The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was one of the

Crusader states 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 ...

. It was founded in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

in the modern-day region of Tripoli, northern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and parts of western

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. When the Frankish Crusaders, mostly southern French forces – captured the region in 1109, Bertrand of Toulouse became the first count of Tripoli as a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of King

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 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 Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

. From that time on, the rule of the county was decided not strictly by inheritance but by factors such as military force (external and

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

), favour and negotiation. In 1289, the County of Tripoli fell to the Muslim

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

under Sultan

Qalawun (, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Turkic Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt; he ruled from 1279 to 1290. He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious"). After having risen in power in the Mamluk court and elite circles, Qalawun eventually hel ...

, and the county was absorbed into Mamluk Sultanate.

Capture by Christian forces

Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond of Saint-Gilles ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from ...

was one of the wealthiest and most powerful of the

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

.Tyerman C
"God's war – a new history of the crusades"
Harvard University Press. 2009. Even so, 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 ...

, he had failed to secure any land holdings in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. Meanwhile, the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia. Its seat was the city of Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey). In the late Byzantine period, Edessa became the centre of intellec ...

, 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 ...

and the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch (; ) was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...

had been established. Tripoli was an important strategic goal as it linked the French in the south with the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

in the north. It was a fertile and well populated area. In 1102, Raymond IV occupied Tortosa (now

Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...

) and in 1103, he prepared, together with veterans of the 1101 crusade, to take Tripoli.

Citadel of Tripoli

On a natural ridge, which he named "Mons Peregrinus" (, ), from Tripoli, Raymond IV (also known as Raymond de Saint-Gilles) began the construction of a large fortress, the Citadel of Tripoli ( ''Qalʻat Ṭarābulus''), formerly also known as the "Castle of Saint-Gilles" ( ''Qalʻat Sān Jīl''). Despite this new fortress and seasoned troops, Raymond IV's siege of Tripoli failed to secure the port. He died on 25 February 1105.

Succession

Count William of Cerdagne, Raymond IV's cousin and comrade, was supported by

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred ( 1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo-Normans, Italo-Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the Hauteville family, house of Hau ...

, but his succession in the Tripoli campaign was challenged by Raymond IV's illegitimate son, Bertrand of Toulouse. Bertrand of Toulouse, who was supported by

, arrived in the

with a substantial army and a large Genoese fleet. In order to resolve the succession issue, Baldwin I created a partition treaty. It specified that William was to hold northern Tripoli and pay homage to Tancred, while Bertrand was to hold south Tripoli as a vassal of Baldwin. Under a united Christian onslaught, Tripoli fell on 12 July 1109, completing the

. When William died of an arrow through the heart (some claim it was murder), Bertrand became the first count of Tripoli.

Structure and devolution of power

Holdings and vassals

Tripoli gold bezant in Arabic 1270 1300 Tripoli silver gros 1275 1287

The extent of the County of Tripoli was determined in part by pre-existing

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

borders and in part by victory in battle, tempered by the demands of neighbouring crusader states. At its height, the county controlled the coastline from Maraclea in the north to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

in the south. Inland, the county's control extended to the Krac des Chevaliers fortress. The rich inland agricultural land of the

Homs Gap The Homs Gap () (also called the Akkar Gap and known in Arabic as al-Buqay'a) is a relatively flat passage in the Orontes River Valley of southern Syria. Nicknamed the "gateway to Syria," the gap separates the An-Nusayriyah Mountains and Jabal Z ...

was known as La Bocquée. The county was divided into 'lordships'; areas based roughly around its coastal ports. The count of Tripoli himself held the port of Tripoli and its surrounds. He also controlled the hostile region of Montferrand, now modern-day Bar'in,

, lying to the east. Approximately one quarter of the land seized around Tripoli was given to the Genoese as payment for military aid. The Genoese admiral Guglielmo Embriaco was awarded the city of

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

Homage to the king

The County of Tripoli was an autonomous state. Despite his contribution to its establishment, Baldwin I did not directly control the County of Tripoli. Nevertheless, the County of Tripoli owed

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also r ...

(allegiance) and homage (declarations of allegiance) to him, and he, in return, provided support to the county in times of trouble.

Defence

Although occupying a narrow coastal plain, the mountain range beyond was a natural defensive line for Tripoli. Several castle forts were built to defend the mountain passes. Muslim forces (Turk and Egyptian) attacked the County of Tripoli along its borders, especially those to the east. In 1137, Raymond II, the reigning count, lost control of Montferrand. The Muslim position strengthened when the

Hashshashin The Order of Assassins (; ) were a Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan al-Sabbah. During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and the Levant, and held a strict subterfuge policy througho ...

( Nizari Ismailis) forces formed in the Nosairi mountains to the north. In 1144, in order to increase the county's defences, particularly against Zangi of Mosul, Raymond II gave the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

large stretches of frontier land along the Buqai'ah plain. This included the castles of

Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers (; , ; or , ; from , ) is a medieval castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by Kurds, Kurdish troops garrisoned there by ...

, Anaz, Tell Kalakh, Qalaat el Felis and Mardabech. In the 1150s, the defences were further strengthened by the presence of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

on the seashore.

Religion

In religious matters, the counties of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were expected to follow the lead of the

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem () is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the archbishop of Latin Church Catholics of th ...

. However, Count

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, 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 ...

had formed an alliance with

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, and acknowledged the

Latin patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. This was so even after a papal edict to the contrary.

War with the Seljuk Empire

;Shaizar As a vassal of the kings of Jerusalem, Bertrand of Tripoli was drawn into war with the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

. In 1111, Mawdud, a Turkish military leader, campaigned against

and

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. Count Bertrand of Tripoli and King

marched to defend the Christians in the north. In joining Prince Tancred of Galilee and Count Baldwin II of Edessa at the Battle of Shaizar, their defence of the kingdom was successful. ;Hab In 1119, the Seljuk Empire again attacked Antioch, winning the

Battle of Ager Sanguinis In the Battle of ''Ager Sanguinis'', also known as the Battle of the Field of Blood, the Battle of Sarmada, or the Battle of Balat, Roger of Salerno's Crusader army of the Principality of Antioch was annihilated by the army of Ilghazi of Mard ...

. However, Count Pons of Tripoli and Baldwin II defended Antioch and, at the Battle of Hab, successfully defended the flank of the Christian forces. ;Azaz In 1125, Count Pons of Tripoli marched against the Turks who had again attacked

, this time besieging the town of

Azaz Azaz () is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 at the 2004 census.

. Pons of Tripoli, Baldwin II and Count

Joscelin I of Edessa Joscelin I (died 1131) was a Frankish nobleman of the House of Courtenay who ruled as the lord of Turbessel, prince of Galilee (1112–1119) and count of Edessa (1118–1131). The County of Edessa reached its zenith during his rule. Captured ...

lured the Turks from Azaz and into an ambush on the plains, where the Turkish forces were defeated.

Earthquake of 1170

On 29 June 1170, an earthquake struck the region. The defensive forts of Krac des Chevaliers, Chastel Blanc and al-'Ariymah were damaged. The cathedral of St Mary in Tripoli township was destroyed. The earthquake of 1170 resulted in a brief truce between Nur al-Din and the county (unlike a previous less severe earthquake of 1157 where fighting continued).

Contenders

Bertrand of Toulouse, son of Alphonso-Jordan

Alfonso Jordan Alfonso Jordan, also spelled Alfons Jordan or Alphonse Jourdain (1103–1148), was the Count of Tripoli (1105–09), Count of Rouergue (1109–48) and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne (1112–48). Life Alfonso was t ...

(1103–1148) was the son of Raymond IV and his third wife, Elvira of Castile. Although he was born in Tripoli, Alphonso-Jordan was raised in France. In 1147, he joined the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

, which was launched in response to the loss of the County of Edessa to Turkish forces. Alphonso died, possibly poisoned, in Caesarea, in 1148. He had an illegitimate son, Bertrand of Toulouse, who continued his progress towards Tripoli. Count Raymond II (1115–1152), the grandson of Bertrand, Count of Tripoli, engaged his enemies, Nur al-Din and Unur of Damascus, to confront his cousin, Bertrand. The Turkish forces, having only recently battled Raymond II at the Siege of Damascus, attacked the castle of

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...

(al-Ariymah). They captured Bertrand of Toulouse, who spent the following decade in Muslim prisons. He was released in 1159 following the intervention of Manuel Komnenos, emperor of Byzantium. Raymond II later regained Arima. In 1152, Raymond II was killed by the Assassins. He was the first recorded non-Muslim victim of this sect.

Guy II Embriaco

Bohemond VII (1261 – 19 October 1287) was Count of Tripoli and the nominal Prince of Antioch from 1275 until his death. From 1275 to 1277, Bartholomew, Bishop of Tortosa, was Bohemond VII's regent.History of the Templars – Barber Paul of Segni, Bishop of Tripoli, who was a friend of the Templar Grandmaster, William of Beaujeu, opposed the succession of Bohemond VII. Ernoul wrote, "This was the beginning of war between Bohemond VII and the Templars."Estoire d'Eracles Guy II Embriaco (1277–1282) was a former vassal of Bohemond VII in

Gibelet Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

(

). Grievances between them had led to enmity and this was part of a larger trade war between

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and the Venetians. The Templars sought to unseat Bohemond VII by supporting Guy II Embriaco. Bohemond VII responded by sacking the Templar house in Tripoli and forests at Montroque. This action led to indecisive fighting over the following months at Botron, Fort Nephin,

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

and at sea. In 1282, Guy II Embriaco and the Templars were ambushed in Tripoli. Guy, his brothers, and cousins were imprisoned at Fort Nephin and left to starve; his followers were blinded and the Templars were summarily executed.

Benedetto I Zaccaria

After the death of Bohemond VII in 1287, the resulting

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has replac ...

moved the lords of the County of Tripoli to offer

Benedetto I Zaccaria Benedetto I Zaccaria (c. 1235 – 1307) was an Italian admiral of the Republic of Genoa. He was the Lord of Phocaea (from 1288) and first Lord of Chios (from 1304), and the founder of Zaccaria fortunes in Byzantine and Latin Greece. He was, at d ...

(1235–1307), a powerful Genoese merchant, control of the county. In Tripoli, a special non-aristocratic

social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...

had been granted to people from the great mercantile cities of Europe, especially those from the maritime republics of Italy (''e.g.'', Venice). The communes elected Bartholomew Embriaco to the role of Mayor of Tripoli. He also promoted trade with the Genoese. Bohemond VII had no issue. His mother, Sibylla of Armenia, was discounted in the succession because she was the friend of Bishop Bartholomew of Tortosa, considered an enemy of Tripoli. Bohemond VII's younger sister, Lucie, established herself at Fort Nephin with the support of the

. Eventually, Bartholomew Embriaco and the communes decided they could not rule, while Benedetto I Zaccario declined the countship. Thus, after negotiations, Lucie became Lucia, Countess of Tripoli in 1288.

Fall to the Muslims

Constant infighting, lack of resources, a series of poor harvests, changes to trade routes and the local economy and Muslim and Mongol military pressure led to the decline of the

. By the 1280s, only two crusader states remained; the remnants of Jerusalem and the County of Tripoli. Even though the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

government of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

had a treaty with the county, in March 1289, Tripoli favoured an alliance with the Mongols and as a result Sultan Qalawun of Egypt attacked Tripoli. Despite desperate defense operations, the county fell and was merged with Qalawun's empire.

Vassals of Tripoli

* County of Montferrand * Lordship of Besmedin * Lordship of Botron * Lordship of Buissera * Lordship of Calmont * Lordship of Chastel Blanc * Lordship of Chastel Rouge * Lordship of Fontaines * Lordship of Gibelacar * '' Lordship of Gibelet'' * Lordship of La Colée * Lordship of Le Puy * '' Seigneury of Moinetre'' * Lordship of Nephin * Lordship of Raisagium Montanée * Lordship of Terra Galifa * Lordship of Tokle * Lordship of Tortosa Maraclea *

Counts of Tripoli

* Raymond I (1102–1105, also

Count of Toulouse The count of 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 surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...

as Raymond IV) *

(1105–1109), with William Jordan as regent * Bertrand (1109–1112) *

(1112–1137) * Raymond II (1137–1152) * Raymond III (1152–1187) * Raymond IV (1187–1189), son of

Bohemond III of Antioch Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of Poitiers. Bohemond ascended to the ...

. * Bohemond IV (1189–1233, also

Prince of Antioch Prince of Antioch was the title given during the Middle Ages to Normans, Norman rulers of the Principality of Antioch, a region surrounding the city of Antioch, now known as Antakya in Turkey. The Princes originally came from the County of Sicil ...

1201–1216 and 1219–1233) * Bohemond V (1233–1252, also Prince of Antioch) * Bohemond VI (1252–1275, also Prince of Antioch 1252–1268) * Bohemond VII (1275–1287) * Lucia (1287–1289) Titular rulers of Tripoli after its fall to Egyptian forces: *'' Lucia'' (1289 – c.1299) *'' Philippe'' (c.1299 – 1300) Tripoli passes to the Kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem: *''

Peter I of Cyprus Peter I (9 October 1328 – 17 January 1369) was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus, ...

'' (1346–1359) *'' Peter II of Cyprus'' (1359–1369) *''James of Lusignan'' (? – c. 1396), cousin *''John of Lusignan'' (c. 1396 – c. 1430), son *''Peter of Lusignan'' (c. 1430 – 1451), brother, Regent of Cyprus *'' Juan Tafures'' (1469–1473)

Great officers of Tripoli

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripoli, County of 1289 disestablishments in Asia States and territories established in 1102 Counties of the Crusader states 12th-century establishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 13th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Former monarchies Vassal and tributary states of the Mongol Empire States and territories disestablished in 1289 1102 establishments in Asia