Sibylla of Armenia (died in 1290) was the princess of Antioch and countess of Tripoli by marriage to
Bohemond VI
Bohemond VI (–1275), also known as the Fair, was the prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. In 1268 Antioch was captured by t ...
from 1254 to 1275, and then regent of the
County of Tripoli until their son,
Bohemond VII
Bohemond VII (1261 – October 19, 1287) was the count of Tripoli and nominal prince of Antioch from 1275 to his death. The only part left of the once great Principality of Antioch was the port of Latakia. He spent much of his reign at war with the ...
, came of age in 1277. She was closely allied with the
bishop of Tortosa
The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain. ,
Bartholomew Mansel
Bartholomew Mansel was the vicar of the diocese of Antioch, regent of Tripoli, and bishop of Tortosa around 1272, a post he held until 1291.
Biography
Bartholomew belonged to the important Frankish family of the Mansels in Antioch. He was probab ...
, which frustrated the scheme to install her as ruler of Tripoli instead of her daughter
Lucia Lucia may refer to:
Arts and culture
* ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás
* ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film
* '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA''
* "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
after Bohemond VII's death in 1287. During her lifetime, both the principality and the county were lost to the
Egyptian Mamluks.
Early life
Sibylla was the daughter of Queen
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpora ...
and King
Hethoum I of Armenia
Hethum I (Armenian: Հեթում Ա; 1213 – 21 October 1270) ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (also known as "Little Armenia") from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine of Baberon (d. 1263) and Princess Alix Pahlavouni of Lampron (a ...
. In 1254, at the suggestion of the crusader King
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
, Sibylla was married to
Bohemond VI
Bohemond VI (–1275), also known as the Fair, was the prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. In 1268 Antioch was captured by t ...
, the
prince of Antioch
Prince of Antioch was the title given during the Middle Ages to Normans, Norman rulers of the Principality of Antioch, a region surrounding the city of Antioch, now known as Antakya in Turkey. The Princes originally came from the County of Sicil ...
and
count of Tripoli
The count of Tripoli was the ruler of the County of Tripoli, a crusader state from 1102 through 1289. Of the four major crusader states in the Levant, Tripoli was created last.
The history of the counts of Tripoli began with Raymond IV of Toulou ...
. Their children were
Bohemond VII
Bohemond VII (1261 – October 19, 1287) was the count of Tripoli and nominal prince of Antioch from 1275 to his death. The only part left of the once great Principality of Antioch was the port of Latakia. He spent much of his reign at war with the ...
,
Lucia Lucia may refer to:
Arts and culture
* ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás
* ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film
* '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA''
* "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
, and Maria.
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 extende ...
fell to the
Egyptian Mamluks in 1268.
Regent of Tripoli
Sibylla's husband, Bohemond VI, died in 1275, and their son, Bohemond VII, inherited the
County of Tripoli. Since Bohemond VII was then a minor, Sibylla assumed government in his name as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. She was challenged by King
Hugh III of Cyprus, who claimed regency as the closest adult in the line of succession. But family custom and popular opinion was on the princess's side. She sent her son to the court of her brother King
Leo III of Armenia
Leo III (or Leon III) hy, Լեւոն Գ, ''Levon III'') (occasionally numbered Leo IV; (1289–1307) was a young king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1303 or 1305 to 1307, along with his uncle Hethum II. A member of the Hethum ...
and appointed the
bishop of Tortosa
The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain. ,
Bartholomew Mansel
Bartholomew Mansel was the vicar of the diocese of Antioch, regent of Tripoli, and bishop of Tortosa around 1272, a post he held until 1291.
Biography
Bartholomew belonged to the important Frankish family of the Mansels in Antioch. He was probab ...
, as her
bailli. Hugh thus found no support.
Sibylla's husband, Bohemond VI, and Roman mother-in-law,
Lucia of Segni
Lucia of Segni, also called Lucienne, was a 13th-century princess and countess and later regent of the Principality of Antioch and County of Tripoli. She was regent on behalf of her minor son in 1252.
Lucia was born into the family of the counts o ...
, had installed Romans in important government posts, incurring displeasure of the local nobility. The nobility thus supported Sibylla and Bartholomew when they dealt with the Romans through executions and banishments. They failed to remove
Paul of Segni
Paul of Segni was an Italian nobleman and Franciscan friar who served as the bishop of Tripoli in the Levant from 1261 until 1285 and as a papal legate to the kingdoms of Germany and Sicily in 1279–1280. He was the most prominent churchman from ...
, who was Bohemond VI's uncle and
bishop of Tripoli
The Latin Diocese of Tripoli was established in 1104 in the aftermath of the First Crusade. It remained a residential bishopric until 1289, after which it became a titular bishopric, which it remains today in the Catholic Church.
Tripoli, Lebanon, ...
, due to his friendship with the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
. The Templars were thus hostile to Bohemond VII when he returned from Armenia to assume government in 1277.
Claimant of Tripoli
Bohemond VII died childless on 19 October 1287. His heir was his sister, Sibylla's daughter, Lucia, who lived in Apulia with her husband,
Narjot of Toucy, former admiral of
Charles I of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...
. The
Angevins had meddled in the affairs of the
Crusader states
The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
, trying to take over the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...
from Hugh III of Cyprus, and had recently been ejected by Hugh III's son
Henry II. Neither the nobility nor the citizens of Tripoli supported Lucia, who was hardly known to them and associated with the Angevins. They offered the county to Sibylla instead. She wrote to the bishop of Tripoli to ask him to be her bailli. The letter was intercepted and Sibylla was told by the nobles that he would not be accepted. Both sides refused to concede. The nobles and the merchants then proclaimed a
commune, which was to rule Tripoli instead of counts. Sibylla then retired to her brother's court in Armenia. Her daughter came in 1288 and negotiated acceptance of her comital rights, but the Mamluks
conquered Tripoli the next year. Sibylla died in Armenia in 1290.
References
Sources
*
*
{{authority control
1240 births
Armenia, Sibylla
13th-century women rulers
Princesses of Antioch
Countesses of Tripoli
Hethumid dynasty
Armenian princesses
Regents of Antioch