The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, was a crusader state established in the Southern Levant by Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks. Its history is divided into two distinct periods. The First Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted from 1099 to 1187, when it was almost entirely overrun by Saladin. After the subsequent Third Crusade, the kingdom was re-established in Acre in 1192, and lasted until that city's destruction in 1291, except for the two decades after Frederick II of Hohenstaufen reclaimed Jerusalem, placing it back in Christian hands after the Sixth Crusade. This second kingdom is sometimes called the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Kingdom of Acre, after its new capital. Most of the crusaders who settled there were of French or Norman origin.
The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Muslim Mamluks and the Mongols in the southeastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from the site of Zir'in, a now-destroyed village in the Jezreel Valley in current day Israel. The battle marked the extent of Mongol conquests, and was the first time a Mongol advance had ever been permanently beaten back in direct combat on the battlefield.
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu, was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. Son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Böke, Möngke Khan, and Kublai Khan.
Hethum I ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine, Lord of Baberon and Princess Alix Pahlavouni of Lampron and was the founder of the dynasty which bears his name: the Hetoumids. Due to diplomatic relations with the Mongol Empire, Hethum himself traveled to the Mongol court in Karakorum, Mongolia, which was recorded in the famous account The Journey of Haithon, King of Little Armenia, To Mongolia and Back by Hetoum's companion, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi.
Bohemond VI, also known as Bohemond the Fair, was the Prince of Antioch and Count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. In 1268 Antioch was captured by the Mamluks, and he was thenceforth a prince in exile. He was succeeded by his son Bohemond VII, nominal prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli.
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals in the kingdom proper were :
The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most important families in the kingdom, holding various high offices and with extensive holdings in the Holy Land and Cyprus. The family disappeared after the fall of the Kingdom of Cyprus in the 15th century.
Balian of Ibelin, also known as Barisan the Younger, was a crusader noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was lord of Ibelin from 1170-1193. As the leader of the defense of the city during the siege of Jerusalem in 1187, he surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin on October 2, 1187.
Kitbuqa Noyan, also spelled Kitbogha or Ketbugha, was a Nestorian Christian of the Mongolian Naiman tribe, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him in his conquests in the Middle East. When Hulagu took the bulk of his forces back with him to attend a ceremony in Mongolia, Kitbuqa was left in control of Syria, and was responsible for further Mongol raids southwards towards Egypt. He was killed at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.
Isabella, also Isabel was queen regnant of Armenian Cilicia from 1219 until her death.
The Lordship of Sidon was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much smaller than the others and had the same level of significance as several neighbors, such as Toron and Beirut, which were sub-vassals.
Reginald Grenier was Count of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on 29 October 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and the Ilkhanate, a division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran. The battle was part of Abaqa Khan's attempt at taking Syria from the Mamluks.
Balian I Grenier was the Count of Sidon and one of the most important lords of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1202 to 1241. He succeeded his father Renaud. His mother was Helvis, a daughter of Balian of Ibelin. He was a powerful and important representative of the native aristocracy during the three Levantine crusades of the first half of the thirteenth century.
The Embriaco family were Genoese adventurers, who played an important part in the history of the Crusader states. They styled themselves "Lord (Signore) of Gib(e)let" or "Gibelletto", the modern and historic Byblos in Lebanon.
Several attempts at a Franco-Mongol alliance against the Islamic caliphates, their common enemy, were made by various leaders among the Frankish Crusaders and the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. Such an alliance might have seemed an obvious choice: the Mongols were already sympathetic to Christianity, given the presence of many influential Nestorian Christians in the Mongol court. The Franks were open to the idea of support from the East, in part owing to the long-running legend of the mythical Prester John, an Eastern king in an Eastern kingdom who many believed would one day come to the assistance of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. The Franks and Mongols also shared a common enemy in the Muslims. However, despite many messages, gifts, and emissaries over the course of several decades, the often-proposed alliance never came to fruition.
Mongol raids into Palestine took place towards the end of the Crusades, following the temporarily successful Mongol invasions of Syria, primarily in 1260 and 1300. Following each of these invasions, there existed a period of a few months during which the Mongols were able to launch raids southward into Palestine, reaching as far as Gaza.
Audi filia et and De sinu patris were two letters written by either Pope Urban IV (1165–1264) or Pope Clement IV (1200–1268). They are undated, but were probably written during the 1260s, separately chastising one noblewoman and one nobleman for inappropriate activities. According to historians such as Hans E. Mayer and Peter W. Edbury, the letters were written in 1261 or 1262, and were intended for the Cypriote queen Plaisance of Antioch (1235–1261) and her lover John of Jaffa (1215–1266), who left his wife Marie of Armenia to pursue the relationship. Other historians such as David Nicolle, Steven Runciman and Christopher Tyerman believe that the date is more likely 1268, that the noblewoman was another Cypriot queen, Isabella of Ibelin (1252–1282), and it was her affair with Julian of Sidon that prompted the papal letters.
Mongol Armenia or Ilkhanid Armenia refers to the period in which both Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia became tributary and vassal to the Mongol Empire in the 1230s. Armenia and Cilicia remained under Mongol influence until around 1335.
The House of Grenier was a prominent noble family of the Crusades, based in Jerusalem. In 1010 they were granted the Lordships of Sidon and Caesarea.
