Oultrejordain

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Lordship of Oultrejordain
1118–1187
Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism
Government	Feudal monarchy
Lord
• 1118–1126	Roman of Le Puy
• 1126–1147	Pagan the Butler
• 1148–c.1160	Maurice of Montreal
• 1161–1168	Philip of Milly
• 1168–1173	Humphrey III of Toron (through marriage to Stephanie of Milly)
• 1173–1174	Miles of Plancy (through marriage to Stephanie of Milly)
• 1177–1187	Raynald of Châtillon (through marriage to Stephanie of Milly)
Historical era	High Middle Ages
• First Crusade	1118
• Conquered by Saladin	1187
Preceded by Succeeded by Fatimid Caliphate Ayyubid dynasty
Today part of	Israel Jordan Palestine

The Lordship of Oultrejordain or Oultrejourdain (

Oultrejordain extended southwards through the Negev to the Gulf of Aqaba (Ile de Graye, now Pharaoh's Island). To the north and east (the ancient Gilead) there were no real borders — to the north was the Dead Sea and to the east were caravan and pilgrimage routes, part of the Muslim Hejaz. These areas were also under the control of the sultan of Damascus, and by custom the two opponents rarely met there, for battle or for other purposes.

History

Before the

There were very few Christians in Oultrejordain, most of the inhabitants being Shia Bedouin nomads. Many of the Syriac Orthodox Christians who lived there were transplanted to Jerusalem in 1115 to fill up the former Jewish quarter (the Jews had been either killed or expelled). The other Christians who lived in Oultrejordain were nomadic or semi-nomadic and were often distrusted by the Crusaders.

According to

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In 1148, the lord of Oultrejordain was involved in the decision to attack Damascus during the Second Crusade, despite the truce between Jerusalem and Damascus that was vital to the survival of the kingdom and especially the lordship. The crusade ended in defeat and the security of the lordship diminished as a result.

Raynald of Châtillon, formerly Prince of Antioch through his wife Constance, became lord of Oultrejordain by his new marriage to Stephanie in 1177. He began to claim that the king had no authority in Oultrejordain and acted as a petty king himself. He used his position to attack pilgrims and caravans, and threatened to attack Mecca, which resulted in an invasion of the kingdom by Saladin in 1187. Raynald was executed after the Battle of Hattin on July 4 of that year. By 1189 Saladin had taken all of Oultrejordain and destroyed its castles. In 1229 Jerusalem was briefly recovered by treaty by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, but the remnant of the kingdom never again controlled territory to the east of the Jordan. The principality was of course claimed by crusader nobles for a long time, the title passing to the line of Isabelle de Toron, daughter of Stephanie, and for several generations belonged to Montfort family, who were lords of Tyre. After the 1350s, when the Montfort line became extinct without close heirs, the hereditary rights presumably passed to the kings of Cyprus who also were descendants of lords of Toron and Tyre.

While under Crusader control, the Bedouin nomads were generally left to themselves, although the king collected taxes on caravans passing through. The land was relatively good for agriculture, and wheat, pomegranates and olives were grown there. Salt was also collected from the Dead Sea.

Oultrejordain was also known in Latin as Transjordan, and covered territory that would later become part of the Emirate of Transjordan and the modern country of Jordan.

Lords of Oultrejordain

• Roman of Le Puy (possibly 1118 – 1126)
• Pagan the Butler (1126–1147)
• Maurice of Montreal (1147–1161)
• Philip of Milly (1161–1168) and his wife Isabella, daughter of Maurice
• Stephanie de Milly
  , daughter and heiress, whose husbands exercised the powers of the lordship:
  • Humphrey III of Toron (1168–1173), first husband of Stephanie
  • Miles of Plancy (1173–1174), second husband of Stephanie
  • Raynald of Châtillon (1176–1187), third husband of Stephanie.
• Humphrey IV of Toron (1187–1197), son of Stephanie from her first marriage to Humphrey III of Toron, titular Prince of Oultrejordain, Lord of Toron
• Alice of Armenia (possibly 1197 – 1199), niece of Humphrey IV of Toron, titular Princess of Oultrejordain, Lady of Toron

Sub-vassals

In the time of Philip of Nablus, Arabian Petra was a vassal fief under the princes of Oultrejordain.

Sources

• John L. La Monte, Feudal Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1100–1291. The Medieval Academy of America, 1932.
• Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174–1277. The Macmillan Press, 1973.
• Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100–1187. Cambridge University Press, 1952.
• Steven Tibble, Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099–1291. Clarendon Press, 1989.