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 in ...

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 r ...

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 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 An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

of Fulk's second son, Amalric. After the

siege of Ascalon The siege of Ascalon took place in 1153, resulting in the capture of that Egyptian fortress by the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Background Ascalon was Fatimid Egypt's greatest and most important frontier fortress. The Battle of Ascalon was fought out ...

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 Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'': * ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...

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 Walter IV (french: Gauthier (1205–1246) was the count of Brienne from 1205 to 1246. Life Walter was the son of Walter III of Brienne and Elvira of Sicily. Around the time of his birth, his father lost his bid for the Sicilian throne and died i ...

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 Champag ...

, 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 The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most important families in the kingdom, holding various high offices and with extensive holding ...

. 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 Cypr ...

and Jerusalem.

Vassals

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

Lordship of Ramla The Lordship of Ramla was one of the Crusader vassal states of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. It has been vassal to and part of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon. History During the First Crusade, Ramla was abandoned by its Muslim inhabitants, a ...

Lordship of Ibelin 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 prope ...

* Lordship of Mirabel (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 Lor ...

(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, ''Specu ...

(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 th ...

* 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 (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 brot ...

(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 King ...

(1180–1191) *

Geoffrey of Lusignan Geoffrey of Lusignan (before 1150 – May 1216) was the Lord of Vouvant and Soubise, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon. He was also Lord of Mervent and Moncontour by his wife's rights. Early life Geoffrey belonged to the House of Lusignan. His fa ...

(1191–1193), brother of Guy of Lusignan * Amalric II of Jerusalem (1193–1205), with his wife

Isabella I Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

(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. After ...

(1205–1212), with her husband

(1210–1212) * Isabella II of Jerusalem (1212–1221), under regency of her father John 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'' (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 Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. ...

, ''The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174-1277''. The Macmillan Press, 1973. * Steven Runciman, ''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 King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...