Plivain, also known as Plivano or Pleban, was the lord of Botrun (now Batroun in Lebanon) in the

County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was one of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria. When the Crusades, Frankish Crusaders, mostly O ...

from around 1180 to around 1206. He was a merchant from

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

who settled in the county in the late 1170s. He seized Botrun through his marriage to its heiress, Lucia. According to a late source, he bribed Lucia's suzerain, Count

Raymond III of Tripoli Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Nizari Assassins murdered his father, Count Raymond II of Tripoli. His cousin, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying ...

, into allowing the marriage. He fell into captivity in the

Battle of Hattin The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of ...

on 4 July 1187.

Life

Plivain was a wealthy merchant from

who settled in the

. His presence in the county was first recorded on 9 August 1179. He married Lucia, the only daughter of William Dorel, Lord of Botrun, and thus seized the lordship, around 1180. According to a folkloristic story recorded in the '' Estoire de Eracles'', to seize her hand, Plivain had offered her weight in gold to Count

, her suzerain. Raymond accepted the offer, although he had promised the hand of the first wealthy heiress in the county to a Flemish knight, Gerard of Ridefort. Plivain was first mentioned as the lord of Botrun in March 1181. Plivain participated in the

and fell into captivity on 4 July 1187. Although the ''Estoire de Eracles'' claimed that

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

captured Botrun, historian Kevin J. Lewis argues that Plivain paid a huge ransom for his release and retained his lordship. He was last mentioned as lord of Botrun in 1206.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Refend *Ernoul, "''Chronique d’Ernoul et de Bernard le Trésorier''", a c. di Mas Latrie, Paris 1871. "''Estoire d’Eracles''", in "''Recueil des Historiens des Croisades: Historiens Occidentaux''" HCOcc pp. 51-52, 114. *M. Chiaverini, "''Il ‘Porto Pisano’ alla foce del Don tra il XIII e XIV secolo''", Pisa MARICH, 2000, p. 49 e n. 152. People from Pisa County of Tripoli