Humphrey II of Toron
Encyclopedia
Humphrey II of Toron was lord of Toron
Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries.-Introduction:According to the 13th century jurist John of Ibelin the four highest barons in the kingdom proper were:* the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon...

 and constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

 of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....

.

Humphrey had become lord of Toron
Toron
Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus....

 sometime before 1140, when he married the daughter of Renier Brus, lord of Banias
Banias
Banias is an archaeological site by the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, located at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights...

 (the Herodian city of Caesarea Philippi). Through this marriage Banias was added to Toron. Humphrey became castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

 in 1149 when Hebron became a domain of the royal family of Jerusalem. In 1153 he became constable of Jerusalem
Officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
There were six major officers of the kingdom of Jerusalem: the constable, the marshal, the seneschal, the chamberlain , the butler and the chancellor...

 when Baldwin III
Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...

 became sole ruler after a struggle with his mother Melisende
Melisende of Jerusalem
Melisende was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161 while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess Morphia of Melitene. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Melisende of...

. That year he was present with the king at the Siege of Ascalon
Siege of Ascalon
The Siege of Ascalon took place in 1153, resulting in the capture of that Egyptian fortress by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Background:...

.

Humphrey was defeated by Nur ad-Din Zangi at Banias in 1157 and was besieged in its castle until Baldwin III arrived to lift the siege. That year Humphrey also sold Banias and Chastel Neuf
Margaliot
Margaliot is a moshav in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, located along the border with Lebanon, near the town of Kiryat Shmona. It is part of the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council...

 to the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 (Chastel Neuf was captured by Nur ad-Din in 1167). Also in 1157 he helped negotiate the marriage of Baldwin III and Theodora, niece of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus. Humphrey himself later married Philippa
Philippa of Antioch
Philippa of Antioch was the younger daughter of Constance, Princess of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers. She was Lady of Toron by her marriage to Humphrey II of Toron and she was a mistress of Andronikos I Komnenos, who had seduced her while he was a guest at her stepfather's...

, sister of Bohemund III of Antioch
Bohemund III of Antioch
Bohemond III of Antioch , also known as the Stammerer or the Stutterer, was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to his death. He was a son of Constance of Antioch by her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...

, who had previously had an affair with future Byzantine emperor Andronicus I Comnenus, Manuel's cousin. Humphrey had been married before, to an unknown woman, and his marriage with Philippa produced no children.

In 1173 Humphrey relieved Nur ad-Din's siege of Kerak
Kerak
Kerak Castle is a large crusader castle located in Kerak in Jordan. It is one of the largest crusader castles in the Levant.Construction of the castle began in the 1140s, under Pagan, the butler of Fulk of Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it Crac des Moabites or "Karak in Moab", as it is frequently...

 in Oultrejordain
Oultrejordain
Lordship of Oultrejordain or Oultrejourdain was the name used during the Crusades for an extensive and partly undefined region to the east of the Jordan river, an area known in ancient times as Edom and Moab...

. In 1176 his importance at the royal court was somewhat lessened due to the influence of Agnes of Courtenay
Agnes of Courtenay
Agnes of Courtenay was the daughter of Joscelin II of Courtenay by his wife Beatrice , and the mother of king Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and queen Sibylla of Jerusalem.-Dynasty:...

, but he kept his position as constable. In 1177 this lessened importance was manifested when the lordship of Hebron was recreated and given to Raynald of Châtillon
Raynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...

, lord of Oultrejordain, rather than Humphrey, who was still castellan. Nevertheless he was one of the supporters of the Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...

, regent for Baldwin IV
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem , called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, was king of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185. His full sister was Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem and his nephew through this sister was the child-king Baldwin V...

. Raymond, Humphrey and others represented the faction of old families at court, who were opposed to newcomers like Raynald, and later Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan
Guy of Lusignan was a Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of the prominent Lusignan dynasty. He was king of the crusader state of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194...

.

Humphrey rebuilt Chateau Neuf in 1179, after it had been destroyed in various sieges. Also in 1179 he helped negotiate a truce between the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

. Later that year he accompanied Baldwin IV in an attack on a small Muslim force near Banias, but, although he saved Baldwin IV's life, he suffered mortal wounds and soon died. He was succeeded in Toron by his grandson Humphrey IV
Humphrey IV of Toron
Humphrey IV of Toron was the lord of Toron, Kerak, and Oultrejordain in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.-Biography:...

, son of Humphrey III and Stephanie of Milly
Stephanie of Milly
Stephanie of Milly was Lady of Oultrejordain and an influential figure in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She was also known as Stephanie de Milly, Etienette de Milly, and Etiennette de Milly...

; Humphrey III was his son by his unknown first wife.
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