The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major

seigneuries A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

comprising the major

Crusader state The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

of 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 ...

, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.

History

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

was fortified by

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

in 1100, and was unsuccessfully claimed by

Daimbert of Pisa Dagobert (or Daibert or Daimbert) (died 1105) was the first Archbishop of Pisa and the second Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem after the city was captured in the First Crusade. Early life Little is known of Dagobert's early life, but he is thought t ...

, 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 of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 t ...

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 An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

King Baldwin III Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventu ...

's younger brother,

Amalric Amalric or Amalaric (also Americ, Almerich, Emeric, Emerick and other variations) is a personal name derived from the tribal name ''Amal'' (referring to the Gothic Amali) and ''ric'' (Gothic language, Gothic ''reiks'') meaning "ruler, prince". E ...

. After the

siege of Ascalon The siege of Ascalon took place from 25 January to 22 August 1153, in the time period between the Second Crusade, Second and Third Crusades, and resulted in the capture of the Fatimid Egyptian fortress by the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Ascalon was an i ...

in 1153, King Baldwin III conquered

Ascalon Ascalon or Ashkelon was an ancient Near East port city on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant of high historical and archaeological significance. Its remains are located in the archaeological site of Tel Ashkelon, within the city limi ...

, which was added to Amalric's territory.Runciman'', A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187,'' pp. 339-340 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 The House of Ibelin was a noble family in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. They rose from relatively humble beginnings to become one of the most important families in the kingdom, holding various high offices and with exten ...

. With the capture of Jaffa by

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...

in 1268, the county became titular. It was bestowed anew upon John Perez Fabrice by

James II of Cyprus James II (; /1439 or 1440 – 10 July 1473) was the penultimate King of Cyprus (usurper), reigning from 1460/1464 until his death. Archbishop of Nicosia James was born in Nicosia as the illegitimate son of John II of Cyprus and Marietta d ...

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 lordships in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was vassal to and part of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon. History During the First Crusade, Ramla was abandoned by its Muslim inhabitants, as it lacked the defense ...

Lordship of Ibelin The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states that was 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 ...

* Lordship of Mirabel (technically separate from the above, but held by the Ibelins)

Counts of Jaffa

Hugh I Hugh I may refer to: * Hugh I of Lusignan (c. 885–c. 930) * Hugh I, Count of Maine (died 933) * Hugh I, Viscount of Châteaudun (died 989 or after) * Hugh I of France (c. 939–996), a.k.a. Hugh Capet, first King of the Franks of the Capetian dy ...

(1110–1118), first cousin of king

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the Holy Land during the ...

** Albert of Namur (1118–1122), stepfather and regent to Hugh II * Hugh II (1122–1134) :The county passed into royal domain upon confiscation from Hugh II. *

(1151-1153), granted Jaffa by his brother,

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. *

(1153–1163) :The county passed into royal domain upon Amalric's accession to the throne in 1163. * Sibylla (1176–1186), granted county by her brother,

King Baldwin IV 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 ...

, upon her marriage ** William of Montferrat (1176–1177), first husband of Sibylla **

Guy of Lusignan Guy of Lusignan ( 1150 – 18 July 1194) was King of Jerusalem, first as husband and co-ruler of Queen Sibylla from 1186 to 1190 then as disputed ruler from 1190 to 1192. He was also Lord of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194. A French Poitevin kni ...

(1180–1186), second husband of Sibylla :The county passed into royal domain upon Sibylla's accession to the throne in 1186. * Geoffrey of Lusignan (1191–1193), brother of Guy of Lusignan *

Aimery of Jerusalem Aimery of Lusignan (, , ''Amorí''; before 11551 April 1205), erroneously referred to as Amalric () in earlier scholarship, reigned as the first king of Cyprus from 1196 to his death in 1205. He also reigned as the king of Jerusalem as the hu ...

(1193–1198) :The county passed into royal domain upon Aimery's accession to the throne in 1198. *

Walter IV of Brienne Walter IV ( (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 was killed. His inh ...

(1221–1244), nephew of John of Brienne and husband of Aimery's granddaughter

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

* John of Ibelin (1244–1266), son of Philip of Ibelin, Isabella I's half-brother *

James of Ibelin James of Ibelin (; died in 1276) was count of Jaffa and, titularly, of Ascalon too as well as a noted jurist in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. James was the son of Count John of Jaffa and Ascalon, himself a noted jurist in the crusader kingdom. John h ...

, 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. Ea ...

, ''The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174-1277''. The Macmillan Press, 1973. *

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

, ''A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1952. *Steven Tibble, ''Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291''. Clarendon Press, 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffa and Ascalon, County of 1268 disestablishments in Asia States and territories established in 1100 Lordships of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th-century establishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem Disestablishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem