Lordship of Sidon explained

Conventional Long Name:Lordship (County) of Sidon
Common Name:Sidon
Era:High Middle Ages
Status:Vassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem
Event Start:First Crusade
Year Start:1110
Event End:Conquered by Baibars
Year End:1268
P1:Fatimid Caliphate
S1:Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
Flag S1:Mameluke Flag.svg
Capital:Sidon
Common Languages:Latin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek)
Religion:Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism
Government Type:Feudal monarchy
Leader1:Eustace I Grenier
Year Leader1:1110–1123
Leader2:Julian Grenier
Year Leader2:1239–1260
Title Leader:Lord/Count

The Lordship of Sidon (French: Saete/Sagette), (Later County of Sidon) was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,[1] one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much smaller than the others and had the same level of significance as several neighbors, such as Toron and Beirut, which were sub-vassals.

Sidon was captured in December, 1110 and given to Eustace I Grenier. The lordship was a coastal strip on the Mediterranean Sea between Tyre and Beirut. It was conquered by Saladin in 1187 and remained in Muslim hands until it was restored to Christian control by German Crusaders in the Crusade of 1197. Julien Grenier sold it to the Knights Templar after it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1260 before the Battle of Ain Jalut. One of the vassals of the lordship was the Lordship of the Shuf.

Rulers of Sidon

Lordship of the Schuf

The Schuf was created out of the Lordship of Sidon as a vassal around 1170. It was centred on the Cave of Tyron. Julian of Sidon sold it to the Teutonic Knights in 1256.

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin