Balian III of Beirut (died 1247) was the

Lord of Beirut The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 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 (referred to as barons) in the kingdom proper ...

, the second of his family, from 1236, and a son of the famous "Old Lord" John of Ibelin, by his second wife

Melisende of Arsuf Melisende (born before 1177 – died after 1215) was the hereditary Lady of Arsuf from 1177 and the second wife of the powerful nobleman John, Old Lord of Beirut. Life She was born sometime before 1177, the eldest daughter of Guy, Lord of Ars ...

. From his father he assumed the leadership of the nobility in the

War of the Lombards The War of the Lombards (1228–1243) was a civil war in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus between the "Lombards" (also called the imperialists), the representatives of the Emperor Frederick II, largely from Lombardy, and th ...

, fought against the agents of the

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...

. He was a warrior from an early age. At the

Battle of Agridi The Battle of Agridi was fought on 15 June 1232 between the forces loyal to Henry I of Cyprus (such as those of the Ibelin family) and the imperial army of Frederick II, composed mostly of men from Lombardy. It resulted in an Ibelin victory and th ...

in 1232, though he was supposed to be in the rearguard with his father and the

King of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...

, he instead went to the front, beside either

Hugh of Ibelin Hugh of Ibelin (c. 1132 – 1169/1171) was an important noble in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and was Lord of Ramla from 1152-1169. Hugh was the eldest son of Barisan of Ibelin and Helvis of Ramla. He was old enough to witness charters in 1148, ...

and Anceau of Brie, commanders of the first and second

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. At the battle, Balian won fame defending a pass from the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

. A story is told in the ''

Gestes des Chiprois Templar of Tyre (french: Templier de Tyr) is the conventional designation of the anonymous 14th-century historian who compiled the Old French chronicle known as the ''Deeds of the Cypriots'' (French: ''Gestes des Chiprois''). The ''Deeds'' was writt ...

'' that Balian once struck a Lombard knight so hard that he himself was dismounted. Balian led his family in besieging Tyre in 1242. He also had the support of

Philip of Novara Philip of Novara (c. 1200 – c. 1270) was a medieval historian, warrior, musician, diplomat, poet, and lawyer. born at Novara, Italy, into a noble house, who spent his entire adult life in the Middle East. He primarily served the Ibelin famil ...

and Philip of Montfort and he employed mercenaries and galleys in the endeavour. Balian of Ibelin, lord of Beirut married Eschiva de Montfaucon, daughter of

Walter of Montbéliard Walter of Montbéliard (died in 1212) (''Gauthier I de Montfaucon'') was regent of the Kingdom of Cyprus from 1205 to 1210, and Constable of Jerusalem from around 1204 to his death. Early life He was the second son of Amadeus II of Montfaucon, A ...

and Bourgogne de Lusignan of Cyprus and they had issue: * Hugue 1231/32–1254/55, married (1250/53) to Marie of Montbéliard. *

John II of Beirut John of Ibelin (died 1264), often called John II, was the Lord of Beirut from 1254, named after his grandfather John I, the famous "Old Lord of Beirut", and son of Balian of Ibelin, who surrendered Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187. His parents were Ba ...

died 1264, married to Alice de la Roche, daughter of Guy I, Duke of Athens. * Isabelle, married (c. 1250) to

Henry I Embriaco The Embriaco were a prominent Genoese family, who played an important role in the history of the Crusader states. It also gave consuls, admirals and ambassadors to the Republic of Genoa. The family ruled the city of Byblos (in present-day Leb ...

de Giblet (died c. 1271).

Ancestry

References

Sources

* *Marshall, Christopher. ''Warfare in the Latin East, 1192–1291''. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Christians of the Crusades Christians of the Barons' Crusade 1247 deaths House of Ibelin Year of birth unknown History of Beirut 13th-century monarchs in the Middle East {{noble-stub