The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major

Crusader state 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 ...

of 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 establish ...

, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.

History

Jaffa was fortified by

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

after 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 ...

in 1100, and was unsuccessfully claimed by

Daimbert of Pisa Dagobert (or Daibert or Daimbert) (died 1105) was the first Archbishop of Pisa and the second Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem after the city was captured in the First Crusade. Early life Little is known of Dagobert's early life, but he is thought ...

, the first Latin Patriarch. It remained part of the royal domain until it was given to Hugh of Le Puiset in 1110. When Hugh II rebelled against

King Fulk Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...

in 1134 the county was divided into a number of smaller holdings, and Jaffa itself became a royal domain. Soon it was designated as the apanage of Fulk's second son, Amalric. After the siege of Ascalon in 1153, Fulk's first son King Baldwin III conquered Ascalon, and it was added to the territory of his brother Amalric.Runciman'', A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187,'' pp. 339-340 It passed in and out of direct royal control when its holders were husbands or close relatives of the then-reigning Monarch or royal heir, or its usufruct went to a member of the royal family. In that period, it usually produced income for one or several members of Amalric's first family. In 1221 it was given to Walter IV of Brienne by his uncle

John of Brienne John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champ ...

, Walter being married to a granddaughter of King Amalric II, who had held the county as successor of his brother King Guy. Around 1250 it was given to a branch of the Ibelin family. With the capture of Jaffa by Baibars in 1268, the county became titular. It was bestowed anew upon John Perez Fabrice by

James II of Cyprus James II (french: Jacques; c. 1438/1439 or c. 1440 – 10 July 1473) was the penultimate King of Cyprus (usurper), reigning from 1463 until his death. Archbishop of Nicosia James was born in Nicosia as the illegitimate son of John II of Cyp ...

and Jerusalem.

Vassals

The County of Jaffa and Ascalon had a number of vassals of its own: * Lordship of Ramla * Lordship of Ibelin *

Lordship of Mirabel The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin, the four highest crown vassals (referred to as barons) in the kingdom proper ...

(technically separate from the above, but held by the Ibelins)

Counts of Jaffa and Ascalon

(italicized names are titular counts only) *Roger and Gerard (c. 1100) *

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lo ...

(1100–1110) *

Hugh I of Jaffa Hugh I (died between 1112 and 1118) was the Lord of Le Puiset (as Hugh II) from 1097 and Count of Jaffa from 1106. He was the son of Hugh I of Le Puiset and Alice of Montlhéry.''The Lords of Le Puiset on the Crusades'', John L. La Monte, ''Speculu ...

(1110–1118), first cousin of king

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the ...

* Albert of Namur (1118–1122), stepfather and regent to Hugh II *

Hugh II of Jaffa Hugh II ( 1106 – 1134), also called Hugh du Puiset, was a Crusader and the Count of Jaffa. He revolted against King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1134. Arrival in the kingdom Hugh was the son of Hugh I of Jaffa and his wife Mamilia (or Mabilla). Accor ...

(1122–1134), confiscated * Melisende (1134–1151) with her husband

Fulk Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as Fulk ...

(1131–1143) and her son Baldwin III (1143–1151) *

Amalric I of Jerusalem Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older br ...

(1151–1174) * Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1174–1176) *

Sibylla of Jerusalem Sibylla ( fro, Sibyl; 1159 – 25 July 1190) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1190. She reigned alongside her husband Guy of Lusignan, to whom she was unwaveringly attached despite his unpopularity among the barons of the Kingdom of Jerus ...

(1176–1190), with her husbands William of Montferrat (1176–1177) and

Guy of Lusignan Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and Kin ...

(1180–1191) * Geoffrey of Lusignan (1191–1193), brother of Guy of Lusignan *

Amalric II of Jerusalem Aimery of Lusignan ( la, Aimericus, , ''Amorí''; before 11551 April 1205), erroneously referred to as Amalric or Amaury in earlier scholarship, was the first King of Cyprus, reigning from 1196 to his death. He also reigned as the King of Je ...

(1193–1205), with his wife Isabella I (1197–1205) *

Maria of Montferrat Maria of Montferrat (1192–1212) was the queen of Jerusalem from 1205 until her death. Her parents were Isabella I and her second husband, Conrad of Montferrat. Maria succeeded her mother under the regency of her half-uncle John of Ibelin. Af ...

(1205–1212), with her husband

(1210–1212) *

Isabella II of Jerusalem Isabella II (12124 May 1228), also known as Yolande of Brienne, was a princess of French origin, the daughter of Maria, the queen-regnant of Jerusalem, and her husband, John of Brienne. She was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1212 until her d ...

(1212–1221), under regency of her father John of Brienne * Walter IV of Brienne (1221–1244), nephew of John of Brienne and husband of Amalric II's granddaughter * John of Ibelin (1244–1266), son of Philip of Ibelin, Isabella I's half-brother *James of Ibelin, son of John (1266–1268)

Titular counts

*James of Ibelin (1268–1276) *'' Guy of Ibelin'' (1276–1304) *''Hugh of Ibelin'' (1304–1349) *''

Balian II 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, 20t ...

'' (1349 – c. 1352) *'' Guy of Ibelin'' (c. 1352 – c. 1353) *''Balian of Ibelin'' (c. 1353 – c. 1365) *''John of Ibelin'' (c. 1365 – c. 1367) *''Mary of Ibelin (with Regnier le Petit)'' (c. 1367) *''Florin'' (c. 1450) perh. the same as *''Jacques de Flory'' (d. 1463) *''John Perez Fabrice'' *''Louis Perez Fabrice'' *''Georges Contaren'' *''N. Contaren'' *''Georges Contaren II'' (c. 1579)

References

Sources

*John L. La Monte, ''Feudal Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1100-1291''. The Medieval Academy of America, 1932. * Jonathan Riley-Smith, ''The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174-1277''. The Macmillan Press, 1973. *

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negativ ...

, ''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 Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...