Heraclius of Caesarea

Heraclius of Caesarea († 1191 near Acre ) was Archbishop of Caesarea and Patriarch of Jerusalem .

He came from the Auvergne and studied - like his later rival William of Tire - law in Bologna . He came to the Kingdom of Jerusalem as appointed Archbishop of Caesarea while Wilhelm was Archbishop of Tire . Both took part in the Third Lateran Council in 1179 . In 1180 Wilhelm was the first candidate to succeed him as Patriarch of Jerusalem, but the influence of Agnes of Edessa , mother of King Baldwin IV , brought Heraclius into office.

Since most of the information about Heraclius comes from his rival Wilhelm and his follower Ernoul (the latter continued Wilhelm's chronicle), Heraclius is often seen as particularly corrupt and as a decidedly secular occupation of the office. He is said to have had a number of lovers, including allegedly Agnes von Edessa, but also Pasque de Riviera, who lived with him and was addressed as "Madame Patriarch". He is said to have excommunicated Wilhelm in 1183 , which led him to travel to Rome and seek help from the Pope ; Ernoul even reports that Heraclius arranged a poison attack on Wilhelm there - which at least failed, if not misinformation, since Wilhelm did not die before 1186.

In 1184, Heraclius, accompanied by Roger de Moulins , Grand Master of the Order of St. John , and Arnaud de Toroga , Grand Master of the Knights Templar , traveled to Europe to seek support in solving the burning succession crisis in the kingdom. The chronicler Ralph Niger reports that his enormous entourage and lavish clothing offended the sentiments of many Europeans, whose sentiment did not accept such pomp: if the East was so rich, then certainly no help from the West was needed. Heraclius offered the royal crown to both Philip II of France and Henry II of England (and - according to Ralph Niger - to any prince he met), but all refused. He had a remarkable encounter with Henry II, where he reminded him of the promise he had made years ago after the murder of Thomas Becket to go on a crusade. In London, Temple Church , the center of the Knights Templar in England, was consecrated by him.

Heraclius returned to Jerusalem in 1185, where he supported Guidos of Lusignan's accession to the throne . In 1187, during Saladin's invasion, Guido asked him to lead the army with the Holy Cross into battle, but Heraclius was ill and had the Bishop of Acre represent him. After the Battle of Hattin , Heraclius helped organize the defense of Jerusalem , but was forced to surrender on October 2nd. Heraclius negotiated the terms himself, and Saladin allowed him and other Christians to leave the city for ransom without harm. It is reported that Heraclius removed the gold from the churches and carried wagonloads of treasures with him when it left.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Heraclius first found refuge in Antioch . From 1189 he took part in the heavy siege of Acre . There he fell seriously ill in October 1190 and probably died the following winter. By the time Acre was finally captured in July 1191, he was already dead.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} see Runciman, p. 725 f.
2. ↑ See Runciman, pp. 763-766

literature

• Steven Runciman: History of the Crusades. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3406399606

predecessor	Office	successor
Harvey	Archbishop of Caesarea 1173–1180	Monachus
Amalrich of Nesle	Patriarch of Jerusalem 1180–1191	Aimar the monk