Hugh III, also called Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan and the Great, was the king of Cyprus from 1267 and king of Jerusalem from 1268. Born into the family of the princes of Antioch, he effectively ruled as regent for underage kings Hugh II of Cyprus and Conrad III of Jerusalem for several years. Prevailing over the claims of his cousin Hugh of Brienne, he succeeded both young monarchs upon their deaths and appeared poised to be an effective political and military leader.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states that was 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 count of Jaffa and Ascalon, the prince of Galilee, the lord of Sidon, and the lord of Oultrejordain.
Hugh II of Cyprus was king of Cyprus and, from the age of 5 years, also Regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The House of Lusignan was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries during the Middle Ages. It also had great influence in England and France.
The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from relatively 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.
Baldwin of Ibelin, also known as Baldwin II of Ramla, was an important noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and was lord of Ramla from 1169-1186. He was the second son of Barisan of Ibelin, and was the younger brother of Hugh of Ibelin and older brother of Balian of Ibelin. He first appears in the historical record as a witness to charters in 1148.
John of Ibelin, called the Old Lord of Beirut, was a powerful crusader noble in the 13th century, one of the best known representatives of the influential Ibelin family. The son of Balian of Ibelin and the dowager queen Maria Comnena, he had close ties with the nobility of both Cyprus and Jerusalem, since he was the half-brother of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem. Before he was 20, he was appointed constable of Jerusalem, and a few years later became Lord of Beirut. John rebuilt Beirut after Saladin's conquest, and established the grand Ibelin family palace. He served as regent of Jerusalem on behalf of his niece Maria of Montferrat from 1205 to 1210 after her mother, Queen Isabella, died. He was also regent for his great-nephew Henry I of Cyprus from 1228 until Henry came of age in 1232. John was known as a principled man, and was seen as the natural leader of the Christian barons in the Holy Land. He resisted the power-seeking of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Cyprus, and opposed the imperial forces until King Henry came of age.
The principality of Galilee was one of the four major seigneuries of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin, grandson of Balian. The direct holdings of the principality centred around Tiberias, in Galilee proper, but with all its vassals, the lordship covered all Galilee and southern Phoenicia. The independent Lordship of Sidon was located between Galilee's holdings. The principality also had its own vassals: the Lordships of Beirut, Nazareth, and Haifa.
Isabella of Ibelin (1252–1282) was lady of Beirut from 1264 until her death in 1282, and also held the title of Queen of Cyprus. She was the daughter of John II of Beirut, lord of Beirut, and of Alice de la Roche sur Ognon.
Isabella of Ibelin (1241–1324) was queen of Cyprus and Jerusalem by marriage to Hugh III of Cyprus.
Alice de la Roche was a Latin noblewoman who ruled the Lordship of Beirut in the Kingdom of Jerusalem as regent and was a claimant to the Duchy of Athens. She was a daughter of Duke Guy I de la Roche. Alice was regent of Beirut for her daughter, Lady Isabella, while Isabella was the queen consort of Cyprus.
Juliana or Julianne Grenier was the Lady of Caesarea, which she inherited from her brother, Walter II, upon his death between 1189 and 1191. When she inherited the lordship, it had recently been conquered by Saladin, but in September 1192 it was restored to her rule by the Treaty of Jaffa. The city and its fortifications, however, were not rebuilt in her lifetime.
Walter III, sometimes called Walter de Brisebarre or Walter Grenier, was the Constable of the Kingdom of Cyprus from 1206 and Lord of Caesarea in the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1216. He was the eldest son of Juliana Grenier, Lady of Caesarea, and Guy de Brisebarre. Since he was witnessing royal charters by 1195, he must have been born no later than 1180. In the 1220s he was generally referred to as "the old lord of Caesarea", although probably only in his fifties. He took part in two Crusades and in two civil wars on the side of the House of Ibelin.
John was the Lord of Caesarea from 1229 and an important figure in the kingdoms of Cyprus and Jerusalem. He was the only son of Walter III of Caesarea and Marguerite d'Ibelin, daughter of Balian of Ibelin. He was often called "the young lord of Caesarea" throughout his life to distinguish him from his father, who had been called "the old lord of Caesarea".
Margaret was the Lady of Caesarea. She was the eldest daughter and heiress of John of Caesarea and Alice de Montaigu, and both of her parents came from the upper echelons of the nobility of Outremer. Margaret was the second lady to inherit Caesarea, after her great-grandmother Juliana.
John Aleman was the Lord of Caesarea in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, exercising this right through his wife, Margaret of Caesarea from at least 1243 until his death. John was active politically and militarily, although less influential than the previous lords of Caesarea had been.
Baldwin of Ibelin was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Cyprus. A member of the House of Ibelin, he was a son of Guy, constable of Cyprus, and a brother of Queen Isabella. He was thus the maternal uncle of King Henry II of Cyprus, whom he served as constable of Cyprus.
Hamo le Strange, Heimon Lestrange, Hamo L'Estrange or Hamo Extraneus was an English Crusader. His surname means the Foreigner. By marriage to Isabella of Beirut he was Lord of Beirut in the Kingdom of Jerusalem—he was the second of her four husbands.
William or Guillaume Barlais was a Lord of Beirut in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, via his marriage to Isabella of Beirut in 1277 - he was her fourth and final husband. They died childless and she had no children from her previous three marriages to Hugh II of Cyprus, Hamo le Strange and Nicolas l’Aleman - the Lordship of Beirut thus passed to her sister Eschiva of Ibelin and her husband Humphrey of Montfort, Lord of Tyre.
John III Lestrange, of Knockin in Shropshire, landowner, administrator and soldier, was a marcher lord defending England along its border with Wales.