The Commune of Antioch was a

medieval commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

in the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It exte ...

. It was formed in 1194 in the courthouse of the

Church of Saint Peter The Church of Saint Peter (Aramaic: ''Knisset Mar Semaan Kefa'', Turkish: ''Senpiyer Kilisesi'', St. Peter's Cave Church, Cave-Church of St. Peter) near Antakya (Antioch), Turkey, is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Star ...

by a congregation of citizens headed by the Latin patriarch, Radulph II. The

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Bohemond III Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (french: Bohémond le Bambe/le Baube; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of ...

, was at the time imprisoned by Leo II of Armenia, and the citizens had driven out the Armenians who came to occupy the city. The commune, with its elected members, took over the administration. To legalize their position, they quickly paid homage to Bohemond III's eldest son and regent,

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, who gave them a formal recognition. Despite the Latin Church's sympathy for the commune, it is more likely that the idea came from the Genoese and Pisan merchants, who were anxious about the future of their trade under an Armenian domination; the Italians were much more familiar with communes than the French in any case. It was the Greeks, however, who soon took a leading role.

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{{refend Principality of Antioch Medieval communes