Raymond III, Count of Tripoli

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Raymond III
King Baldwin IV
Count of Tripoli
Reign1152–1187
PredecessorRaymond II
SuccessorRaymond IV
Regents
See list
Born1140
Died1187 (aged 46–47)
Catholicism

Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was

Amalric I of Jerusalem administered the county of Tripoli
on his behalf.

Raymond was released for a large ransom which he had to borrow from the

Baldwin V. On his deathbed In 1185, the king made Raymond bailiff for Baldwin V. Raymond's authority would be limited, because Joscelin III of Edessa was made the child's guardian, and all royal fortresses were placed into the custody of the military orders
.

Baldwin V died suddenly in the summer of 1186, and Raymond convoked the barons of the realm to an assembly to Nablus. In his absence, Sibylla's supporters took possession of Jerusalem. Raymond tried to persuade Sybilla's half-sister, Isabella, and Isabella's husband, Humphrey IV of Toron, to claim the throne, but Humphrey swore fealty to Sybilla and Guy. Raymond refused to do homage to them and made an alliance with Saladin, allowing Saladin to cross Galilee during his campaigns against Jerusalem and to place a garrison in Galilee's capital Tiberias. In the summer of 1187, Saladin decided to launch a full-scale invasion against the crusaders, and only then was Raymond reconciled with Guy. Raymond commanded the vanguard of the crusaders' army in the Battle of Hattin, which ended with their catastrophic defeat. He was one of the few crusader commanders who were not killed or captured. He fled to Tyre and then to Tripoli, where he died (probably of pleurisy) after bequeathing Tripoli to his godson, Raymond of Antioch. The late 12th-century historian William of Tyre held Raymond III in high regard, and contemporaneous Muslim historians also praised his intelligence, but after the Battle of Hattin western historians tended to blame him for the crusaders' catastrophic defeat. In modern historiography, scholarly opinions are divided, with some historians accepting William of Tyre's assessment, and others emphasizing Raymond's selfishness and failures.

Early life

A lady holding a man in her arms
The troubadour Jaufre Rudel dying in the arms of Raymond's mother, Hodierna of Jerusalem[a]

Born in 1140, Raymond was the only son of

Melisende of Jerusalem (r. 1131–1153) and Dowager Princess Alice of Antioch.[5] Her husband's jealousy gave rise to scandalous matrimonial strife during the early 1150s.[6] Although Queen Melisende came to Tripoli to mediate a reconciliation, Hodierna decided to leave for Jerusalem.[7][8] Shortly after their departure, a band of Nizari Assassins murdered Raymond II at Tripoli's southern gate.[7] Melisende's son Baldwin III of Jerusalem (r. 1143–1163), who was staying in Tripoli, recalled the widowed Hodierna to the town.[9][10]

Count

Minority

Baldwin held an assembly after Raymond II's burial at which the nobles of the

regency for her son, Baldwin ignored the late count's instructions. The teenage Raymond spent several years at the royal court in Jerusalem. The first extant document that he witnessed in Jerusalem was issued on 23 September 1152 or 1153. Lewis proposes that Baldwin III probably supervised Raymond's knightly education.[12]

First years of majority

Raymond reached the age of majority in 1155.

Jacob's Fort on the Jordan River eight days later. After Nur ad-Din laid siege to Baniyas, Baldwin III sent envoys to Tripoli and Antioch to seek assistance from Raymond and Raynald of Châtillon (r. 1153–1160). They hurried to Chastel Neuf (at present-day Margaliot in Israel) to join the decimated royal army. After their arrival, Nur ad-Din withdrew his troops without resistance.[14][15]

An earthquake destroyed Tripoli, Arqa and Krak des Chevaliers in August 1157. Taking advantage of the arrival of Thierry, Count of Flanders (r. 1128–1168) at the head of a sizeable army in October, Baldwin III, Raynald of Châtillon and Raymond decided to launch a joint campaign against the Muslim towns of North Syria which had been ruined by the catastrophe.[15][16] The crusaders first attacked Chastel Rouge near the border of the County of Tripoli, but they could not force the defenders to surrender.[17][18] They could not seize Shaizar, either; Thierry of Flanders and Raynald of Châtillon claimed the town even before it was occupied, and they could not reach a compromise. The siege of Harenc (now Harem in Syria) was a success, but the crusading leaders finished the campaign after they captured it in January 1158.[19][20]

Seeking a wife from the crusader states, the widowed

Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180) sent envoys to Baldwin III in 1160.[21] Manuel said that he was willing to marry Maria of Antioch or Raymond's sister, Melisende, who were both closely related to the King.[22] Baldwin proposed Melisende, and the emperor acknowledged his choice.[22] Twelve galleys were built at Raymond's order, because he wanted to have a magnificent retinue for his sister during his voyage to Constantinople.[22] The emperor then changed his mind and began negotiations about his marriage to Maria with her mother, Constance of Antioch (r. 1130–1163). Feeling slighted for himself and his sister, Raymond crewed his newly built fleet with criminals and sent them to raid the Byzantine coasts and islands in August 1161.[23][24] The pirates captured and plundered sacred places, and attacked pilgrims.[25]

Nur ad-Din raided Krak des Chevaliers and laid siege to Harenc in the summer of 1164.

Joscelin III of Edessa, Hugh VIII of Lusignan and other commanders were captured.[28][29]

Captivity

crusader states
in 1165

The crusader leaders captured at Harim were taken to Aleppo, where they were imprisoned. The chronicler

Thoros II, Prince of Armenia (r. 1144–1169), because they were the Byzantine emperor's vassals; Raymond remained imprisoned.[30][31]

Amalric was the crusader states' supreme ruler but his position was fragile.

Grand Master of the Knights Templar, reminded Louis VII of France (r. 1137–1180) in November 1164 that Amalric would be unable to defend the Frankish East alone.[32] Nur ad-Din captured the fortress at al-Munaytira in 1165 (or 1166), and destroyed the Templars' castles at Halba, Araima and Safita in the summer of 1167.[32] Lewis argues that Nur ad-Din captured Gibelacar during the latter campaign; the fortress was recaptured in late 1169 or early 1170.[33]

The date and the circumstances of Raymond's release are uncertain. According to William of Tyre, Raymond was set free after spending eight

Ali ibn al-Athir, incorrectly recorded that Raymond was released after Nur ad-Din died on 15 May 1174,[35] but Raymond had witnessed a royal charter in Jerusalem on 18 April of that year.[34] The historian Marshall Baldwin proposes that Raymond was set free in the fall of 1173 or early in 1174.[36] Lewis writes that Raymond was released because of developing conflict between Nur ad-Din and his ambitious commander, Saladin who had taken over rule of Egypt. The ailing Nur ad-Din (or his advisers) most probably regarded the crusader states as a buffer between his Syrian realm and Saladin's Egypt.[37]

William of Tyre reported that Raymond had to pay 80,000 pieces of gold as ransom, but could only pay 20,000. To guarantee payment of the arrears, Raymond surrendered hostages.[38] Muslim authors wrote that Raymond's ransom amounted to 150,000 Syrian dinars. Raymond borrowed money from the Knights Hospitaller to pay at least part of his ransom.[39]

Count and regent

First regency

Jerusalemite seneschal Miles of Plancy took charge of the government,[45] but was unable to persuade the commanders of the army to cooperate with him.[46]

Taking advantage of the seneschal's unpopularity, Raymond came to Jerusalem in August and laid claim to the regency on the grounds that he was the closest male relative and the most powerful vassal of the child king.[47][48] Raymond also emphasized that since he had appointed the King's father to administer Tripoli during his captivity, he was entitled to claim the same treatment.[49] Miles of Plancy postponed the decision about Raymond's claim, saying that only the plenary session of the High Court of Jerusalem could hear it.[50]

Raymond returned to Tripoli,

chancellor, but left the office of seneschal vacant.[54]

Remains of a fortress made of stone
Ruins of the crusader castle at Arqa

Saladin had expanded his rule to Damascus, Baalbek, Shaizar and Hama, taking advantage of the minority of Nur ad-Din's son as-Salih Ismail al-Malik.[55][56] Saladin occupied Homs in early December 1174, but the garrison at the citadel resisted.[45] Without forcing the garrison to surrender, Saladin left Homs for Aleppo (the seat of the Zengids in Syria) and left a small army in Homs' lower town.[56]

Saladin's fierce determination to unite Egypt and Syria threatened the crusader states. Raymond mustered the troops of Jerusalem and Tripoli at Arqa in early 1175, but did not intervene in the conflict between Saladin and the Zengids. The defenders of the Homs citadel offered to set their Christian prisoners free if Raymond provided military assistance for them; the prisoners included the hostages who were surety for the arrears of his ransom. Raymond was willing to assist the defenders of Homs only if they immediately released their prisoners, but they refused his demand. William of Tyre later emphasized that the commanders of the crusader army doubted if the defenders of the Homs citadel actually wanted to release their prisoners.[57][56] Saladin returned to Homs soon after he was informed about the negotiations between the crusaders and the garrison. Instead of attacking him, the crusader army retreated to Krak des Chevaliers;[58] this enabled Saladin to capture the citadel on 17 March 1175.[59] He sent envoys to the crusaders' camp to secure their neutrality in his conflict with the Zengids.[58] After Saladin agreed to release the hostages, the crusader army withdrew to Tripoli.[58] William of Tyre blamed Humphrey II of Toron for the crusaders' inactivity during the siege of Homs.[60]

Saladin defeated the united Zengid armies of Aleppo and

Ghazi II Saif ud-Din of Mosul (r. 1170–1180) in the summer of 1176.[61]

Campaigns

A used coin
Copper fals minted in Saladin's name

Baldwin IV came of age at his fifteenth birthday on 15 July 1176. With the end of his regency, Raymond returned to Tripoli.

Philip I of Flanders (r. 1168–1191) landed at Acre at the head of a large army of crusaders from Europe on 1 August 1177.[62][63] The young king and his advisers made several efforts to persuade him to join a military campaign against Egypt, Saladin's principal power base, but Philip kept making excuses.[64] According to rumours spreading among the crusaders, Raymond and Bohemond III convinced the count to resist because, as William of Tyre recorded it, they wanted to "entice him to their own lands, hoping with his help to undertake something which would benefit their states".[65][66]

Philip came to Tripoli in late October.

Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers, and more than 100 knights and 2,000 foot soldiers from the Kingdom of Jerusalem joined him in November.[68] They attacked Hama, taking advantage of its governor's illness. The siege lasted only four days, because Bohemond persuaded them to join him in attacking Harenc. They laid siege to the fortress in early December, but could not capture it. Bohemond made peace with the Zengid ruler of Aleppo, as-Salih Ismail al-Malik (r. 1174–1181) in early 1177.[69]

Raymond attacked a group of

Hugh of Saint Omer was captured.[70][71][72]

According to the chronicle

Estoire de Eracles (which contains many folkloristic elements), when the Flemish knight Gerard of Ridefort came to Tripoli, Raymond pledged the first wealthy heiress in his county in marriage to him.[73][74] When William Dorel, Lord of Botrun (now Batroun in Lebanon) died—leaving a daughter as his heir—Raymond instead gave her to Plivain, a wealthy merchant from Pisa who had promised her weight in gold to him.[73][75] Raymond's perfidy outraged Ridefort, who left Tripoli and settled in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1179.[76]

Dynastic factions

13th-century illustration of Raymond and Bohemond on horseback with other men
Raymond and Bohemond III of Antioch ride to Jerusalem in early 1180.

Raymond and Bohemond III mustered their troops and marched to Jerusalem in April 1180. Although they ostensibly came to celebrate Easter in the Holy City, the ailing Baldwin IV feared that they wanted to depose him. He hastily married his sister and heir presumptive,

Hugh III of Burgundy (r. 1162–1192).[77][78] After studying the controversial reports of the events, the historian Bernard Hamilton concludes that Raymond and Bohemond staged a coup as they were concerned about the growing influence of the King's mother and her brother, Joscelin III of Edessa. According to Hamilton, Raymond and Bohemond wanted to forcibly persuade the King to marry Sibylla to Baldwin of Ibelin (a local candidate of their choosing) instead of Hugh, who was related to the Courtenays, and Sibylla's marriage to Guy destroyed their plan.[79] Alternatively, the historians Steven Runciman and Baldwin write that Sybilla fell in love with Baldwin of Ibelin, but her mother, who disliked the Ibelins, decided to prevent the marriage. She sought the assistance of the seneschal Aimery of Lusignan, who introduced his brother Guy to Sybilla. She soon fell in love with the extraordinarily handsome youth, and convinced her brother to sanction their marriage.[80][81] Baldwin adds that Raymond and Bohemond came to Jerusalem "presumably on hearing of the projected match" in an attempt to prevent it.[82]

[T]he lord Prince Bohemond of Antioch and the lord Count Raymond of Tripoli, entering the kingdom with an army, terrified the lord king who feared lest they should attempt to organize a revolution by deposing the king and laying claim to the kingdom for themselves. For the king was afflicted more grievously than usual by his illness and day by day the symptoms of leprosy became more and more evident. The sister of the king ... was awaiting the arrival of [Hugh III of Burgundy] ... When the king knew that these noblemen had come, although both of them were his kinsmen, he viewed them with suspicion and hastened his sister's marriage. ... [B]ecause certain things had happened, she was unexpectedly married to a certain young man called Guy of Lusignan.

— William of Tyre: History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea[83]

Since Raymond and Bohemond lost the King's favour, they left Jerusalem shortly after Easter.[84] They were crossing Galilee when Saladin invaded the region, and their arrival forced him to retreat. Saladin and Baldwin signed a two-year truce. The truce did not cover Tripoli, enabling Saladin to launch a sudden raid on the county. Since the surprise attack prevented Raymond from mustering his troops, he fled to the fortress of Arqa. Saladin's army pillaged the northern plains of the county, and his fleet captured the island of Ruad at Tortosa (now Arwad in Lebanon). He withdrew his troops only after Raymond signed a truce. Over the following years, Raymond strengthened the county's defence by granting new territories to the Knights Hospitaller or confirming his vassals' grants to them.[85]

After a two-year absence, Raymond decided to again visit Galilee in April 1182 but Agnes of Courtenay and Joscelin III persuaded Baldwin IV to forbid his entrance to the Jerusalemite kingdom.

Lord of Oultrejordain, proposed a military expedition across the Jordan River to prevent Saladin's march from Egypt to Syria in May 1182. Raymond opposed Châtillon's plan because it would have left the western lands of the kingdom undefended during the campaign, but Châtillon convinced most of the realm's barons to accept his proposal.[89]

New conflicts

Saffuriya. The royal troops customarily assembled at the springs.[90]

Raymond accompanied the royal army to Oultrejordain.

Saffuriya. The royal army forced Saladin to withdraw his troops from the principality.[94] Raymond made a plundering raid on the region of Bosra in late 1182.[92] According to Hamilton, it was "a reconnaissance expedition" because Bosra was an excellent location to study the southward movements of the Damascus army.[95]

Saladin seized Aleppo, the Zengids' last important stronghold in Syria, on 12 June 1183; he soon decided to invade the Kingdom of Jerusalem and bring the crusaders to a pitched battle. At Baldwin's order, more than 1,000 knights and about 15,000 foot soldiers gathered at Saffuriya.[96][97] Raymond hurried to the mustering point.[90] Baldwin developed a fever, which forced him to appoint Guy of Lusignan bailiff.[98] Saladin crossed the Jordan and pillaged Bethsan on 29 September.[99] Although he continued his campaign for nine days, the crusaders refrained from attacking his troops.[100] William of Tyre reported that most common soldiers accused Guy's opponents of refusing to attack the invaders because they feared that a victory would strengthen Guy's position.[90]

Relations between Guy and the King became tense during the following months. Baldwin summoned the realm's barons to an assembly to discuss the future of the kingdom's administration.

Heraclius, and the grand masters of the Templars and Hospitallers tried to intervene on Guy's behalf, Raymond, Bohemond, Reginald of Sidon and the Ibelin brothers easily persuaded him to dismiss his brother-in-law.[90][102][103] They also convinced the King to make Guy's infant stepson, Baldwin of Montferrat, his heir,[90][102] and the child was crowned on 20 November 1183.[102] William of Tyre reported that it was "the general wish" that the King should appoint a regent, and most of the barons said that only Raymond "was suited to hold this office".[104] The assembly was soon dissolved, because news about Saladin's sudden attack against Châtillon's Kerak Castle reached Jerusalem. The King mustered an army, but could not personally participate in the campaign for long and appointed Raymond to command the army before it crossed the Jordan. Learning about the arrival of the relief army, Saladin lifted the siege on 3 or 4 December.[105]

Second regency

In October 1184, Guy of Lusignan raided the Bedouin tribes who grazed their herds in the royal domain of Deir al-Balah. This action enraged the King, who (according to William of Tyre) soon assembled the realm's barons and handed over "the government of the kingdom and its general administration" to Raymond.[90] In contrast, Ernoul's chronicle and the Estoire de Eracles state that Baldwin IV decided to appoint a regent only after the members of the High Court had warned him that Guy (who was the stepfather of Baldwin's minor heir) was still entitled to govern the kingdom after his death. The dying king asked them to name their candidate, and they unanimously nominated Raymond. According to Ernoul's chronicle, Baldwin IV accepted their choice and asked Raymond "to act as regent of the kingdom and of the child for ten years until the child came of age".[106] Although most sources failed to mention the date of these events, one version of the Estoire de Eracles states that Raymond was made regent in 1185.[107][108]

Ernoul and the Estoire de Eracles recorded that the High Court passed specific rules about the regency before Raymond was installed: the barons chose Joscelin III as the child king's guardian, also stipulating that the military orders would hold all royal fortresses during the King's minority, but

kings of France and England would be approached to decide whether his mother Sybilla or her half-sister, Isabella, had the stronger claim to succeed him.[109][110] Although some versions of the Estoire de Eracles hint that Raymond persuaded the High Court to pass these rules, most of them were clearly adopted to limit the regent's authority.[109]

The date of Baldwin IV's death is unknown, but it is certain that he died before 16 May 1185.

Izz ad-Din Mas'ud, the Zengid ruler of Mosul (r. 1180–1193), had formed a coalition against him. Saladin made a series of attacks against Mosul, forcing Izz ad-Din to accept his suzerainty in March 1186.[110][112] Raymond could not strengthen his authority during his regency; Joscelin III of Edessa, Patriarch Heraclius, and Peter, Archdeacon of Lydda (who had succeeded William of Tyre as chancellor) were Guy of Lusignan's supporters, and the Knights Templar elected his enemy Gerard of Ridefort as their grand master.[113][73]

Last years

Towards Hattin

Baldwin V died unexpectedly in Acre during the summer of 1186.[110] The cause of the child king's death is unknown.[114] Joscelin III convinced Raymond to go to Tiberias to make preparations for a general assembly and let the Templars deliver the young king's body to Jerusalem.[115][116] Taking advantage of Raymond's absence, Joscelin took control of Acre and Beirut.[117][118] Raymond summoned the barons to Nablus, the fief of Balian of Ibelin (one of his main supporters).[115] According to the contemporaneous German chronicler Arnold of Lübeck and Ibn al-Athir, Raymond tried to seize the throne at the assembly.[116] The reports are clear evidence of a widespread belief in Raymond's ambitions to seize the crown, but their reliability is questionable according to Hamilton.[116][119]

While most of the barons were assembling at Nablus, Sibylla and Guy of Lusignan attended the King's funeral in Jerusalem.[116] The patriarch of Jerusalem, the grand masters of the Templars and Hospitallers, and Raynald of Châtillon were also present. Staunch supporters of Sybilla, they decided to offer her the crown without waiting for the decision of the four Western monarchs (as the High Court had stipulated in early 1185).[120] Although she invited the barons at Nablus to attend her coronation, they did not acknowledge her right to rule, forbade the ceremony, and sent two Cistercian abbots to Jerusalem to inform her of their veto.[121][122][123] Raymond dispatched one of his retainers to accompany the abbots in disguise, to spy in the capital.[123]

Ruins of a castle, with palm trees and foliage
Ruins of the crusaders' castle in Tiberias

Sibylla's supporters ignored the barons' opposition, and Patriarch Heraclius crowned her before the end of September.[110] She soon put the crown on Guy's head, and the patriarch anointed him.[122] According to the Estoire de Eracles, Ridefort proudly declared "this crown well worth the marriage of Botrun" in reference to Raymond's betrayal. Raymond and his supporters decided to elect Sibylla's half-sister Isabella and her husband, Humphrey IV of Toron, queen and king, but Humphrey—who was Châtillon's stepson—secretly left Nablus for Jerusalem and paid homage to Guy. Most barons followed Humphrey's example, swearing fealty to the royal couple before the end of October.[123][124] After his former partisans abandoned him, Raymond returned to Tiberias without paying homage to Sibylla and Guy.[125][126]

Guy accused Raymond of betrayal, and invaded Galilee in October.[110][125] The King demanded an accounting of Raymond's regency, but Raymond answered that he had spent all royal income on state administration.[127] Raymond decided to resist, and sought assistance from Saladin. The sultan sent troops to Tiberias, forcing Guy to withdraw. According to Ibn al-Athir, Saladin offered to make Raymond "an independent king for the Franks one and all".[128] Arnold of Lübeck wrote that Raymond pledged to allow Saladin's army to invade the kingdom across Galilee in exchange for the sultan's assistance in seizing the throne.[129]

Lewis suggests that the Occitanian troubadour Peire Vidal visited Raymond's court in Tiberias around the time of the conflict between Raymond and the royal couple. Raymond provided patronage to Vidal, who dedicated a eulogy to him in one of his poems. Lewis notes that it was around that time that Raymond offered to appoint a member of the House of Toulouse his heir if he was willing to settle in the County of Tripoli. Since Raymond's offer is only recorded in a version of a late source, the Lignages d'Outremer, it may have been invented by its author.[130]

But upon Tripoli I rely
Because whereas the other barons
Chase away glory, he retains it
And does not let it depart from him

— Peire Vidal[131]

Saladin decided to launch a full-scale invasion against the kingdom, and began mustering forces from his whole empire in early 1187. The barons convinced Guy to seek reconciliation with Raymond. The masters of the two military orders,

Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre, Raynald of Sidon and Balian of Ibelin, were appointed to begin negotiations with Raymond in Tiberias. Saladin's son, al-Afdal, sent Muzaffar al-Din, lord of Harenc and Edessa, to raid the kingdom. In accordance with his treaty with Saladin, Raymond allowed the Syrian troops free entry into Galilee.[132][133] After al-Afdal began raiding the Nazareth region, the masters of the military orders (Gerard of Ridefort and Roger des Moulins) attacked the invaders, although the enemy forces seriously outnumbered their retinue.[134] The raiders almost annihilated the crusaders at the springs of Cresson on 1 May;[135] only Ridefort and three knights escaped the battlefield.[135] The Estoire de Eracles blamed Ridefort for the catastrophe, emphasizing that Raymond's envoys had warned him not to attack the large Syrian army. The invaders rode back to Syria across Galilee, displaying the severed heads of crusaders killed in battle on the points of their lances.[134]

Balian of Ibelin and the archbishops of Tyre and Nazareth arrived at Tiberias the following day.

excommunicate him and annul his marriage.[134][139] Raymond and the king met near Jerusalem, at Fort St Job, which was held by the Hospitallers. After they dismounted, Raymond knelt to the King in homage. According to Ernoul, Guy soon lifted him up and expressed regret for his irregular coronation.[140][137]

Hattin and its consequences

Further information: Battle of Hattin

The King ordered the assembly of the kingdom's troops at Saffuriya. Raymond joined the royal army with all the knights from Galilee, leaving his wife in Tiberias at the head of a small garrison. Knights from the County of Tripoli also came to Saffuriya. On 2 July 1187, Saladin invaded Galilee and besieged Tiberias. The news about the siege of Tiberias aroused fresh conflict among the crusaders, because Raymond and Ridefort proposed opposite strategies. Emphasizing that the town could resist even a prolonged siege, Raymond wanted to avoid a pitched battle[141] and proposed that Guy send envoys to Antioch asking Bohemond III for reinforcements.[142] Ridefort and Châtillon accused him of cowardice, adding that passivity would cost the King his kingdom. Since the King was obviously willing to accept Raymond's proposal, Ridefort reminded him of Raymond's previous alliance with Saladin. The King finally decided to attack, and ordered his army to march towards Tiberias.[142][143]

As lord of the region, Raymond was appointed to guide the army across Galilee. After Saladin's troops began attacking the rear held by the Templars, the crusaders halted at Maskana although the local well could not provide enough water for a large army.

Hattin, forcing the Muslim troops to open a pass without resistance. Instead of turning back, Raymond and the crusaders who had accompanied him (including Reynald of Sidon, Balian of Ibelin and Joscelin III of Edessa) hurried to Safed and then to Tyre.[149][150]

The rest of the crusader army was annihilated;[151][152] Raymond's many Tripolitan vassals—Plivain of Botrun, Hugh II Embriaco and Melioret of Maraqiyya—were captured.[150] The towns of the kingdom, left nearly defenceless, could not resist, and Saladin captured almost all of them over the following month.[153] Eschiva of Bures surrendered Tiberias to Saladin, and joined Raymond in Tyre. After Saladin occupied Beirut on 6 August, Raymond fled to Tripoli because he thought that Saladin could easily capture Tyre. His old allies, Balian of Ibelin and Raynald of Sidon, soon joined him.[154]

Raymond fell seriously ill in Tripoli. The contemporaneous chronicler

Ralph of Diceto recorded that Raymond died fifteen days after the fall of Jerusalem, on 17 October 1187,[157] Lewis proposes that Raymond probably died in September.[158]

Legacy

William of Tyre, who held Raymond in high regard,[159] described him as a man with "much foresight" in politics and warfare.[158] His praise was tempered with criticism,[159] and he called Raymond's 1179 escape from the battlefield at Marj Ayyun "disgraceful".[70] Although William (who was made chancellor and archbishop during Raymond's first regency) cannot be regarded as a neutral observer,[42] his chronicle strongly influenced the works of Runciman, Baldwin and other 20th-century historians. According to Baldwin, William's account of Raymond's political and military talents should be regarded "more a statement of fact than an expression of opinion". Lewis refutes Raymond's positive assessment, saying that his "career reads as a veritable litany of inconsequential, misguided, or downright disastrous endeavours".[158] Barber emphasizes that Raymond's "actions were usually driven by his own personal ambitions and needs".[42]

[Raymond] was a slight-built, thin man. He was not very tall and he had a dark skin. He had straight hair of a medium colour and piercing eyes. He carried himself stiffly. He had an orderly mind, was cautious, but acted with vigour. He was more than averagely abstemious in his eating and drinking habits, and although he was liberal to strangers he was not so affable towards his own men.

— William of Tyre: History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea[159]

Contemporary Muslim authors described Raymond as an intelligent, astute politician.[160] Ibn al-Athir wrote that the crusaders "had nobody more influential than him, none braver and none more excellent in counsel".[161][162] Ibn al-Athir emphasized Raymond's bad reputation among the Muslims, saying that Raymond was "the devil among the Franks and the most unyieldingly hostile to the Muslims".[163][164] The 13th-century Arab historian Abu Shama records that some Muslims also regarded Raymond as one of the principal enemies of the Muslim world, and urged Saladin to capture (and kill) him and Raynald of Châtillon.[163]

Baldwin, Runciman and other historians, who based their works primarily on the chronicles of William of Tyre and Ernoul, regard Raymond as a leader of the pullani (natives) who wanted to keep peace with Saladin because they wanted to ensure the survival of the crusader states. These scholars see Raymond's opponents as newcomers whose aggressive policy led to the fall of the kingdom.

canonized European monarchs. Accepting this critical approach, Hamilton doubts Saladin's willingness to "live at peace with his Christian neighbors" and allow them to keep Jerusalem (one of Islam's holiest cities).[165]

The fall of Jerusalem and nearly the entire

Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani wrote that Raymond did not convert only because he was afraid of his co-religionists. Modern historians agree that the stories of Raymond's conversion were invented.[163]

Genealogical table

Raymond's close family and relationship with neighbouring rulers[170][171]
Pons II of Toulouse
Almodis of La Marche
Raymond IV of Toulouse
Bertrand of Tripoli
Cecilia of France
Raymond II of Tripoli
Agnes of Tripoli
Walter of Saint Omer
Ralph of Saint Omer
Raymond IV of Tripoli
Bohemond IV of Antioch

See also

Notes

  1. ^ According to Rudel's anonymous biography, completed around 1200, Rudel "fell in love with the countess of Tripoli without seeing her due to the very good and courteous things the he heard said about her by pilgrims" but he died of a sickness soon after they first met at Tripoli.[1]

References

  1. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 168.
  2. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 13, 104.
  3. ^ Barber 2012, p. 199.
  4. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 185.
  5. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 167.
  6. ^ Runciman 1989, pp. 332–333.
  7. ^ a b Lewis 2017, p. 170.
  8. ^ Barber 2012, p. 157.
  9. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 184.
  10. ^ Runciman 1989, p. 333.
  11. ^ Baldwin 1969, p. 536.
  12. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 184–187.
  13. ^ a b Lewis 2017, p. 186.
  14. ^ Barber 2012, pp. 210–211.
  15. ^ a b Lewis 2017, p. 187.
  16. ^ Lock 2006, p. 54.
  17. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 188.
  18. ^ Baldwin 1969, p. 541.
  19. ^ Barber 2012, p. 212.
  20. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 188–189.
  21. ^ Lilie 2004, p. 183.
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  25. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 199.
  26. ^ Lock 2006, p. 56.
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  30. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 204–205.
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  36. ^ Baldwin 1969, p. 561.
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  44. ^ Runciman 1989, pp. 399, 404.
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  46. ^ Hamilton 2000, p. 88.
  47. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 222, 235.
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  88. ^ Riley-Smith 1973, p. 104.
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Sources

Primary sources

  • The Chronicle of Ibn Al-Athīr for the Crusading Period from Al-Kāmil Fī'l-ta'rīkh, Part 2: The years 541–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin (Translated by D.S. Richards) (2007). Ashgate.
    ISBN 978-0-7546-4078-3
    .

Secondary sources

Further reading

Raymond III, Count of Tripoli
Born: 1140 Died: 1187
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Raymond II
 Count of Tripoli
1152–1187 		Succeeded by
Raymond IV
Preceded by
Walter of Saint Omer
Prince of Galilee

1174–1187 		Succeeded by
Hugh II of Saint Omer
as titular prince
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