Balian of Ibelin

Balian of Ibelin (c. 1134Ð'-1193) was an important noble in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century.

Early life

He was the son of Barisan of Ibelin, and brother of Hugh and Baldwin. His father had been a knight in the County of Jaffa, and had been rewarded with the lordship of Ibelin after the revolt of Hugh II of Le Puiset. Barisan married Helvis, heiress of the wealthy lordship of Ramla. Balian's name was also Barisan, but the pronunciation of the name in Old French changed to "Balian" in the course of the 12th century; he is sometimes known as Balian the Younger or Balian II when his father is also referred to as Balian. He is also called Balian of Ramla or Balian of Nablus. In Latin his name appears variously as Balian, Barisan, Barisanus, Balianus, Balisan, and Balisanus. His precise year of birth is unknown, but he was of the age of majority in 1155, when he first appears in charters.

After the death of Balian's brother Hugh in 1170, the castle of Ibelin passed to Baldwin. Baldwin, preferring to remain lord of Ramla, gave it to Balian. Balian held Ibelin as a vassal of his brother, and indirectly as a rear-vassal of the king, from whom Baldwin held Ramla.

The "nobles' faction"

The Ibelins were partisans of the nobles' faction in the kingdom, made up of the lower nobility and older families who had lived there for generations; this faction was opposed to the new families of recently arrived crusaders, who tended to ally with the royal family. Balian and Baldwin supported Raymond III of Tripoli over Miles of Plancy as regent for King Baldwin IV in 1174, and in 1177 the brothers were present at the Battle of Montgisard, leading the vanguard victoriously against the strongest point of the Muslim line. That year Balian also married Maria Comnena, widow of King Amalric I, and received the lordship of Nablus, which had been a gift to Maria following her marriage to Amalric. In 1179, Baldwin was captured by Saladin after the Battle of the Ford of Jacob's Daughters, and Balian helped arrange for his ransom and release the next year; the ransom was eventually paid by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, Maria's great-uncle.

In 1183 Balian and Baldwin supported Raymond against Guy of Lusignan, husband of Sibylla of Jerusalem and by now regent for Baldwin IV, who was dying of leprosy. Balian was present at the coronation ceremony of Baldwin V in 1183, while Baldwin IV was still alive; this was an attempt to prevent Guy from succeeding as king. It was Balian himself who carried the child Baldwin V in his arms to the ceremony. Baldwin IV died in 1185 and eight-year old Baldwin V became king, but when the young king died in 1186, Raymond's choice for the kingship, Humphrey IV of Toron (husband of Maria's daughter and Balian's step-daughter Isabella), refused the crown and swore fealty to Guy. Balian reluctantly also paid homage to Guy, while his brother refused to do so and exiled himself to Antioch. Baldwin placed Balian in charge of raising his son Thomas, the future lord of Ramla, who did not go with his father to Antioch.

Dispute between Raymond and Guy

Balian remained in the kingdom, as an advisor to Guy. At the end of 1186, Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Damascus, threatened the borders of the kingdom after Guy's ally Raynald of Chatillon, lord of Oultrejordain, had attacked a Muslim caravan and captured Saladin's sister. Saladin was allied with the garrison of Tiberias in the north of the kingdom, a territory held by Raymond III. Guy gathered his army at Nazareth, planning to besiege Tiberias, but Balian disagreed with this, and instead suggested that Guy send an embassy to Raymond in Tripoli, hoping the two could be reconciled before Guy made a foolish attack on Saladin's larger army. The first embassy was a failure and the situation remained unchanged throughout the early months of 1187. After Easter of that year, Balian, Gerard of Ridefort (Grand Master of the Knights Templar), Roger des Moulins (Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller), Reginald of Sidon, and Joscius (Archbishop of Tyre) were sent on a new embassy to Tripoli. During the journey they stopped at Balian's fief of Nablus, and Balian planned to remain behind briefly while the others went ahead. On May 1, the Templars and Hospitallers were defeated by Saladin's son al-Afdal at the Battle of Cresson; Balian was still a day behind, and had also stopped at Sebastea to celebrate a feast day. After reaching the castle of La FÐ"Ёve, where the Templars and Hospitallers had camped, he found that the place was deserted, and soon heard news of the disastrous battle from the few survivors. Raymond heard about the battle as well and met the embassy at Tiberias, and agreed to accompany them back to Jerusalem.

The Battle of Hattin

Since al-Afdal's army had been allowed to enter the kingdom through their alliance with Raymond, the count now regretted his actions and reconciled with Guy. Guy marched north and camped at Sephoria, but insisted on marching the army across a dry and barren plain to relieve Tiberias. The army had no water and was constantly harassed by Saladin's troops, and was finally surrounded at the Horns of Hattin outside Tiberias early in July. In the battle that followed on July 4, Balian and Joscelin III of Edessa commanded the rearguard, but the crusader army was completely defeated. With Raymond and Reginald of Sidon, Balian fled the field in the middle of the battle, trampling his own foot-soldiers in the process; otherwise he would certainly have been taken prisoner, if not killed in the fighting. The defeat was a disaster for Jerusalem, as nearly every town and castle soon fell to Saladin. Balian escaped to Tyre, which was defended by Conrad of Montferrat, who had coincidentally arrived just as Saladin began the siege. In Tyre, Balian asked Saladin for permission to return to Jerusalem to escort his wife and their children to Tripoli. Saladin allowed this, provided that Balian swear not to remain in the city and raise arms against him..

Defense of Jerusalem

When Balian arrived in the city, the inhabitants begged him to stay, and he was absolved of his oath to Saladin by Patriarch Heraclius, who argued that a Christian could not make an oath to an infidel. Balian was recruited to lead the defense of the city, but he found that there were only two other knights there, so he created sixty new knights from the ranks of the burgesses. With Queen Sibylla and Heraclius, he prepared for the inevitable siege by storing food and money. Saladin indeed arrived to besiege the city in September, after he had conquered