Amalrich Barlais

Amalrich Barlais (also Aimerich , French: Amaury or Aimery Barlais ; † before June 1253) was a baron in the Kingdom of Cyprus . He was a son of Renaud Barlais, who in 1197 for King Amalrich I / II. of Cyprus-Jeruselam had officiated as Bailli of Jaffa, and Isabelle of Bethsan.

Amalrich settled in Cyprus, where he became one of the island's leading barons. He was among the opponents of the dominant family Ibelin and was in 1227 by living in voluntary exile Dowager Queen Alice for ruling Bailli of her infant son, King Henry I , was appointed. However, this appointment was rejected by the island's Haute Cour, which instead had shown solidarity with the actual regent, Philip of Ibelin . Amalrich therefore also moved into exile in Tripoli , but made contact with Emperor Friedrich II , who was just preparing his crusade .

In July 1228, Emperor Frederick II landed in Cyprus and temporarily ended the government of John of Ibelin , the "old gentleman of Beirut", and set up a five-member Regency Council consisting of Amalrich Barlais, Gavin von Chenichy, Amalrich von Bethsan and Hugo von Gibelet and Wilhelm von Rivet, a. As soon as the emperor left for Italy in June 1229, the majority of the Barons Outremers rose up against its governor, since their appointments had been made without the consent of the Haute Cours and were therefore considered illegitimate. Under the leadership of Johann von Ibelin, the barons of Cyprus won the battle of Nicosia on June 24, 1229 against the imperial ones. Amalrich fled with the young king and his sisters to Dieu d'Amour Castle, where he was able to withstand a siege for a year, but then had to surrender in the summer of 1230. The victorious Ibelin dealt mildly with the defeated, Amalrich had to give up his reign in Cyprus, which could now again take Ibelin, who had the support of the Haute Cour and the king.

Amalrich was forced to take part in Ibelin's campaign against the imperial governor in the Kingdom of Jerusalem , Richard Filangieri , in February 1232 . As soon as the Cypriot army went ashore near Tripoli, he set off with a few companions and allied himself with Filangieri. While the Ibelins and the barons were busy fighting on the mainland, Amalrich received an army from Filangieri, with which he wreaked havoc over defenseless Cyprus and conquered one castle after the other. After the victory at Casal Imbert (May 2, 1232) Filangieri also crossed Cyprus to complete the conquest of the island. But only a month later the Ibelins were also able to return to the island with the help of the Genoese and on June 15, 1232 , they were victorious over Filangieri in the battle of Agridi . Amalrich, like all of his comrades-in-arms, was again forced to flee from Cyprus, this time turning to Cilician Armenia . In April 1233, Kyrenia, the last castle in Cyprus to be held by the imperial family, fell.

He was married to Agnes von Marqab († after 1239), daughter of Bertrand Mansoer , with whom he had five sons who died young (Amalrich, Wilhelm, Johann, Renaud and Aimerich) and a daughter. Philippa Barlais married Guido von Ibelin , Connétable of Cyprus and son of his archenemy, the "old lord of Beirut" , around 1240 .

literature

• Steven Runciman : A History of the Crusades (1951)
• Kenneth M. Setton, Robert Lee Wolff, Harry W. Hazard: A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189-1311 (2006)

Web links

• Aimery Barlais at fmg.ac (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann of Ibelin	Regent of Cyprus with Gavin von Chenichy Amalrich von Bethsan Hugo von Gibelet Wilhelm von Rivet 1228–1229	Johann of Ibelin