Raynald of Châtillon

Raynald of Châtillon, a member of the Second Crusade who had left France for the Holy Land in 1147, had put himself at the service first of Baldwin III of Jerusalem and then of Constance of Antioch, whose husband had died in 1149.

Constance, having fallen in love with Raynald, had married him in secret in 1153 without consulting her first cousin and liege lord, Baldwin III.

Raynald had thus become Prince of Antioch.

Neither King Baldwin nor Aimery of Limoges, the Latin Patriarch of Antioch, had approved of Constance's choice of a husband of such low birth.

At the instigation of Emperor Manuel, Raynald attacks Armenian Cilicia in southeastern Anatolia, but he subsequently makes peace with Thoros II of Cilicia.

Raynald claims in 1156 that Constantinople’s emperor Manuel I Komnenos had reneged on his promise to pay Raynald a sum of money, and vows to attack the island of Cyprus, an imperial possession, in revenge.

When Patriarch Aimery refuses to finance this expedition, Raynald has the Patriarch seized, stripped naked, covered in honey, and left in the burning sun on top of the citadel.

When the Patriarch is released, he collapses in exhaustion and agrees to finance Raynald's expedition against Cyprus.

The combined forces of Raynald and Thoros attack Cyprus, ravaging the island and pillaging its inhabitants.

He arrests the governor of the island and nephew of the emperor, John Komnenos, and the general Michael Branas.

The Franks and Armenians march up and down the island robbing and pillaging every building that they see, churches and convents as well as shops and private houses.

The crops are burned; the herds are rounded up, together with all the population, and driven down to the coast.

The Latin historian William of Tyre deplores this act of war against fellow Christians, and describes the atrocities committed by Raynald's men in considerable detail.

Having ransacked the island and plundered all its wealth for three weeks, Raynald's army mutilates the survivors before forcing them to buy back their flocks at exorbitant prices with what little they have left.

Thus enriched with enough booty to make Antioch wealthy for years, the invaders board their ships and set sail for home, on the rumor of an imperial fleet over the horizon.

Raynald also sends some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople as a vivid demonstration of his disobedience and his contempt for the emperor.

Thoros had quickly established a friendly rapport with Kilij Arslan II, the new Seljuq sultan of Rüm; and in 1158 a peace treaty is concluded.

Kilij, engaged in a power struggle with rival Turkish groups in 1158, requests military aid from Constantinople.

Emperor Manuel Komnenos, complies, apparently reasoning that intertribal warring will weaken all the Turks and thus prevent any group from incorporating Anatolia into their domain.

Kilij, using the imperial aid to great advantage, kills his enemies and expands his territory.

Manuel I Komnenos launches his second assault on Thoros in the summer of 1158, marching at the head of an army down the usual routes leading to Seleucia.

There, with a small rapid deployment force of horsemen and Seleucian troops, he launches a surprise attack on Thoros.

Thoros is at Tarsus, suspecting nothing, when one day in late October, a Latin pilgrim whom he had entertained came suddenly rushing back to his Court to tell him that he had seen Imperial troops only a day’s march away.

Thoros collects his family, his intimate friends and his treasure and flees at once to the mountains.

Next day the Emperor enters the Cilician plain; within a fortnight all the Cilician cities as far as Anazarbus are in his power, but Thoros himself still eludes him.

Imperial detachments scour the valleys as he flees from hilltop to hilltop and at last finds refuge on a crag called Dadjog, near the sources of the river Cydnus; only his two most trusted servants know where he lies hidden.

Thus, much of Cilicia is restored to imperial control, but Thoros still holds the mountainous regions in the north.

Thoros survives by sheltering alone under rocks on a hillside, where an old shepherd brings him food to keep him alive.

Eventually, King Baldwin III of Jerusalem intervenes and successfully brokers a peace treaty between the Emperor and Thoros: Thoros has to walk barefoot and bareheaded to the camp of the emperor, where he prostrates himself in the dust before the imperial platform.

A pardon is then accorded to him for his transgressions both in Cilicia and Cyprus.

He is still allowed to hold partial possession in Cilicia.

News of the advance of the imperial army soon reaches Antioch.

Realizing that he has no hope of defeating Manuel, Raynald also knows that he cannot expect any help from king Baldwin III of Jerusalem.

Baldwin does not approve of Raynald's attack on Cyprus, and in any case has already made an agreement with Manuel.

Thus isolated and abandoned by his allies, Raynald decides that abject submission is his only hope.

He appears before the Emperor, dressed in a sack and with a rope tied around his neck, and begs for forgiveness.

Manuel at first ignores the prostrate Raynald, chatting with his courtiers; William of Tyre commented that this ignominious scene continued for so long that all present were "disgusted" by it.

Eventually, Manuel forgives Raynald on condition that he become a vassal of the Empire, effectively surrendering the independence of Antioch to Constantinople.

Manuel's dramatic recovery of Antioch causes the crusaders to treat the Emperor with a new respect.

Raynald is captured by the Muslims during a plundering raid against the Syrian and Armenian peasants of the neighborhood of Marash and held captive at Aleppo, where he will spend the next seventeen years in confinement.

Nur ad-Din proves to be one of the most dangerous enemies the Frankish kingdom has ever faced.

Starting out as Emir of Aleppo, he had steadily increased his territory at the expense of his Muslim and Latin neighbors, until he gained the great city of Damascus in 1154.

He had seriously defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Lake Huleh in 1157, but fell very ill immediately afterward, allowing the Franks to a chance to recover and, with the help of Thierry of Alsace and an army of pilgrims, to capture Harim castle later in the year.

However, an attack on Shaizar failed when Reynald of Châtillon, the Prince of Antioch, quarreled with the other Franks.

Consequently, Shaizar soon became the property of Nur ad-Din.

In 1158, Thierry and King Baldwin III had defeated Nur ad-Din at Butaiha, northeast of Tiberias.

The year 1160 had seen the capture of Reynald, who will spend the next sixteen years in Nur ad-Din's dungeons.

In December 1161, the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus had married Maria of Antioch and this event has given Antioch a strong protector in the emperor.

Amalric, count of Jaffa and Ascalon, succeeds his elder brother Baudouin III to the throne of Jerusalem in 1163.

Both Amalric and Nur ad-Din had soon become aware of the weakness of Fatimid Egypt, whose government has fallen into a state of decay.

After the assassination of Caliph al-Zafir and a series of palace coups, Shawar had seized power in 1162, was soon deposed, and appealed to Nur ad-Din for help.

Neither the Latin king nor the Muslim emir can afford to let the other capture the rich prize of Egypt.

Accordingly, Nur ad-Din had sent his lieutenant Shirkuh with an army to support the Egyptian vizier.

While Shirkuh campaigns in Egypt, Nur ad-Din mounts an offensive in Lebanon.

Following Latin policy, King Amalric takes an army to support his northern vassals, Bohemund III of Antioch and Raymond III of Tripoli.

Fortuitously, a large group of French pilgrims led by Hugh VIII of Lusignan and Geoffrey Martel, the brother of William IV of Angoulême, have joined the king of Jerusalem.

In addition, Constantine Kalamanos, the governor of Cilicia, has brought his Greek warriors to assist the Crusaders.

Nur ad-Din is no match for such a formidable combination of enemies and his army suffers a defeat.

Both Muslims and Franks are impressed by the fighting qualities of the imperial soldiers.

The negative result of al-Buqaia only makes Nur ad-Din more keen for revenge.

Bohemond III's father, Raymond of Poitiers, had been killed at the Battle of Inab in 1149, and his mother has ruled as regent until Bohemond is old enough to rule on his own.

Constance, however, had married a second time, to Raynald of Châtillon, who had ruled as Prince of Antioch until being taken captive in 1160 and imprisoned in Aleppo (where he will remain until 1176).

Bohemond was by this time of legal age to succeed, but Constance had refused; King Baldwin III of Jerusalem had intervened and declared Bohemond ruler of the principality.

In 1163, Constance asks the newly appointed imperial governor of Cilicia, Constantine Kalamanos, for aid in order to maintain her rule; the citizens of Antioch then riot and exile her.

She dies later this year, allowing Bohemond to take full control.

Thierry, Count of Flanders: His Final Years and the Expansion of Flemish Power (1156–1168 CE)

Thierry, Count of Flanders (r. 1128–1168), spent his final years expanding Flemish influence both militarily and diplomatically while continuing his commitment to the Crusades. His rule was marked by territorial expansion, economic growth, and the strengthening of Flemish governance, laying the foundation for Flanders’ later prominence in northern Europe.

Marriage Alliances and Territorial Gains

• In 1156, Thierry arranged the marriage of his eldest son, Philip of Alsace, to Elizabeth (Isabelle) of Vermandois, the daughter and heiress of Raoul I of Vermandois.
• This strategic union strengthened Flemish ties to central France and set the stage for future territorial gains in Vermandois.
• That same year, Thierry and his wife, Sibylla of Anjou, left for the Holy Land, leaving Philip to govern Flanders in their absence.

Crusading Efforts and Conflicts in the Levant (1156–1159, 1164–1166)

Thierry participated in two major Crusader campaigns:

1. The Siege of Shaizar (1157–1158)

   • Thierry joined King Baldwin III of Jerusalem in the siege of Shaizar, an important fortress in Syria.
   • A dispute over possession of the stronghold arose between Thierry and Raynald of Châtillon, which ultimately led to the siege failing, and the fortress remained in Muslim hands.

2. The Campaigns of Amalric I (1164–1166)

   • Thierry returned to the Holy Land in 1164, accompanying King Amalric I of Jerusalem (his wife's half-brother) on expeditions to Antioch and Tripoli.
   • These campaigns were part of Amalric’s broader effort to expand Christian control in the Levant, though Thierry played a secondary role.
   • Upon returning to Flanders in 1166, he adopted a date palm as his seal, symbolizing his devotion to the Crusader cause.

Philip of Alsace’s Leadership and Flemish Expansion (1156–1168)

• While Thierry was absent, Philip ruled Flanders as co-count, proving himself an effective leader and military strategist.
• He defeated Floris III, Count of Holland, ending piracy along the Flemish coast.
• Floris was captured in Bruges and remained imprisoned until 1167, when he was forced to recognize Flemish suzerainty over Zeeland as part of his ransom.
• In 1159, Philip married Elizabeth of Vermandois, securing the Vermandois inheritance.
• When Elizabeth’s brother died in 1167, Vermandois passed to Philip, pushing Flemish influence further south than ever before, disrupting the balance of power in northern France.
• Additionally, Philip recovered Waasland and Quatre-Métiers, further expanding Flemish authority.

Thierry’s Final Years and Legacy

• Thierry returned to Flanders in 1166, continuing his moderate and peaceful rule.
• His reign saw the beginning of a highly developed administration, setting the stage for Flanders’ economic and political growth in later centuries.
• Commercial expansion and agricultural development flourished, making Flanders a leading economic hubin medieval Europe.
• He died on January 17, 1168, and was buried in the Abbey of Watten, between Saint-Omer and Gravelines.
• His son, Philip of Alsace, succeeded him as sole ruler, inheriting a strong and expanding Flemish state.

Through marriage diplomacy, military campaigns, and economic reforms, Thierry secured Flanders’ position as a dominant power in northern Europe, with Philip poised to take it to even greater heights

William of Montferrat and Reynald of Châtillon, with the King's consent, give a grant of land to the new Castilian military order, the Order of Montjoie, commanded by Count Rodrigo Alvarez de Sarria.

However, William's activities in Outremer are cut short in April 1177 when he falls ill, probably from malaria, at Ascalon, and dies here in June, leaving Sibylla pregnant with the future king Baldwin V.

His body is taken to Jerusalem and buried at the Hospital of St. John.