Stephanie of Milly (born ) was the lady of

Oultrejordain The Lordship of Transjordan () was one of the principal lordships of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It encompassed an extensive and partly undefined region to the east of the Jordan River, and was centered on the castles of Montreal and Kerak. Ge ...

in 1169–1197 and an influential figure in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

. She was also known as Stephanie de Milly, Etienette de Milly, and Etiennette de Milly. She married three times; firstly to Humphrey III of Toron, secondly to

Miles of Plancy Miles of Plancy (, ; died October 1174) was a French-born nobleman who rose to high offices in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He arrived in the kingdom during the reign of his kinsman King Amalric, who appointed him seneschal in 1168. Miles accompani ...

; her third and last husband was Raynald of Chatillon.

Family and early life

She was the younger daughter of

Philip of Milly Philip of Milly, also known as Philip of Nablus (; c. 1120 – April 3, 1171), was a baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He briefly employed the troubadour Peire Bremon lo Tort in the Holy Land. ...

, lord of Nablus, and Isabella of Oultrejordain, who herself was the daughter and heiress of

Maurice of Montreal Maurice of Montreal was Lord of Oultrejordain from around 1149. He succeeded his uncle, Pagan the Butler, and continued the construction of Kerak Castle. He granted fiefs to the Knights Hospitaller in his domains. He participated in the siege of As ...

, lord of

. Through her various marriages, several of her husbands became lords of Oultrejordain. Her first marriage, in 1163, was to Humphrey III of Toron, who died in 1173. This marriage produced two children: a son, Humphrey (the future

Humphrey IV of Toron Humphrey IV of Toron ( 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Oultrejourdan through his mother, Step ...

), and a daughter, Isabella, who married

Ruben III of Armenia Ruben III (), also Roupen III, Rupen III, or Reuben III, (1145 – Monastery of Drazark, May 6, 1187) was the ninth lord of Armenian Cilicia (1175–1187). Roupen remained always friendly to the Crusaders in spirit. He was a just and good princ ...

. Her second husband was

, lord of Oultrejordain, who was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in 1174.

Third marriage

In 1177, she married

Raynald of Châtillon Raynald of Châtillon ( 11244 July 1187), also known as Reynald, Reginald, or Renaud, was Prince of Antioch—a crusader states, crusader state in the Middle East—from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain—a Vassals of the Kingdo ...

, the former

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 ...

, who had recently been released from captivity in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. Through Stephanie, Raynald succeeded as lord ''jure uxoris'' of the lordship of Oultrejordain, and used his new position to harass Muslim

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

and

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

routes; in 1183 he even threatened to attack

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

itself. In 1180,

Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as the Leper King, was the king of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death in 1185. He was admired by historians and his contemporaries for his dedication to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the face of his debilitating ...

had betrothed his eight-year-old half-sister Isabella to Stephanie's son Humphrey. The marriage took place in the castle of

Kerak Al-Karak (), in English sources often simply Karak, is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of ...

in 1183. The ceremonies were interrupted by the arrival of

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

, who besieged the place in response to Raynald's threats against Mecca. According to the chronicle of Ernoul, Stephanie sent messengers to Saladin, reminding him of the friendship they shared when he had been a prisoner in Kerak many years before; this is likely a fiction or some mis-remembered event, as Saladin is not otherwise known to have ever been held hostage at Kerak. Saladin did not lift the siege but agreed not to target Humphrey and Isabella's wedding chamber. The siege was soon raised by King Baldwin. The ''Old French Continuation of William of Tyre'' claimed that Stephanie hated Isabella's mother Maria Comnena, and prevented her having any contact with her daughter. This was probably for political reasons: Baldwin had arranged the marriage to remove the little girl from the influence of her stepfather's family, the Ibelins.

Capture of Humphrey

Raynald continued to harass the caravan and pilgrimage routes, leading to the invasion of the kingdom by Saladin in 1187. Raynald was killed at the ensuing

Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of ...

, at which Humphrey IV was captured. Saladin agreed to return Humphrey to Stephanie in exchange for Kerak and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

; the castles refused to surrender, however, and Stephanie dutifully sent her son back to captivity under Saladin. Saladin took pity on her and released him. Her own principality of Oultrejordain and its castles were lost to Saladin within a few years of Hattin, and, located so far from the Mediterranean coast where the remaining crusader strongholds were located, remained in Muslim hands. As her son Humphrey had apparently died before her, Stephanie's heiress (as well as the heiress of Toron) was her daughter, Isabella.

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal , first1=Rafael , last1=Frankel , title=Topographical notes on the territory of Acre in the Crusader period , journal= Israel Exploration Journal , volume=38 , number= 4 , year=1988 , pages= 249–272 * L. de Mas-Latrie
''Chronique d'Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier''
(in French) Paris, Société de l'histoire de France, 1871. *

William of Tyre William of Tyre (; 29 September 1186) was a Middle Ages, medieval prelate and chronicler. As Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I of Tyr ...

, ''Historia Rerum In Partibus Transmarinis Gestarum'' (A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea), (in English) translated by E. A. Babock and A. C. Krey, Columbia University Press, 1943. * William of Tyre, ''Chronique Willelmi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi Chronicon'', (in French) edition by R.B.C. Huygens; identification of historical sources and determination of dates fixed by H. E. Mayer and G. Rosch, Turnholti: Brepol, 1986. 2 v. (1170 p.) 1190s deaths Women from the Crusader states Year of birth uncertain Lords of Oultrejordain 12th-century women rulers