Balian, Lord of Beirut

Balian III of Beirut (died 1247)[1] was the Lord of Beirut, the second of his family, from 1236, and a son of the famous "Old Lord" John of Ibelin,[2] by his second wife Melisende of Arsuf. From his father he assumed the leadership of the nobility in the War of the Lombards, fought against the agents of the Emperor Frederick II.

Balian
Coat-of-arms of Ibelin.
Lord of Beirut
PredecessorJohn I of Beirut
SuccessorJohn II of Beirut
BornAscalon
Died1247
Noble familyHouse of Ibelin-Beirut
Spouse(s)Eschiva de Montfaucon
IssueHugh of Beirut
John II of Beirut
Isabella of Ibelin (died ca 1250) [1]
FatherJohn I of Beirut
MotherMelisende of Arsuf

He was a warrior from an early age. At the Battle of Agridi in 1232, though he was supposed to be in the rearguard with his father and the King of Cyprus, he instead went to the front, beside either Hugh of Ibelin and Anceau of Brie, commanders of the first and second battles. At the battle, Balian won fame defending a pass from the Lombards. A story is told in the Gestes des Chiprois that Balian once struck a Lombard knight so hard that he himself was dismounted.

Balian led his family in besieging Tyre in 1242. He also had the support of Philip of Novara and Philip of Montfort and he employed mercenaries and galleys in the endeavour.

Balian of Ibelin, lord of Beirut married Eschiva de Montfaucon, daughter of Walter of Montbéliard and Bourgogne de Lusignan of Cyprus[2] and they had issue:

Ancestry

edit


References

edit
  1. ^ a b "GENEALOGY.EU. Ibelin". Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  2. ^ a b Peters 1971, p. 160.
  3. ^ "GENEALOGY.EU. Giblet". Retrieved 2020-09-11.

Sources

edit
  • Peters, Edward, ed. (1971). Christian Society and the Crusades, 1198-1229 (2nd ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Marshall, Christopher. Warfare in the Latin East, 1192–1291. Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Lord of Beirut
1236–1247
Succeeded by