William II Jordan ( ca, Guillem Jordà; oc, Guilhèm Jordan) (died 1109) was the count of Berga beginning in 1094, the count of Cerdanya beginning in 1095, and

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 ...

of the County of Tripoli beginning in 1105. He was the son of Count William I of Cerdanya and Sança, daughter of Count Ramon Berenguer I of Barcelona. William accompanied the army of Raymond IV of Toulouse, one of the leaders of 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 ru ...

, to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

. Raymond died in the east in 1105, leaving his young son Alfonso-Jordan as lord of

Mons Peregrinus Qala'at Tarablus in Arabic, is an ancient citadel and fort on a hilltop in Tripoli, Lebanon. Once known as The Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles or Qala'at Sanjil and also as Mons Peregrinus ("Pilgrim's Mountain"), it takes its name from Raymond o ...

and Tortosa (of Syria) and nominal Count of Tripoli (which had not yet been captured by the crusaders). Since Alfonso-Jordan was still a child, Raymond's soldiers chose William-Jordan as regent. Meanwhile in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, Raymond's elder son

Bertrand Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Bert ...

was ruling in his absence. After Raymond's death the barons of Toulouse chose Alfonso to replace Bertrand, who, now overthrown, travelled to the east, arriving at Mons Peregrinus in 1108 to claim it for himself. There, he quarrelled with William over the inheritance of the Raymond's lordship, and over the regency of still-unconquered Tripoli. William allied himself with Prince Tancred of Galilee, at the time regent of 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 ...

, while Bertrand asked King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to intervene. Baldwin I, Baldwin of Bourcq, and Joscelin of Courtenay allied with Bertrand and William and Tancred were forced to compromise. Tancred was forced to give up his claim to the County of Edessa (but was allowed to keep Antioch); William and Bertrand divided Tripoli between them, recognizing Tancred and Baldwin I as their respective overlords. With the dispute settled, the crusader armies marched on Tripoli and besieged it, with assistance from the Genoese fleet. On July 12, 1109 they captured the city. A short time later William died of an arrow wound sustained during the siege, and the county passed to Bertrand alone. , - , -

References

Christians of the First Crusade Counts 1109 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Spain-noble-stub