson, Robert L. (1969). "The Growth of the Latin States, 1118-1144". In Setton, Kenneth M. (ed.). A History of the Crusades. Vol. I. University of Wisconsin Press.
- Phillips, Jonathan P. (2008). The Second Crusade: extending the frontiers of Christendom. Yale University: Yale University Press.
- Rudt de Collenberg, W. H. (1968). "L'empereur Isaac de Chypre et sa fille (1155–1207)". Byzantion. 38 (1): 123–179.