Bertrand_de_Saint-Gilles_Debacq_Alexandre-Charles_(1804-1850)

Bertrand of Toulouse (or Bertrand of Tripoli) (died 1112) was

count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundi ...

, and was the first

count of Tripoli The count of Tripoli was the ruler of the County of Tripoli, a crusader state from 1102 through 1289. Of the four major crusader states in the Levant, Tripoli was created last. The history of the counts of Tripoli began with Raymond IV of Toulo ...

to rule in Tripoli itself. Bertrand was the eldest son of

Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), sometimes called Raymond of Saint-Gilles or Raymond I of Tripoli, was a powerful noble in southern France and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He was the Count o ...

, and had ruled Toulouse since Raymond left on 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 1095. He was, between 1098 and 1100, dispossessed by his cousin

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or " horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include ''Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is ''Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of '' Philippa of Guelder ...

and her husband Duke

William IX of Aquitaine William IX ( oc, Guilhèm de Peitieus; ''Guilhem de Poitou'' french: Guillaume de Poitiers) (22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 an ...

, who marched into Toulouse and captured it. Later they mortgaged it back to Bertrand in 1100 to fund Duke William's expedition 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 ...

. Bertrand officially became count of Toulouse when Raymond died in 1105, and in 1108 he travelled to Tripoli to take control there as well. He deposed Raymond's nephew

William-Jordan 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 of the County of Tripoli beginning in 1105. He was the son of Count Willia ...

as nominal count of Tripoli in 1109, and with Baldwin I,

king of Jerusalem The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was conquered in 1099. Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of ...

, and a fleet of Genoese ships he captured Tripoli on 12 July. Bertrand married Helie of Burgundy, daughter of Eudes I, in June 1095. Bertrand ruled in Tripoli until his death in 1112. He was succeeded by his son

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

in Tripoli, and by his brother Alphonse-Jordan in Toulouse - although Toulouse was at that point again lost to Philippa and William.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand Of Toulouse 1112 deaths Counts of Tripoli Counts of Toulouse Margraves of Provence Occitan nobility 12th-century rulers in Europe Year of birth unknown