William of Zardana, also known as William of Saone (died in 1132 or 1133), was a powerful baron who held Balatanos, Saone and

Zardana Zardana (, also spelled Zerdana or Zirdana) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. The village lies in a relatively flat plain. Nearby localities include Taftanaz to the southeast, al-Fu'ah and Binnish to ...

in 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 ...

. After his father,

Robert the Leper Robert fitz-Fulk the Leper, also known as Robert Fulcoy, Robert the Leprous, or Robert of Saone (died in August 1119), was a powerful baron in the Principality of Antioch. Early career Walter the Chancellor's contemporaneous chronicle is one of ...

, was executed by the

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

(or governor) of

Toghtekin Zahir al-Din Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern ; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkoman military leader, who was ''emir'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder ...

in 1119, William inherited Balatanos and Saone. Zardana, that his father had lost before his death, was restored to William by

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 ...

in 1121. He supported Baldwin II's daughter,

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, against her brother-in-law,

Fulk of Jerusalem 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 ...

, in 1132, but Fulk defeated her allies. William died fighting either against Fulk's troops or against a Muslim army.

Family

William was the son of Robert the Leper, who held important fiefs in the Principality of Antioch. Two of Robert's three castlesSaone and Balatanoswere located near Latakia, the third, Zardana, to the east of the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Nahr al-ʿĀṣī, or simply Asi (, ; ) is a long river in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Hatay Province, Turk ...

. Zardana was taken by Toghtekin, atabeg of Damascus, in 1119. Robert was captured during the siege and Toghtekin had him executed. William and his brother, Garenton, inherited their father's domains. Saone was strengthened during either his or his father's tenure.

Antiochene baron

King Baldwin II of Jerusalem ruled Antioch on behalf of the minor prince, Bohemond II, from 1119. Historian

Thomas Asbridge Thomas Scott Asbridge (born 1969) is a historian at Queen Mary University of London, a position he has held since 1999. He is the author of ''The First Crusade: A New History'' (2004), a book which describes the background, events, and consequence ...

says, William may have been one of the barons who persuaded the king to pursue an aggressive policy against the Muslims of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. Indeed, the 13th-century historian,

Ibn al-Adim Kamāl al-Dīn Abū ʾl-Ḳāsim ʿUmar ibn Aḥmad ibn Hibat Allāh Ibn al-ʿAdīm (1192–1262; ) was an Arab biographer and historian from Aleppo. He is best known for his work ''Bughyat al-Talab fī Tārīkh Ḥalab'' (; ''Everything Desirabl ...

, mentioned that Baldwin II laid siege to Zardana "for William" in 1121. Zardana surrendered to Baldwin who restored the fortress to William. A year later, the

Artuqid The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; Old Anatolian Turkish: , , pl. ; ; ) was established in 1102 as a Turkish Anatolian Beylik (Principality) of the Seljuk Empire. It formed a Turkoman dynasty rooted in the Oghuz ...

rulers,

Ilghazi Najm al-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq (; died November 8, 1122) was the Turkoman Artukid ruler of Mardin from 1107 to 1122. He was born into the Oghuz tribe of Döğer. Biography His father Artuk Bey was the founder of the Artukid dynasty, and had ...

and

Balak Balak son of Zippor ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet and sorcerer Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam the son of Beor for the purpose of c ...

, jointly attacked Zardana. William defended the fortress for fifteen days before he surrendered it, but he soon routed Ilghazi at Harbal. Due to his proximity to Aleppo, Zardana was one of the strategically most important fortresses in the principality. Bohemond II assumed the government of Antioch in 1126, but died four years later. His widow,

, wanted to secure the rule of Antioch for herself against her brother-in-law,

, in 1132. William and his brother supported her, but Fulk defeated her allies and appointed

Rainald I Masoir Rainald I Masoir, also known as Renaud I Masoir (died around 1135), was constable of the Principality of Antioch from around 1126, and also baillif (or governor) of the principality from 1132. Although he was a prominent military commander and hel ...

to administer the principality. William died during either this conflict or a Muslim attack against Zardana. His widow,

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

, married

Joscelin II of Courtenay Joscelin II (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor, Joscelin I, and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography Youth In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. The next y ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{Refend 1130s deaths Nobility of the Principality of Antioch Military personnel killed in action