Raimund III. (Tripoli)

Raimund III. von Tripoli (* around 1142 ; † 1187 in Tripoli ) was Count of Tripoli from 1152. He followed his father Raimund II , who was killed by the assassins , and Hodierna , who ruled for him when he was a minor. From 1174 he was also Prince of Galilee by virtue of his wife's right . He belongs to the French noble family Toulouse .

Life

Raimund III. and Bohemond III. march against Jerusalem in 1180 to force the marriage of Princess Sibylla. Miniature from the 13th century.

In 1164, Raymond was captured by Nur ad-Din and held for ten years until 1174. At that time Amalrich I , King of Jerusalem , was the ruler of the county. When Raimund was released, he became regent for Baldwin IV , who was also too young to rule. Raimund married Eschiva von Bures , the widow of Prince Walter of Saint-Omer of Galilee , which gave him rulership over large parts of the north of the kingdom, in particular the fortress in Tiberias on the Sea of ​​Galilee . As Regent he made in 1174 William of Tire to the Chancellor of Jerusalem and in 1175 the Archbishop of Tire . When Baldwin IV was old enough in 1176, he withdrew from the reign, but still had influence in the kingdom, which went so far that in 1177 he arranged the marriage for Baldwin's sister Sibylle to Wilhelm von Montferrat . William died in the same year, while Sibylle with the future king Baldwin V was pregnant.

As the great-grandson of Raimund von Toulouse , Raimund III represented. the long-established families who had come into the country with the First Crusade and who had adopted not only the country but also the local customs. He preferred a policy of good neighborly relations with the Muslims , whom he had got to know well during his imprisonment, but often came into conflict with the newer families, for example Rainald von Chatillon and Guido von Lusignan , as well as the Knights of St. John and the Knights Templar , which the Hostile to Muslims and wanted to take every opportunity to fight them.

In 1184 Raimund fought with Guido about the reign of Baldwin IV, who was prevented from ruling because of his leprosy . Raimund won the dispute with the promise to remain regent for ten years and the possession of the city of Beirut , but then passed the reign to Joscelin III. Baldwin IV died in 1185, his nephew Baldwin V a little later (1186). Joscelin, who was under the influence of the followers of Rainald and Guido, made Guido the new king - whereupon Raimund III. gave up the fight and withdrew to Tripoli .

When Saladin , his former ally, if not friend, attacked the kingdom in 1187 because of Rainald's raids on the caravan routes , Raimund stood behind the crusaders . Saladin immediately besieged Tiberias, where Raymond's wife Eschiva was staying, instead of plundering the kingdom as expected. Nevertheless, Raimund took the view that he could not dare an open battle against Saladin, which Guido again opposed. The king led the crusaders into a waterless plain near Tiberias, where they were surrounded by Saladin's army and almost completely wiped out in the battle of Hattin . Raimund was one of the few who managed to escape.

He died later that year of pleurisy . He had appointed his godson Raymond of Antioch , the eldest son of Bohemond III, to be his successor . of Antioch . Just two years later, Bohemund III appointed. his heir Raimund returned to Antioch and set his younger son Bohemond (IV.) of Antioch as a count in Tripoli .

His eldest stepson inherited the Principality of Galilee from the first marriage of his wife Eschiva, Hugo II of Saint-Omer .

literature

• Alan V. Murray: Raymond III of Tripoli. In: Alan V. Murray (Ed.): The Crusades. To Encyclopedia. Volume 4: Q - Z. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara CA et al. 2006, ISBN 1-576-07862-0 , p. 1007 f.

Web links

• Raimund III. at medieval-genealogie.de
• Raymond of Tripoli at fmg.ac (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Raymond II.	Count of Tripoli 1152–1187	Raymond IV.
Guido of Lusignan	Bailli of Jerusalem 1182–1186	Johann of Ibelin
Walter of Saint-Omer	Prince of Galilee (de iure uxoris ) 1174–1187	Hugo II of Saint-Omer