Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
Encyclopedia
Philip of Montfort, was Lord of La Ferté-Alais
and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and Lord of Toron
aft. 1240–1270. He was the son of Guy of Montfort
and Helvis of Ibelin
(daughter of Balian of Ibelin
).
At his father's death at the siege of Vareilles
in the Albigensian Crusade
in 1228, he succeeded to his French
seigneuries. His first wife was Eleonore de Courtenay (d. bef. 1230), daughter of Peter II of Courtenay. Philip joined the party of his uncle, John of Ibelin
, against the representatives of Frederick II
. In 1244, he was created Constable of Jerusalem
, but was subordinate to Walter IV of Brienne
at the Battle of La Forbie
. Philip was one of the few Christian knights to escape the disaster there. In 1246, Henry I of Cyprus
, then Regent of Jerusalem
, created him Lord of Tyre as a reward for his services to the baronial party. While the legality of this grant was somewhat dubious, it was recognized by Hugh I
c. 1269; but Hugh reserved the right to buy back the fief.
Philip was married a second time, after 1240, to Maria of Antioch-Armenia
, the elder daughter of Raymond-Roupen of Antioch
and hence Lady of Toron and pretender of Armenia
.
He joined the Seventh Crusade
, and was employed as the ambassador of Louis IX
in negotiations for a truce and retreat from Damietta
. In 1256, he expelled the Venetians
from Tyre, an action which helped to precipitate the War of St. Sabas. During that conflict, he attempted to relieve the Genoese
in Acre in 1258, but was repulsed, which helped decide the struggle for the Venetians. In 1266, he lost Toron to the Sultan Baibars
; but even in Philip's old age, Baibars feared both his energetic leadership and the possible success of his appeals to Europe
for aid. He called upon the Hashshashin
, one of whom (feigning a desire to convert to Christianity) stabbed Philip as he prayed in his chapel and then fell upon his son John. Mortally wounded, Philip cried out for aid; guards immediately entered and dispatched the assassin
. Seeing his son without serious injury, Philip threw up his arms and died.
He was succeeded by his son Philip in his French possessions, and by his son John
in Outremer
.
From his second marriage to Maria of Antioch-Armenia:
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris.Its airfield , hosts a world-famous air show for vintage World War I and WWII aircraft and a museum of such aircraft....
and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and 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....
aft. 1240–1270. He was the son of Guy of Montfort
Guy de Montfort, Lord of Sidon
Guy de Montfort was the younger son of Simon III de Montfort and Amicia, sister of Robert FitzPernel, Earl of Leicester.-Crusade:...
and Helvis of Ibelin
Helvis of Ibelin
Helvis of Ibelin was a daughter of Balian of Ibelin and his wife, Maria Komnene, who was the dowager Queen of Jerusalem. Helvis was a member of the House of Ibelin. She was Lady of Sidon by her first and second marriage....
(daughter of Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.-Early life:Balian was the youngest son of Barisan of Ibelin, and brother of Hugh and Baldwin. His father, a knight in the County of Jaffa, had been rewarded with the lordship of Ibelin after the...
).
At his father's death at the siege of Vareilles
Vareilles
Vareilles is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Vareilles in the Creuse département* Vareilles in the Saône-et-Loire département* Vareilles in the Yonne département...
in the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
in 1228, he succeeded to his French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
seigneuries. His first wife was Eleonore de Courtenay (d. bef. 1230), daughter of Peter II of Courtenay. Philip joined the party of his uncle, John of Ibelin
John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut
John of Ibelin , called the Old Lord of Beirut, was a powerful crusader noble in the 13th century, one of the best known representatives of the influential Ibelin family...
, against the representatives of Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
. In 1244, he was created 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...
, but was subordinate to Walter IV of Brienne
Walter IV of Brienne
Walter IV the Great of Brienne was Count of Brienne 1205–1244. He was the son of Walter III of Brienne and Elvira of Lecce. Around the time of his birth, his father lost his bid for the Sicilian throne and died in prison...
at the Battle of La Forbie
Battle of La Forbie
The Battle of La Forbie, also known as the Battle of Harbiyah, was fought October 17, 1244 – October 18, 1244 between the allied armies and the Egyptian army of the Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub, reinforced with Khwarezmian mercenaries.-Prelude:The capture of...
. Philip was one of the few Christian knights to escape the disaster there. In 1246, Henry I of Cyprus
Henry I of Cyprus
Henry I of Cyprus, nicknamed the Fat, aka Henry of Lusignan or Henri I le Gros de Lusignan was King of Cyprus from 1218 to 1253. He was the son of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne of Jerusalem. When his father Hugh I died on January 10, 1218, the 8-month-old Henry became king...
, then Regent 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....
, created him Lord of Tyre as a reward for his services to the baronial party. While the legality of this grant was somewhat dubious, it was recognized by Hugh I
Hugh III of Cyprus
Hugh III of Cyprus , born Hughues de Poitiers, later Hughues de Lusignan , called the Great, was the King of Cyprus from 1267 and King of Jerusalem from 1268 . He was the son of Henry of Antioch and Isabella of Cyprus, the daughter of Hugh I...
c. 1269; but Hugh reserved the right to buy back the fief.
Philip was married a second time, after 1240, to Maria of Antioch-Armenia
Maria of Antioch-Armenia
Maria of Antioch-Armenia was lady of Toron from 1229 to her death. She was the elder daughter of Raymond-Roupen, prince of Antioch, and of Helvis of Lusignan...
, the elder daughter of Raymond-Roupen of Antioch
Raymond-Roupen of Antioch
Raymond-Roupen of Antioch or Raimond Rupen de Poitiers was Prince of Antioch between 1205 and 1208 and between 1216 and 1219/1221 and "Rex Iunior" of Armenia between 1199 and 1221/1222....
and hence Lady of Toron and pretender of Armenia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
.
He joined the Seventh Crusade
Seventh Crusade
The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...
, and was employed as the ambassador of Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
in negotiations for a truce and retreat from Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
. In 1256, he expelled the Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
from Tyre, an action which helped to precipitate the War of St. Sabas. During that conflict, he attempted to relieve the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
in Acre in 1258, but was repulsed, which helped decide the struggle for the Venetians. In 1266, he lost Toron to the Sultan Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
; but even in Philip's old age, Baibars feared both his energetic leadership and the possible success of his appeals to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for aid. He called upon the Hashshashin
Hashshashin
The Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...
, one of whom (feigning a desire to convert to Christianity) stabbed Philip as he prayed in his chapel and then fell upon his son John. Mortally wounded, Philip cried out for aid; guards immediately entered and dispatched the assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. Seeing his son without serious injury, Philip threw up his arms and died.
He was succeeded by his son Philip in his French possessions, and by his son John
Jean de Montfort (died 1283)
Jean de Montfort was lord of Toron from 1257 to 1266 and Lord of Tyre from 1270 to 1283. He was the son of Philip of Montfort , and his second wife Maria of Antioch-Armenia .When he came of...
in Outremer
Outremer
Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...
.
Children
From his first marriage to Eleonore de Courtenay:- Philip of MontfortPhilip of Montfort, Lord of CastresPhilip of Montfort was a French nobleman, then Lord of Castres in 1270. He was the son of Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre and Eleonore of Courtenay...
, Lord of Castres-en-Albigeois (d. September 24, 1270, TunisTunisTunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
), married Jeanne de Levis-Mirepoix
From his second marriage to Maria of Antioch-Armenia:
- John of MontfortJean de Montfort (died 1283)Jean de Montfort was lord of Toron from 1257 to 1266 and Lord of Tyre from 1270 to 1283. He was the son of Philip of Montfort , and his second wife Maria of Antioch-Armenia .When he came of...
, Lord of Toron and Tyre (c. 1240 – November 27, 1283, Tyre), married September 22, 1268 Marguerite de Lusignan, titular Princess of AntiochPrincipality of AntiochThe Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:... - Humphrey of MontfortHumphrey of Montfort (died 1284)Humphrey of Montfort was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Humphrey was the second son of Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre by his second wife Maria of Antioch-Armenia, Lady of Toron....
, Lord of Toron and Tyre (d. February 12, 1284, Tyre), married c. 1270s Eschiva of Ibelin, Lady of Beirut and LapithosLapithosLapithos or Lapethos is a town of Kyrenia District on the northern coast of Cyprus. According to Strabo, the settlement was founded by Spartans. In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians...
(Cyprus)