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Amalric of Jerusalem

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Amalric (Latin: Amalricus; French: Amaury; 1136 – 11 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk, and succeeded his older brother King Baldwin III. During his reign, Jerusalem became more closely allied with the Byzantine Empire, and the two states launched an unsuccessful invasion of Egypt. He was the father of three future rulers of Jerusalem, Sibylla, Baldwin IV, and Isabella I.

Amalric
King of Jerusalem
Reign1163–1174
Coronation1163
PredecessorBaldwin III
SuccessorBaldwin IV
Born1136
Died11 July 1174(1174-07-11) (aged 38)
Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem
SpousesAgnes of Courtenay
Maria Komnene
IssueBaldwin IV of Jerusalem
Sibylla of Jerusalem
Isabella I of Jerusalem
HouseAnjou
FatherFulk V of Anjou
MotherMelisende of Jerusalem

Older scholarship mistook the two names Amalric and Aimery as variant spellings of the same name, so these historians erroneously added numbers, making Amalric to be Amalric I (1163–74) and King Aimery (1197–1205) to be "Amalric II". Now scholars recognize that the two names were not the same and no longer add the number for either king. Confusion between the two names was common even among contemporaries.[1]

Youth

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Childhood

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On his deathbed in 1131 King Baldwin II conferred the Kingdom of Jerusalem–one of the crusader states established by the Latin Christians who invaded the Levant and defeated its Muslim rulers[2]–on his eldest daughter, Melisende; her husband, Fulk of Anjou; and their infant son, Baldwin III.[3] Fulk was considerably older than Melisende and had adult children in Europe from his first marriage, including Count Geoffrey V of Anjou and Countess Sibylla of Flanders.[4] He excluded Melisende from power until she and the barons forced him to acknowledge her as a co-ruler in 1135.[5] Fulk was eager to be reconciled, and historian Malcolm Barber suggests that Melisende agreed because the succession of her family rested on only one son. The couple consequently conceived Amalric in late 1135 or early 1136.[6] To the north of the kingdom were three more crusader states: the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa.[2] Antioch and Tripoli were ruled by the families of Melisende's sisters Alice and Hodierna.[7]

Amalric's father, King Fulk, was fatally injured in a horse-riding accident on a family outing near Acre in 1143. He died on 10 November. Queen Melisende seized power and was crowned again on 25 December, this time alongside 13-year-old King Baldwin III.[8] In 1144 the Turkish Muslim atabeg of Mosul, Zengi[9] captured Edessa.[10] This prompted the Second Crusade, which failed in its objective to conquer Damascus,[11] one of the greatest Muslim-held cities.[12] Melisende continued to withhold power from Baldwin after he reached the age of majority, and by 1151 their relationship had broken down.[13] Amalric became a part of his mother's inner circle. In 1151 Melisende bestowed on him the County of Jaffa, which was part of her endeavor to consolidate her position against Baldwin.[14] Amalric became his mother's most important partisan besides the Church.[15]

Countship

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In 1152 Baldwin summoned the High Court and demanded that the kingdom be divided between him and Melisende. The queen retained the regions of Judaea and Samaria while Acre and Tyre remained under the young king's rule.[16] Baldwin soon invaded his mother's lands, defeated and exiled her constable, Manasses of Hierges, and marched on Jerusalem. Melisende's lords deserted her as Baldwin advanced, and she took refuge in the Tower of David with her most loyal men, including Amalric, Viscount Rohard the Elder, and Philip of Milly.[17] Baldwin besieged them, but they put up a defense until the negotiations of a settlement that saw Melisende deposed and restricted to ruling the city of Nablus. By the end of April 1152 Baldwin was the sole ruler of the kingdom.[18] Based on charter evidence, Mayer concludes that Baldwin punished Amalric for siding with their mother by depriving him of the County of Jaffa in 1152.[19] The king conquered Ascalon from Fatimid Egypt in 1153 and forced the Egyptians to pay a tribute.[20] He granted both Ascalon and Jaffa to Amalric. Historian Hans E. Mayer dates Amalric's acquisition of the double county to shortly after July 1154.[19]

In 1157 Amalric married Agnes of Courtenay. Agnes was the daughter of the dispossessed Count Joscelin II of Edessa, a second cousin of Queen Melisende, and a widow since the death in battle of her first husband, Reynald of Marash.[21] The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Fulcher of Angoulême, objected to Amalric's marriage with Agnes. According to contemporary chronicler William of Tyre, Fulcher disapproved because of the couples's kinship; but the late-13th-century Lignages d'Outremer states that Agnes had been betrothed to the lord of Ramla, Hugh of Ibelin, and that Amalric married her when she came to marry Hugh, which the patriarch deemed uncanonical.[22] Mayer argues that Agnes had already been married to Hugh in 1157, making her marriage to Amalric bigamous[22] and, in Barber's opinion, possibly the result of an abduction.[23] Historian Bernard Hamilton rejects this interpretation and states that a bigamous marriage would have resulted in the excommunication of both Amalric and Agnes.[22] Fulcher died in November 1157, possibly before the couple married.[23]

In 1159 Count Amalric accompanied King Baldwin to Antioch, where they welcomed Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. [24] Baldwin and Manuel were allied through Baldwin's marriage with Manuel's niece Theodora.[25] Both Baldwin and Amalric placed a great value on good relations with the Byzantine Empire.[26] Amalric and Agnes had a daughter, Sibylla, between 1157 and 1161. In 1161 a son, Baldwin, was born.[21] The children were named after Amalric's siblings.[27]

Reign

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Accession

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Amalric's mother, Queen Melisende, died on 11 September 1161. His brother, King Baldwin, barely outlived her. He came down with dysentery while visiting Antioch in late 1162 and died in Beirut on 10 February 1163.[28] Baldwin and Theodora had had no children, and Amalric was thus his heir. The chronicler Ernoul relates that Baldwin named Amalric as his heir.[29]

Having convened to discuss the succession, the High Court refused to recognize Amalric as king unless he repudiated his wife, Agnes. Their spokesman was the patriarch, Amalric of Nesle. According to William of Tyre, the patriarch objected because of the couple's kinship.[30] Barber describes this story as "so unlikely that historians have been unwilling to accept it at face value".[27] Hamilton notes that such an objection to an established marriage was "extremely unusual",[30] and argues that there was a "deep-seated animosity" towards Agnes behind it.[21] Amalric accepted the High Court's demand, and his marriage to Agnes was annulled on the grounds of consanguinity. Cardinal John of Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio, the legate of Pope Alexander III, was present. Amalric obtained papal confirmation of the legitimacy of his children, Sibylla and Baldwin, and exoneration of Agnes from any moral censure.[31] On 18 February, the day of Baldwin III's funeral, the patriarch crowned Amalric in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[29]

William of Tyre, whom Amalric tasked with recording the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, left a detailed description of the king. Amalric was light-skinned with blond receding hair[32] and, although he did not eat or drink excessively, considerably overweight.[33] He shook with laughter when he was amused, but this was rare; whereas Baldwin was affable, Amalric was serious and taciturn.[32] He was intellectually gifted but less refined than Baldwin,[32] preferring a hunt to poetry.[33] He enjoyed reading and debates with scholars, and was well-informed about the issues facing the crusader states. In battle he was daring, and in command composed and decisive.[33] He regularly attended Mass, but William noted that not even the Church was spared from the king's "lust for money"; and he was promiscuous, pursuing even married women.[32]

Early in his reign Amalric strengthened his position against his most powerful vassals (tenants-in-chief) by passing the Assise sur la ligece. This legislation enabled the vassals of the powerful vassals to appeal directly to the king if their lord did them injustice.[34][35] 13th-century jurists John of Ibelin and Philip of Novara believed that the assise resulted from Amalric's war with the lord of Sidon, Gerard Grenier, who had unjustly seized a fief from one of his vassals, but contemporary chroniclers Michael the Syrian and Ibn al-Athir say that it was Baldwin III who defeated Gerard.[36]

Invasions of Egypt

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Amalric's chief aim as king was to conquer Egypt.[20] Its government was in disarray: Dirgham and Shawar, rival viziers, fought for power while the Fatimid caliph was sidelined.[37] Zengi's son Nur ad-Din unified the Muslim principalities of Syria by bringing the great cities of Damascus and Aleppo under his rule; if he were to conquer Egypt as well, the crusader states would be encircled.[38]

Conflicts with the Muslim states

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Amalric engaging in theological discussions, from the Passages d'outremer

During Baldwin III's reign, the County of Edessa, the first crusader state established during the First Crusade, was conquered by Zengi, the Turkic emir of Aleppo. Zengi united Aleppo, Mosul, and other cities of northern Syria, and intended to impose his control on Damascus in the south. The Second Crusade in 1148 had failed to conquer Damascus, which soon fell to Zengi's son Nur ad-Din. Jerusalem also lost influence to Byzantium in northern Syria when the Empire imposed its suzerainty over the Principality of Antioch. Jerusalem thus turned its attention to Egypt, where the Fatimid dynasty was suffering from a series of young caliphs and civil wars. The crusaders had wanted to conquer Egypt since the days of Baldwin I, who died during an expedition there. The capture of Ascalon by Baldwin III made the conquest of Egypt more feasible.[39]

Invasions of Egypt

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Main article: Crusader invasion of Egypt

Amalric led his first expedition into Egypt in 1163, claiming that the Fatimids had not paid the yearly tribute that had begun during the reign of Baldwin III. The vizier, Dirgham, had recently overthrown the vizier Shawar, and marched out to meet Amalric at Pelusium, but was defeated and forced to retreat to Bilbeis. The Egyptians then opened up the Nile dams and let the river flood, hoping to prevent Amalric from invading any further. Amalric returned home but Shawar fled to the court of Nur ad-Din, who sent his general Shirkuh to settle the dispute in 1164. In response Dirgham sought help from Amalric, but Shirkuh and Shawar arrived before Amalric could intervene and Dirgham was killed. Shawar, however, feared that Shirkuh would seize power for himself, and he too looked to Amalric for assistance. Amalric returned to Egypt in 1164 and besieged Shirkuh in Bilbeis until Shirkuh retreated to Damascus.[40]

Amalric could not follow up on his success in Egypt because Nur ad-Din was active in Syria, having taken Bohemund III of Antioch and Raymond III of Tripoli prisoner at the Battle of Harim during Amalric's absence. Amalric rushed to take up the regency of Antioch and Tripoli and secured Bohemund's ransom in 1165 (Raymond remained in captivity until 1173). The year 1166 was relatively quiet, but Amalric sent envoys to the Byzantine Empire seeking an alliance and a Byzantine wife, and throughout the year had to deal with raids by Nur ad-Din, who captured Banias.[40]

In 1167, Nur ad-Din sent Shirkuh back to Egypt and Amalric once again followed him, establishing a camp near Cairo; Shawar again allied with Amalric and a treaty was signed with the caliph al-Adid himself. Shirkuh encamped on the opposite side of the Nile. After an indecisive battle, Amalric retreated to Cairo and Shirkuh marched north to capture Alexandria; Amalric followed and besieged Shirkuh there, aided by a Pisan fleet from Jerusalem.[41] Shirkuh negotiated for peace and Alexandria was handed over to Amalric. However, Amalric could not remain there indefinitely, and returned to Jerusalem after exacting an enormous tribute.[40]

Byzantine alliance

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Marriage of Amalric and Maria

After his return to Jerusalem in 1167, Amalric married Maria Comnena,[42] a grandniece of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus. The negotiations had taken two years, mostly because Amalric insisted that Manuel return Antioch to Jerusalem. Once Amalric gave up on this point he was able to marry Maria in the Cathedral of Tyre on August 29, 1167.[43] During this time the queen dowager, Baldwin III's widow Theodora, eloped with her cousin Andronicus to Damascus, and Acre, which had been in her possession, reverted into the royal domain of Jerusalem. It was also around this time that William of Tyre was promoted to archdeacon of Tyre, and was recruited by Amalric to write a history of the kingdom.[40]

In 1168 Amalric and Manuel negotiated an alliance against Egypt, and William of Tyre was among the ambassadors sent to Constantinople to finalize the treaty. Although Amalric still had a peace treaty with Shawar, Shawar was accused of attempting to ally with Nur ad-Din, and Amalric invaded. The Knights Hospitaller eagerly supported this invasion, while the Knights Templar refused to have any part in it. In October, without waiting for any Byzantine assistance (and in fact without even waiting for the ambassadors to return), Amalric invaded and seized Bilbeis. The inhabitants were either massacred or enslaved. Amalric then marched to Cairo, where Shawar offered Amalric two million pieces of gold. Meanwhile, Nur ad-Din sent Shirkuh back to Egypt as well, and upon his arrival Amalric retreated.[40]

Rise of Saladin

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In January 1169 Shirkuh had Shawar assassinated. Shirkuh became vizier, although he himself died in March, and was succeeded by his nephew Saladin. Amalric became alarmed and sent Frederick de la Roche, Archbishop of Tyre, to seek help from the kings and nobles of Europe, but no assistance was forthcoming. Later that year however a Byzantine fleet arrived, and in October Amalric launched yet another invasion and besieged Damietta by sea and by land. The siege was long and famine broke out in the Christian camp; the Byzantines and crusaders blamed each other for the failure, and a truce was signed with Saladin. Amalric returned home.[44]

Now Jerusalem was surrounded by hostile enemies. In 1170 Saladin invaded Jerusalem and took the city of Eilat, severing Jerusalem's connection with the Red Sea. Saladin, who was set up as Vizier of Egypt, was declared Sultan in 1171 upon the death of the last Fatimid caliph. Saladin's rise to Sultan was an unexpected reprieve for Jerusalem, as Nur ad-Din was now preoccupied with reining in his powerful vassal. Nevertheless, in 1171 Amalric visited Constantinople himself, leaving Jobert of Syria as regent, and envoys were sent to the kings of Europe for a second time, but again no help was received. Over the next few years the kingdom was threatened not only by Saladin and Nur ad-Din, but also by the Assassins. In one episode, the Knights Templar murdered some Assassin envoys, leading to further disputes between Amalric and the Templars.[44]

Death

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Nur ad-Din died in 1174, upon which Amalric immediately besieged Banias.[45] On the way back after giving up the siege he fell ill from dysentery,[46] which was ameliorated by doctors but turned into a fever in Jerusalem. William of Tyre explains that "after suffering intolerably from the fever for several days, he ordered physicians of the Greek, Syrian, and other nations noted for skill in diseases to be called and insisted that they give him some purgative remedy." Neither they nor Latin doctors could help, and he died on 11 July 1174.[46]

Maria Comnena had borne Amalric two daughters: Isabella,[42] who would eventually marry four husbands in turn and succeed as queen, was born in 1172; and a stillborn child some time later. On his deathbed Amalric bequeathed Nablus to Maria and Isabella, both of whom would retire there. The leprous child Baldwin IV succeeded his father and brought his mother Agnes of Courtenay (now married to her fourth husband) back to court.

Physical characteristics

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William was a good friend of Amalric and described him in great detail. "He had a slight impediment in his speech, not serious enough to be considered as a defect but sufficient to render him incapable of ready eloquence. He was far better in counsel than in fluent or ornate speech." Like his brother Baldwin III, he was more of an academic than a warrior, who studied law and languages in his leisure time: "He was well skilled in the customary law by which the kingdom was governed – in fact, he was second to no one in this respect." He was probably responsible for an assize making all rear-vassals directly subject to the king and eligible to appear at the Haute Cour. Amalric had an enormous curiosity, and William was reportedly astonished to find Amalric questioning, during an illness, the resurrection of the body.[47] He especially enjoyed reading and being read to, spending long hours listening to William read early drafts of his history. He did not enjoy games or spectacles, although he liked to hunt. He was trusting of his officials, perhaps too trusting, and it seems that there were many among the population who despised him, although he refused to take any action against those who insulted him publicly.

He was tall and fairly handsome; "he had sparkling eyes of medium size; his nose, like that of his brother, was becomingly aquiline; his hair was blond and grew back somewhat from his forehead. A comely and very full beard covered his cheeks and chin. He had a way of laughing immoderately so that his entire body shook." He did not overeat or drink to excess, but his corpulence grew in his later years, decreasing his interest in military operations; according to William, he "was excessively fat, with breasts like those of a woman hanging down to his waist." Amalric was pious and attended mass every day, although he also "is said to have absconded himself without restraint to the sins of the flesh and to have seduced married women..." Despite his piety he taxed the clergy, which they naturally opposed.

As William says, "he was a man of wisdom and discretion, fully competent to hold the reins of government in the kingdom." He is considered the last of the early kings of Jerusalem. Within a few years, Emperor Manuel died as well, and Saladin remained the only strong leader in the east.

References

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  1. ^ George Francis Hill, A History of Cyprus, vol. 2 (Cambridge University Press, 2010 [1947]), p. 45 n. 1.
  2. ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 2.
  3. ^ Barber 2012, p. 149.
  4. ^ Runciman 1952, p. 178.
  5. ^ Barber 2012, pp. 155–156.
  6. ^ Barber 2012, p. 155.
  7. ^ Barber 2012, p. 157.
  8. ^ Runciman 1952, p. 233.
  9. ^ Barber 2012, pp. 163–164.
  10. ^ Barber 2012, p. 179.
  11. ^ Barber 2012, p. 188.
  12. ^ Barber 2012, p. 150.
  13. ^ Barber 2012, p. 196.
  14. ^ Barber 2012, p. 176.
  15. ^ Mayer 1972, p. 175.
  16. ^ Mayer 1972, p. 166.
  17. ^ Mayer 1972, p. 168.
  18. ^ Mayer 1972, p. 169.
  19. ^ a b Mayer 1972, pp. 175–176.
  20. ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 237.
  21. ^ a b c Hamilton 2000, p. 24.
  22. ^ a b c Hamilton 2000, p. 25.
  23. ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 233.
  24. ^ Setton 1969, p. 544.
  25. ^ Setton 1969, pp. 542–543.
  26. ^ Runciman 1952, p. 309.
  27. ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 232.
  28. ^ Barber 2012, p. 216.
  29. ^ a b Barber 2012, p. 231.
  30. ^ a b Hamilton 2000, p. 23.
  31. ^ Hamilton 2000, p. 26.
  32. ^ a b c d Barber 2012, p. 234.
  33. ^ a b c Setton 1969, p. 548.
  34. ^ Setton 1969, p. 549.
  35. ^ Barber 2012, p. 236.
  36. ^ Barber 2012, pp. 236–237.
  37. ^ Barber 2012, p. 238.
  38. ^ Setton 1969, pp. 549–550.
  39. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Barker, Ernest (1911). "Amalric s.v. Amalric I.". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 778–779.
  40. ^ a b c d e Baldwin, Marshall W. (1969). "The Latin States under Baldwin III and Amalric I, 1143–1174". In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: Volume One. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 528–563.
  41. ^ Giuseppe Mueller, ed. (1879). Documenti sulle Relazioni delle Citta Toscane coll'Oriente Cristiano e coi Turchi. Firenze: M. Cellini. p. 14. Notum sit omnibus, tam presentibus quam futuris, quod ego Amalricus, per Dei gratiam in sancta civitate Ierusalem Latinorum rex quintus, dono, concedo et confirmo communi Pisarum, pro bono servitio quod in obsidione Alexandrie Pisani mihi exhibuerunt, unam petiam terre iuxta ecclesiam Sancte Anne supra portum Acconis que habet in longitudine secus viam cannas xvi, in latitudine autem versus portum plus una canna quam relique domus portus, ad edificandum in ea domum et ecclesiam....Factum est hoc anno ab incarnatione Domini MCLXVIII, indictione I.
  42. ^ a b Runciman 1952, Appendix III.
  43. ^ Pringle 2001, p. 167.
  44. ^ a b Gibb, Hamilton A. R. (1969). "The Rise of Saladin, 1169-1189". In Setton, Kenneth M.; Baldwin, Marshall W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades: Volume One. The First Hundred Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 563-589.
  45. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982, p. 72–73.
  46. ^ a b Murray 2023, p. 44.
  47. ^ Barker 1911, p. 779.

Sources

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amalric I of Jerusalem.
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Jerusalem
1162–1174 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Royal domain
Title last held by
Hugh II 		Count of Jaffa
1151–1162 		Vacant
Royal domain
Title next held by
William
New title Count of Ascalon
1153–1162
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