Guy of Ibelin (French: Guy d'Ibelin) (1250/1255 – 1304), 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 ...

, was count of Jaffa and Ascalon during the latter part of the

Crusades 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 t ...

. He was the son of John of Ibelin (aka John of Jaffa) and Maria of Barbaron. He was count in name only. His father, John of Jaffa, had died in 1266, after which the fragile truce with the Muslims collapsed, and

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 captured 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. John was probably succeeded by Guy's older brother James, who held the title of Count of Jaffa until his death in 1276, at which point the title passed to Guy. In 1299/1300, Guy was able to capture

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 ...

with a Genoese fleet, but held it only briefly as it was recaptured by the

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 ...

shortly after. He also met with the Mongol leader Kutlushah in 1301, in an unsuccessful attempt to coordinate a military attack against the Mamluks. In 1302 he and his family were captured by pirates while staying at their ancestral fiefdom in Episcopia,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He died on 14 February 1304 and was buried in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

, Cyprus, in a pauper's grave in accordance with his vows. Guy must have been held in high regard on the island, judging from the turmoil following his death reported by the chronicler Amadi., p. 240: '' "per rechiese per deviocion lui de esser sepulto con li poveri" ''; '' "di gran danno a l'isola de Cypro, imperochè molti scandali, travagli et inconvenienti acorseno, che se fosse stato lui vivo non sariano stati come ho ditto." ''

Family

Guy married twice. His second wife was Maria, Lady of Ascalon and Naumachia, daughter of Philip of Ibelin and Simone de Montbeliard. Guy and Maria had five children: * Philip (born before 1293, died 1315/1316 in Kyrenia), Count of Jaffa * John (died 1315/1316 in Kyrenia) * Maria (b. 1294, died before 1318), first wife of the man who later became

Hugh IV of Cyprus Hugh IV (1293/1296 – 10 October 1359) was King of Cyprus from 31 March 1324 to his abdication, on 24 November 1358 and, nominally, King of Jerusalem, as Hugh II, until his death. The son of Guy, Constable of Cyprus (son of Hugh III of Cyprus) ...

in 1324 * Hugh (b. 1295/1300, died before 10 May 1349), Count of Jaffa, and then Seneschal of Jerusalem. Second husband of Isabella of Ibelin, widow of Infante don Fernando de Mallorca and daughter of Philip of Ibelin, Seneschal of Cyprus, and his second wife Maria of Giblet. * Balian (b. 1298/1300), married Joan of Montfort, daughter of Rupen of Montfort

References

External links

* Templar of Tyre
Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy of Ibelin Counts of Jaffa and Ascalon House of Ibelin 1250s births 1304 deaths Year of birth uncertain