County of Jaffa and Ascalon explained

Conventional Long Name:County of Jaffa and Ascalon
Common Name:Jaffa and Ascalon
Era:High Middle Ages
Status:Vassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem
Event Start:First Crusade
Year Start:1100
Event End:Conquered by Baibars
Year End:1268
P1:Fatimid Caliphate
S1:Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
Flag S1:Mameluke_Flag.svg
Capital:Jaffa
Common Languages:Latin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek)
Religion:Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism
Government Type:Feudal monarchy
Leader1:Roger and Gerard
Year Leader1:c.1100
Leader2:James of Ibelin
Year Leader2:1266–1268
Title Leader:Count

The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.

History

Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Bouillon after the First Crusade in 1100, and was unsuccessfully claimed by Daimbert of Pisa, 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 in 1134 the county was divided into a number of smaller holdings, and Jaffa itself became a royal domain. In 1151 it was designated as the apanage of King Baldwin III's younger brother, Amalric. After the siege of Ascalon in 1153, King Baldwin III conquered Ascalon, which was added to Amalric's territory.[1]

Jaffa and Ascalon were then granted to close relatives of the monarch and passed in and out of direct royal control as its holders ascended the throne. 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 and Jerusalem.

Vassals

The County of Jaffa and Ascalon had a number of vassals of its own:

Counts of Jaffa

The county passed into royal domain upon confiscation from Hugh II.

Counts of Jaffa and Ascalon

In 1153, Amalric was granted Ascalon as well, and from then on Jaffa and Ascalon were held by the same count.

The county passed into royal domain upon Amalric's accession to the throne in 1163.

The county passed into royal domain upon Sibylla's accession to the throne in 1186.

The county passed into royal domain upon Aimery's accession to the throne in 1198.

Titular counts

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187, pp. 339-340