The
castle
The site of Ibelin had been occupied since ancient times; the
Romans called it Iamnia. The crusader castle was built in 1141
between Jaffa and Ascalon, near
Montgisard and Ramla. At that time
Ascalon was still controlled by Fatimid Egypt, and
Egyptian armies marched out every year from Ascalon to attack the
crusader kingdom. Ibelin was constructed in order to contain these
attacks to a smaller area. The original castle, built by King Fulk
of Jerusalem, had four towers.
The family: first and
second generations
The Ibelin family rose from relatively humble origins to become
one of the most important noble families in the Crusader states of
Jerusalem and Cyprus. The family claimed to be descended from the
Le Puiset viscounts
of Chartres, but this
appears to be a later fabrication. They were more probably from
Pisa Italy, the name
'Barisan' being found in Tuscany and Liguria related to Azzopardi
family. Its first known member Barisan was apparently a knight in
service of the Count of Jaffa and in the 1110s became constable of
Jaffa. As reward for his capable and loyal service, around 1122 he
married Helvis, heiress of the nearby lordship of Ramla.
Barisan was given the castle of Ibelin in 1141 by King Fulk as a
reward for his loyalty during the revolt of his then master Hugh II
of Le Puiset, Count of Jaffa, in 1134. Ibelin was part of County of
Jaffa, which was annexed to the royal domain after Hugh's
unsuccessful revolt. Barisan's marriage with Helvis produced Hugh,
Baldwin, Barisan, Ermengarde, and Stephanie. The younger Barisan
came to be known as Balian. Along with Ibelin, the family then held
Ramla (inherited from Helvis), and the youngest son Balian received
the lordship of Nablus when he married
Maria Comnena, the Dowager Queen. Balian was the last to hold these
territories as they all fell to Saladin in 1187.
The family underwent a remarkable rise in status in only two
generations. In the circumstances of the crusader kingdom, this
rapid rise, noblesse nouvelle, was not as difficult as it
would have been in Europe. In Crusader Palestine, individuals and
whole families tended to die much sooner and replacements, sang
nouveau, were needed.
The
13th century Ibelins
Balian's descendants were among the most powerful nobles in the
Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus. Balian's first son
John of Ibelin, the "Old Lord of Beirut", was the leader of the
opposition to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, when the emperor
tried to impose imperial authority over the crusader states. The
family briefly regained control of the castle of Ibelin in 1241 in
the aftermath of Frederick's Sixth Crusade, when certain
territories were returned to the Christians by treaty. John had
numerous children with Melisende of Arsuf, including Balian, lord
of Beirut; Baldwin,
seneschal of Cyprus; another John, lord of Arsuf and constable
of Jerusalem; and Guy, constable of Cyprus. This Balian was married
to Eschiva of Montbéliard and was the father of John II of Beirut,
who married the daughter of Guy I of la Roche, duke of Athens. John
of Arsuf was the father of Balian of Arsuf, who married Plaisance
of Antioch. Guy the constable was the father of Isabella, who
married Hugh III of Cyprus.
Balian of Ibelin's second son Philip was regent of Cyprus while
his niece, the widowed Queen Alice, needed help to govern. With
Alice of Montbéliard, Philip was the father of John of Ibelin,
count of Jaffa and Ascalon, regent of Jerusalem, and author of the
Assizes of the Haute Cour of Jerusalem, the most important legal
document from the crusader kingdom. John married Maria, sister of
Hethum I of Armenia, and was the father of James, count of Jaffa
and Ascalon and also a noted jurist; and of Guy, count of Jaffa and
Ascalon and husband of his cousin Maria, Hethum's daughter.
Several members of the family went to the new kingdom of Cyprus
at the beginning of the 13th century. Most of the rest moved there
as the mainland kingdom was lost piece by piece. No members of the
Ibelin family seem to have gone to any other country during this
period. At this time, some of the Embriaco lords of Gibelet,
relatives of the Ibelins, also took the name of "Ibelin" because of
their common maternal descent.
Despite the family's modest origins on the paternal side, the
Ibelins during the 13th–15th centuries were among the highest
nobility in the Kingdom of Cyprus, producing brides for younger
sons, grandsons and brothers of kings (though the kings and eldest
sons tended to find more royal wives). As some of these cadet
princes unexpectedly rose to the kingship, Ibelin daughters were
sometimes queens. Ibelins lived among and married into the highest
circles of Cyprus, among such families as Montfort, Dampierre,
ducal Brunswick, (Antioch-)Lusignan, Montbeliard, and
Gibelet(-Ibelins). They married also into other branches of
Ibelins. They also had loftier ancestors: Maria Comnena was from
the Byzantine imperial Comnenus dynasty, and was descended from the
kings of Georgia, Bulgaria, ancient
Armenia, Parthia,
Persia and Syria.
When the Kingdom of Cyprus was destroyed in the 15th century,
the Ibelins apparently also lost their lands and positions (and the
family possibly went extinct) — the sources, at least, no longer
mention them. Descendants of the Ibelins, through the royal family
of Cyprus, include several royal families of modern Europe, since
their descendant Anne, Duchess of Savoy, daughter of Janus of
Cyprus, was, for example, the ancestor of the Dukes of Savoy, the
La Tremoille princes of Talmond and Taranto, the
Longueville family, the princes of Monaco, the electors of Bavaria,
the Farnese of Parma, the last Valois
kings of France, the Dukes of Lorraine, the Habsburg-Lorraines, the
Bourbons of Navarre and France,
and, as their progeny, practically all Catholic royalty in recent
centuries.
Lords of
Ibelin
- Barisan of Ibelin (c. 1134–1150)
- Hugh of Ibelin (1150-1170)
- Baldwin of Ibelin (inherited Ibelin in 1170, but passed it to
Balian)
- Balian of Ibelin (1170-1193)
- John of Ibelin (1193–1236)
- Afterwards held directly by the Counts of Jaffa and
Ascalon
Family
tree
- Barisan of Ibelin (d. 1152) m. Helvis of Ramla
- Hugh of Ibelin (c. 1130-1133 – 1169/1171) m. Agnes of
Courtenay
- Baldwin of Ibelin (early 1130s – c. 1187 or 1186/1188) m. 1.
Richilde of Bethsan, 2. Isabelle Gothman, 3. Maria of Tripoli
- Thomas of Ibelin (before 1175 – c. 1188)
- Eschiva of Ibelin (c. 1160 – 1196/1197) m. Amalric of Lusignan
- Bourgogne (1180 – 1210), m. 1. Raymond VI of Toulouse, 2.
Gautier II de Montfaucon
- Guy, died young
- Jean, died young
- Hugh I of Cyprus (1194/1195 – 1218) m. Alice of Champagne
- Marie of Lusignan (before 1215 – c. 1252 or 1254) m. Walter IV
of Brienne
- Hugh of Brienne (c. 1240 – 1296) m. 1. Isabella of La Roche, 2.
Helena Komnene Dukaina
- Walter V of Brienne (c. 1275 – 1311) m. Jeanne de Châtillon
- Walter VI of Brienne (c. 1304 – 1356) m. 1. Margaret of
Taranto, 2. Jeanne of Brienne
- Isabella of Brienne (1306 – 1360), married Walter III of
Enghien
- descendants in Enghien, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, Duchy of
Ferrara, Duchy of Mantua, etc
- Agnes of Brienne m. John, Count of Joigny
- Joanna of Brienne m. Niccolo Sanudo
- Isabella of Antioch (1216 – 1264) m. Henry of Antioch
- Hugh III of Cyprus (1235 – 1284) m. Isabella of Ibelin
- John II of Jerusalem (died 1285)
- Bohemond de Lusignan (ca 1268 – 1281)
- Henry II of Jerusalem (1271 – 1324) m. Constanza of Sicily
- Amalric, Prince of Tyre (died 1310) m. Isabelle, Princess of
Armenia
- Hugues de Lusignan (d. 1318/1323) m. Eschive of Ibelin
- Henri de Lusignan (d. 1323)
- Guy de Lusignan (d. 1344) m. 1. Kantakuzene, 2. Theodora
Syrgiannaina
- Isabella de Lusignan (c. 1333 – 1382/1387) m. Manuel
Kantakouzenos
- Jean de Lusignan (d. 1343) m. Sultana of Georgia
- Bohemond de Lusignan (died 1364)
- Leon VI of Armenia (illegitimate) m. Margaret of Soissons
- Marie de Lusignan (c. 1370-1381)
- Guy de Lusignan (d. 1405) (illegitimate)
- Etienne de Lusignan (illegitimate)
- Bohémond de Lusignan (d. 1344) m. Euphemia of Neghir
- Barthelemy de Lusignan (d. after 1373) (illegitimate)
- Agnes (Marie) de Lusignan (d. aft. 1309) m. Levon III of
Armenia
- Marie de Lusignan (1273 – 1322) m. James II of Aragon
- Aimery de Lusignan (1274/1280 – 1316)
- Guy de Lusignan (1275/1280 – 1303) m. Eschive of Ibelin
- Hugh IV of Cyprus (c. 1295 – 1359) m. 1. Maria of Ibelin, 2.
Alice of Ibelin
- Guy de Lusignan (c. 1316 – 1343) m. Marie de Bourbon
- Hughues de Lusignan (1335 – 1385/1386) m. Maria of Morphou
- Eschive de Lusignan (c. 1323 – 1363) m. Fernando of
Majorca
- Peter I of Cyprus (1328 – 1369) m. 1. Eschive de Montfort, 2.
Leonor de Gandia
- Peter II of Cyprus (c. 1357 – 1382) m. Valentina Visconti
- Marguerite or Marie de Lusignan (c. 1360 – c. 1397) m. Jacques
de Lusignan
- Eschive de Lusignan (d. before 1369)
- John of Lusignan (c. 1329 – 1375) m. 1. Constance of Sicily, 2.
Alice of Ibelin
- Jacques de Lusignan (d. 1395/1397) m. Marguerite or Marie de
Lusignan
- Jean de Lusignan (d. 1428/1432)
- Pierre de Lusignan (d. 1451) m. Isabelle de Lusignan
- Phoebus de Lusignan (illegitimate)
- Eleonore de Lusignan (d. c. 1414) m. Henri de Lusignan
- Loysia de Lusignan m. Eudes de Lusignan
- James I of Cyprus (1334 – 1398) m. Helvis of
Brunswick-Grubenhagen
- Janus of Cyprus (1375 – 1432) m. 1. Anglesia Visconti, 2.
Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche
- John II of Cyprus (1418 – 1458) m. 1. Amadea Palaiologina of
Montferrat, 2. Helene Palaiologina
- Charlotte of Cyprus (1442/1443 – 1487) m. 1. John of Portugal,
2. Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva
- Cleopha de Lusignan
- Jacques de Lusignan (d. c. 1426)
- Anne de Lusignan (c. 1415/1419 – 1462) m. Louis of Savoy
- descendents in the Duchy of Savoy
- Marie de Lusignan (d. 1437)
- Aloysius de Lusignan (1408 – 1421) (illegitimate)
- Guy de Lusignan (d. after 1433) (illegitimate) m. Isabelle
Babin
- Jacqua de Lusignan (b. 1432)
- Eleonore de Lusignan (b. 1433)
- unknown daughter, m. Garceran Suarez de los Cernadilla
- Philippe de Lusignan (d. c. 1430)
- Lancelot de Lusignan (d. after 1450)
- Henry of Lusignan (d. 1427) m. Eleonore de Lusignan
- Eudes de Lusignan (d. 1421) m. Loysia de Lusignan
- Hugues Lancelot de Lusignan (d. 1442)
- Guy de Lusignan
- unknown daughter (d. 1374)
- Jacqua de Lusignan (d. c. 1397)
- Eschive de Lusignan (d. after 1406) m. Sclavus von Asperg
- Marie of Lusignan (1381 – 1404) m. Ladislas of Naples
- Agnes de Lusignan (c. 1382 – 1459)
- Isabelle de Lusignan m. Pierre de Lusignan
- Thomas de Lusignan (d. 1340)
- Perrot de Lusignan (d. 1353)
- Marguerite de Lusignan, m. Gautier de Dampierre
- Isabelle de Lusignan (1296/1300 – after 1340) m. Eudes de
Dampierre
- Marguerite de Lusignan (c. 1276 – 1296) m. Thoros III of
Armenia
- Levon III of Armenia (c. 1287 – 1307) m. Agnes de Lusignan
- Alice de Lusignan (1277/1280 – 1324) m. Balian of Ibelin
- Helvis de Lusignan (died 1324) m. Hethum II of Armenia
- Isabelle de Lusignan (c. 1280 – 1319) m. 1. Constantine of
Neghir, 2. Oshin of Armenia
- Henry I of Cyprus (1217 – 1253) m. 1. Alix of Montferrat, 2.
Stephanie of Lampron, 3. Plaisance of Antioch
- Hugh II of Cyprus (1252/1253 – 1267)
- Helvis, married Raymond-Roupen of Antioch
- Maria of Antioch (1215 – ?) m. Philip of Montfort
- Jean de Montfort (died 1283) m. Marguerite de Lusignan
- Humphrey of Montfort (died 1284) m. Eschive d'Ibelin
- Amaury of Montfort (died 1304)
- Rupen of Montfort (died 1313)
- a son
- Alix or Helvis, living in 1295
- Alix, living in 1282 and in 1295
- Helvis, living in 1282 and in 1295
- Alix, died young
- Stephanie of Ibelin m. Amalric, Viscount of Nablus
- Balian of Ibelin (early 1140s – 1193) m. Maria Comnena
- Helvis of Ibelin m. 1. Reginald of Sidon, 2. Guy of Montfort.
- Agnes m. Ralph of Tiberias
- Fenie (Euphemia) m. Eudes of Tiberias
- Balian (d. 1241) m. Margaret of Brienne
- Julian Grenier (d. 1275) m. Euphemia of Armenia
- Balian II Grenier (d. 1277)
- John (d. 1289)
- Margaret m. Guy II Embriaco
- Philip of Montfort
- John of Ibelin (c. 1179 – 1236) m. 1. Helvis of Nephin, 2.
Melisende of Arsuf
- Balian of Beirut (d. 1247)
- John II of Beirut (d. 1264)
- Isabelle d'Ibelin (1252 – 1282) m. 1. Hugh II of Cyprus, 2.
Haymo Letrange, 3. Nicholas Laleman, 4. Guillaume Berlais
- Eschive d'Ibelin (1253 – 1312) m. 1. Humphrey of Montfort, 2.
Guy of Lusignan
- Amaury of Montfort (d. 1304)
- Rupen of Montfort (d. 1313)
- Alix of Montfort
- Helvis of Montfort
- Hugh IV of Cyprus (c. 1295 – 1359) m. 1. Marie d'Ibelin, 2.
Alice d'Ibelin (see above)
- Isabella of Lusignan (1298 – 1330) m. Eudes de Dampierre
- John of Arsuf (c. 1211 – 1258) m. Alice of Haifa
- Balian of Arsuf (1239 – 1277) m. 1. Plaisance of Antioch, w.o.
issue 2. ca 1261 Lucy of Chenechy
- John of Ibelin, (d. 1309) m. aft. 1300 Isabel of Ibelin
- Guy of Ibelin
- Balian of Ibelin (d. c. 1338) m. c. 1320 Margaret of Ibelin
- Philip d'Ibelin, (d. 1374/6) m. 1. Eschiva of Dampierre 2. c.
1355 Alice (d. aft. 1376) daughter of Ferdinand of Majorca
- Guy of Ibelin (d. 1367)
- Thomas of Ibelin (d. aft. 1361)
- John of Ibelin
- Maria of Ibelin (d. aft. 1357) m. 1. c. 1340 Hugh of
Dampierre-sur-Salon 2. c. 1349 John of Ibelin (d. aft. 1357)
- Simone of Ibelin (d. aft. 1350) m. 1. c. 1355 Baldwin of Nores
1. John Babin
- Margaret of Ibelin (d. aft. 1353) m. Balian of Ibelin
- Margaret of Ibelin m. c. 1323 Balian of Ibelin
- Lucy of Ibelin m. 1. c. 1332 Baldwin of Milmars 2. c. 1334
Raymond du Four
- Alice of Ibelin
- Joan of Ibelin m. Baldwin of Morf
- Nicole of Ibelin, (d. c. 1300) m. Thibaut of Bessan
- Ermeline of Ibelin
- Hugh of Ibelin (1213 – 1238)
- Baldwin of Ibelin (d. 1266) m. Alix of Bethsan
- John m. Isabelle Rivet
- Baldwin m. Marguerite de Giblet
- Isabella († 1315), m. her cousin Guy (1286 † 1308)
- Alice m. Hugh IV of Cyprus
- Philip
- Guy m. Maria of Armenia
- Balian m. Marguerite Visconte
- Hugh (d. 1315)
- Melisende, died young
- Guy of Ibelin m. Philippa Berlais
- Baldwin
- Jean (d. 1277)
- Aimery
- Balian (1240 – 1302) m. Alice de Lampron
- Guy m. his cousin Isabella
- Alice m. Hugh IV of Cyprus
- Philip of Ibelin (1253 – 1318) m. 1. c. 1280 Maria, daughter of
Vahran of Hanousse by Maria of Ibelin, w.o. issue; 2. c 1295 Maria
of Giblet (d. 1331)
- John of Ibelin, (b. 1302, d. aft. 1317)
- Guy of Ibelin (d. c 1360) m. c. 1319 Margaret of Ibelin
- John of Ibelin
- Alice of Ibelin, (d. aft. 1373) m. c. 1350 John of Lusignan (d.
1375)
- Margaret of Ibelin
- Balian of Ibelin, (d. aft. 1349) m. c. 1323 Margaret of
Ibelin
- Isabella of Ibelin, (b.1300, d. aft. 1342) m. 1. 1316 Fernando
of Majorca (d. 1316); 2. c. 1320 Hugh of Ibelin
- Helvis of Ibelin, (b. 1307, d. aft. 1347) m. 1330 Duke Heinrich
von Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (d. 1351)
- Isabella of Ibelin (1241 – 1324) m. Hugh III of Cyprus (see
above)
- Alice m. Eudes de Dampierre sur Salon
- Eschive
- Melisende
- Marie
- Margaret, m. 1. Hugh of Saint-Omer, 2. Walter of Caesarea.
- Philip of Ibelin, m. Alice of Montbéliard
- John of Ibelin (1215 – 1266) m. Maria of Barbaron
- James (c. 1240 – 1276) m. Marie of Montbéliard
- Philip (d. aft. 1263)
- Guy (c. 1250 – 1304) m. Marie, Lady of Naumachia
- Philip of Ibelin (d. 1316)
- Hugh of Ibelin (d. aft. 1335)
- Hugh of Ibelin (d. c 1349); m. 1320 Isabellla of Ibelin (died
after 1342)
- Balian of Ibelin (d. c 1352)
- Guy of Ibelin (d. c 1363); m. N.
- Balian of Ibelin; m.1352 Marguerite of Ibelin
- John of Ibelin (d. c 1375)
- Maria of Ibelin; m. ca 1358 Reinier Le Petit
- Balian of Ibelin, (b. 1302), m. 1. 1322 Jeannette of Montfort
(d. c 1325) 2. 1325 Margaret du Four
- Maria of Ibelin, (b. 1294, d. before 1318), m.1307/10 Hugh IV
of Cyprus
- John (d. aft. 1263)
- Hethum
- Oshin
- Margaret (c. 1245 – aft. 1317)
- Isabelle (c. 1250 – aft. 1298) married Sempad of
Saravantikar
- Marie (d. aft. 1298) m. 1. Vahran of Hanousse, 2. Gregorios
Tardif
- Ermengarde of Ibelin (d. 1160/1167)
- Stephanie of Ibelin (d. after 1167)
References
-
William
of Tyre (1943), A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans.
E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, Columbia University
Press
-
Edbury, Peter W.
(1997), John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Boydell
Press
-
Mayer, H. E.
(1982), "Carving Up Crusaders: The Early Ibelins and Ramlas",
Outremer: Studies in the history of the Crusading Kingdom of
Jerusalem presented to Joshua Prawer (Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi
Institute)
-
Nielen-Vandervoorde,
Marie-Adélaïde (2003), Lignages d'Outremer, Documents
relatifs à l'histoire des Croisades, Académie des Inscriptions et
Belles-Lettres, ISBN 287754141X
-
Rüdt de Collenberg, W. H.
(1977-1979), "Les Ibelin aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles", Επετηρίς
Κέντρου Επιστημονικών Ερευνών Κύπρου
9
-
Rüdt de Collenberg, W. H.
(1983), Familles de l'Orient latin XIIe-XIVe siècles,
Variorum reprints, pp. 117-265 ,
reprint of article Les Ibelin aux XIIIe et XIVe
siècles.
-
Runciman,
Steven (1951-1953), A History of the Crusades, Cambridge
University Press
External
links
See also
- Officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
- Officers of the Kingdom of Cyprus