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
Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo-Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grandso ...
, 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