Hugh of Ibelin(c. 1132 – 1169/1171) was an important noble in theKingdom of Jerusalemand wasLord of Ramlafrom 1152-1169.
Hugh | |
|---|---|
| lord of Ibelin and Ramla | |
| Predecessor | Barisan of Ibelin |
| Successor | Baldwin of Ibelin |
| Born | c. 1130–1133 |
| Died | 1169/1171 |
| Noble family | House of Ibelin |
| Father | Barisan of Ibelin |
| Mother | Helvis of Ramla |
Hugh was the eldest son ofBarisan of IbelinandHelvis of Ramla.He was old enough to witness charters in 1148, as was his younger brotherBaldwin of Ibelin,which suggests he was born c. 1130-1133, as the male age of majority was fifteen. (H.E. Mayer has suggested a limited degree of competence may have been accepted from the age of eight, reducing his age, but the examples given of this are of males of the royal house, whose situation was somewhat different.) He was probably about ten years older than his youngest brother,Balian of Ibelin.
After his father Barisan died in 1150, Helvis married theconstable of Jerusalem,Manasses of Hierges,who was one of the strongest supporters ofQueen Melisendein the power struggle against her sonKing Baldwin III.Manasses was exiled in 1152 when Baldwin was victorious in this struggle, allowing Hugh to inherit Ramla from his mother. Hugh took part in theSiege of Ascalonin 1153, and in 1157 was captured in battle atBanias,being released probably the next year. In 1159 he visited thePrincipality of Antiochand met withByzantine emperorManuel I Comnenus,who had arrived to assert his suzerainty over the principality. In 1163 Hugh marriedAgnes of Courtenay(1133 – 1184/1185), the former wife ofKing Amalric,by whom he had no issue. It is possible that Agnes had already been betrothed or married to him before 1157, some say it was the actual marriage but she married Amalric after Hugh was taken prisoner; Amalric was forced to divorce her before becoming king in 1163.
Hugh participated Amalric'sexpedition to Egyptin 1167, and was responsible for building a bridge over theNile.The crusaders allied with the sultan againstShirkuh,the general ofNur ad-Din Zangiwho was also fighting for control of Egypt, and Hugh was sent to protectCairoalong with the sultan's son Kamil. Hugh was the first crusader ever to see the sultan's palace. At the siege ofBilbeisduring the same Egyptian campaign, according to Ibelin family tradition, Hugh's life was saved byPhilip of Millyafter breaking his leg and falling under his horse.[1]Hugh died around 1169 during apilgrimagetoSantiago de Compostela.His territories ofIbelinandRamlapassed to his brotherBaldwin.
AnotherHugh of Ibelinwas the son ofJohn of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut,and the grand-nephew of this Hugh.
References
edit- ^Malcolm Barber,"The career of Philip of Nablus in the kingdom of Jerusalem," inThe Experience of Crusading, vol. 2: Defining the Crusader Kingdom,Peter Edbury and Jonathan Phillips, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 2003), pg. 61.
Sources
edit- William of Tyre,A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea.E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trans. Columbia University Press, 1943.
- Peter W. Edbury,John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Boydell Press, 1997.
- H. E. Mayer, "Carving Up Crusaders: The Early Ibelins and Ramlas", inOutremer: Studies in the history of the Crusading Kingdom of Jerusalem presented toJoshua Prawer.Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Institute, 1982.
- Steven Runciman,A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem.Cambridge University Press, 1952.