The Lordship of Ramla was one of the Crusader
vassal states
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to t ...
of the
Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. It has been vassal to and part of the
County of Jaffa and Ascalon.
History
During the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...
,
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
was abandoned by its Muslim inhabitants, as it lacked the defenses necessary to withstand a siege.
[Mayer, Hans Eberhard. "The Origins of the Lordships of Ramla and Lyddia in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem," ''Speculum'' 60.3 (1985): 538.]
Upon its capitulation in 1099, Ramla was left under the supervision of Robert of the
diocese of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Ar ...
, whom the crusaders installed as
Bishop of Lydda
Diocese of Lydda ( Lod) is one of the oldest bishoprics of the early Christian Church in the Holy Land. Suppressed under Persian and Arab-Islamic rule, it was revived by the Crusaders and remains a Latin Catholic titular see.
History
In ear ...
and Ramla.
Thus, Ramla was initially an ecclesiastical lordship. This would change, however, sometime between 1115 and 1120, when a certain Baldwin is noted as having a "lordlike position"
[Mayer, Hans Eberhard. "The Origins of the Lordships of Ramla and Lyddia in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem," ''Speculum'' 60.3 (1985): 541.] in Ramla, suggesting the city had passed into secular control.
In 1126, Ramla became part of the County of Jaffa, and a separate lordship was created after the revolt of
Count Hugh II in 1134, with Baldwin II as lord (although Baldwin I was not a lord in his own right). The
castle of Ibelin was located quite near Ramla. It was later a part of the Ibelin possessions, inherited from Helvis, daughter of Baldwin of Ramla and wife of
Barisan of Ibelin
Barisan of Ibelin (french: Barisan d'Ibelin; died 1150) was an important figure in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and was the founder of the Ibelin family. His name was later written as "Balian" and he is sometimes known as Balian the Elder, B ...
. Along with most of the rest of the kingdom, Ramla was recaptured by
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
in 1187. Though legally distinct, Ramla in practise merged with the other Ibelin holdings regained after the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
, and in the mid-13th century it was indistinguishable from the larger County of Jaffa and Ascalon.
Lords/officials of Ramla
*Bishop Robert (1099–1106)
*
Baldwin I of Ramla, Castellan (1106–1134), Lord of Ramla (1134–1138)
*
Barisan of Ibelin
Barisan of Ibelin (french: Barisan d'Ibelin; died 1150) was an important figure in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and was the founder of the Ibelin family. His name was later written as "Balian" and he is sometimes known as Balian the Elder, B ...
(1138–1150)
*
Manasses of Hierges
Manasses of Hierges was an important crusader and constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was lord of Ramla from 1150 to 1152.
Biography Early years
He was the son of Hodierna of Rethel and Héribrand II of Hierges; Hodierna was daughter ...
(1150–1152)
*
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, ...
, son of Barisan of Ibelin (1152–1169)
*
Baldwin of Ibelin
Baldwin of Ibelin, also known as Baldwin II of Ramla (French: ''Baudouin d'Ibelin'', early 1130s – c. 1187 or 1186/1188), was an important noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and was lord of Ramla from 1169-1186. He was t ...
(1169–1186)
*Thomas of Ibelin, son of Baldwin of Ibelin (1186–1188; actually held by
Balian of Ibelin Balian or Balyan may refer to:
People
* Balian of Ibelin (disambiguation), a name shared by several members of the Ibelin family from the crusader kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus
* Balian Buschbaum (born 1980), German pole vaulter
* Roger Balian, ...
, 1186–1193)
*
John of Ibelin (c. 1247)
[Edbury, Peter W. "John of Ibelin's Title to the Counties of Jaffa and Ascalon." ''The English Historical Review'' 98.386 (1983): 115.]
See also
*
Diocese of Lydda
Diocese of Lydda ( Lod) is one of the oldest bishoprics of the early Christian Church in the Holy Land. Suppressed under Persian and Arab-Islamic rule, it was revived by the Crusaders and remains a Latin Catholic titular see.
History
In ear ...
*
Officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
*
Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller Manorialism, seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals (referre ...
Notes
Sources
* John L. La Monte, ''Feudal Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1100-1291''. The Medieval Academy of America, 1932.
*
Jonathan Riley-Smith
Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
...
, ''The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174-1277''. The Macmillan Press, 1973.
*
Steven Runciman, ''A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187''.
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pre ...
, 1952.
* Steven Tibble, ''Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291''. Clarendon Press, 1989.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramla, Lordship
Lordships of the Crusader states
County of Jaffa and Ascalon
Feudalism in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Titles of nobility of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Lordship of Ramla
The Lordship of Ramla was one of the Crusader vassal states of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. It has been vassal to and part of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon.
History
During the First Crusade, Ramla was abandoned by its Muslim inhabitants, a ...