Humphrey IV of Toron

Template:Short description Template:Good article

Humphrey IV of Toron (Template:Circa 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Transjordan through his mother, Stephanie of Milly. In 1180, he renounced Toron on his engagement to Isabella, the half-sister of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. The king, who had suffered from leprosy, allegedly wanted to prevent Humphrey from uniting two large fiefs. Humphrey married Isabella in Kerak Castle in autumn 1183. Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt and Syria, laid siege to Kerak during the wedding, but King Baldwin IV and Count Raymond III of Tripoli relieved the fortress.

Baldwin IV made his young nephew, Baldwin V, his successor before his death, but Baldwin V also died in the summer of 1186. The barons, who did not want to acknowledge the right of Baldwin V's mother, Sybilla, and her husband, Guy of Lusignan, to inherit the kingdom, decided to proclaim Humphrey and his wife king and queen. However, Humphrey, who did not want to reign, deserted them and did homage to Sybilla and Guy. He was captured in 1187 at the Battle of Hattin, where Saladin imposed a crushing defeat on the united army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. His mother offered the surrender of the fortresses of Oultrejordain to Saladin in exchange for Humphrey's release. Although the garrisons of Kerak and Montréal refused to surrender, Saladin set Humphrey free. Kerak only fell to Saladin's troops in late 1188, Montréal in early 1189.

After Queen Sybilla's death in the autumn of 1190, most barons of the realm (including Isabella's stepfather, Balian of Ibelin) wanted to give Isabella in marriage to Conrad of Montferrat, a successful military leader. The marriage of Humphrey and Isabella was annulled, although they protested the decision. Humphrey joined the retinue of King Richard I of England during his crusade in 1191–1192. Since Humphrey was fluent in Arabic, he conducted negotiations with Saladin's brother, Al-Adil, on Richard's behalf.

Early life

Humphrey was born in about 1165, the son of Humphrey, heir to Humphrey II of Toron, and Stephanie of Milly.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Humphrey was a child when his father died around 1173.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn His mother soon inherited the Lordship of Transjordan.Template:Sfn She married Miles of Plancy, seneschal of Jerusalem, who was murdered in October 1174.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The following year she married Raynald of Châtillon.Template:Sfn Humphrey inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather who died of wounds received at the Battle of Banyas on 22 April 1179.Template:Sfn

King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem's eight-year-old half-sister, Isabella, was betrothed to Humphrey in October 1180.Template:Sfn His and Isabella's respective stepfathers, Raynald of Châtillon and Balian of Ibelin, were prominent figures of the two groups of barons in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The two baronial groups had been competing for the control of state administration, because the king who suffered from leprosy could not rule alone.Template:Sfn According to the marriage contract, Humphrey renounced his inherited domains (Toron, Banias and Chastel Neuf) in favor of Baldwin IV, in exchange for a money fief of 7,000 bezants.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This provision of the marriage contract suggests that the king wanted to prevent Humphrey from uniting two large fiefs, Toron and Transjordan.Template:Sfn Baldwin IV granted Toron or its usufruct to his mother, Agnes of Courtenay, around 1183.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Saladin, who had united Egypt and Syria under his rule, invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in September 1183.Template:Sfn Humphrey commanded the forces of Oultrejourdain, dispatched by Raynald of Châtillon to join the united army of the kingdom.Template:Sfn Saladin's soldiers ambushed and almost annihilated his troops at Mount Gilboa.Template:Sfn Saladin's campaign ended with his withdrawal on 7 October, because he could not persuade the main army to join battle.Template:Sfn

Marriage

Humphrey married Isabella in Kerak Castle in the autumn of 1183.Template:Sfn During the wedding, Saladin laid siege to the fortress to take revenge for Raynald of Châtillon's plundering raid on the Red Sea in February.Template:Sfn According to a version of Ernoul's chronicle, Humphrey's mother convinced Saladin not to bombard the tower in which the newly married young couple were lodged, although he continued to besiege the rest of the fortress.Template:Sfn Kerak was eventually relieved on 4 December by Baldwin IV and Raymond III of Tripoli.Template:Sfn

The dying Baldwin IV, who had disinherited his sister Sybilla and her husband Guy of Lusignan in favor of her six-year-old son, Baldwin V, in March 1183, nominated Raymond of Tripoli regent to his successor.Template:Sfn The High Court of Jerusalem also decreed that if Baldwin V died, the pope, the Holy Roman emperor, and the kings of France and England were to decide whether Sybilla or Isabella was entitled to succeed him.Template:Sfn Baldwin IV died in March 1185, Baldwin V the next summer.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Unwilling claimant

Sybilla's maternal uncle, Joscelin III of Courtenay, persuaded Raymond of Tripoli to leave Jerusalem to hold an assembly in Tiberias for the barons of the realm.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After the regent departed to Tiberias, Joscelin invited Sybilla and Guy to Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn As soon as Raymond realized that Joscelin had deceived him, he summoned the High Court to Nablus.Template:Sfn All the barons of the realm (including Humphrey) hurried to Nablus, except Humphrey's stepfather, Raynald of Châtillon, who went to Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The barons sent messengers to Jerusalem to remind Sybilla, Guy, and their supporters of the High Court's decision on the matter of the succession.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ignoring their messages, Heraclius, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, crowned Sybilla queen, and she in turn placed the crown on her husband's head.Template:Sfn Before long, acting on Raymond of Tripoli's proposal, the barons at Nablus decided to proclaim Isabella and Humphrey queen and king against Sybilla and Guy.Template:Sfn

Raymond and his supporters were willing to march against Jerusalem, but Humphrey had no desire for the crown.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He secretly left Nablus during the night and rode to Jerusalem to meet Sybilla.Template:Sfn She refused him initially, but after Humphrey told her of his intention, she accompanied him to her husband.Template:Sfn Humphrey swore fealty to Guy, putting an end to the conspiracy for Humphrey's and Isabella's coronation.Template:Sfn All the barons except Raymond of Tripoli and Baldwin of Ramleh hurried to Jerusalem to do homage to Sybilla and Guy.Template:Sfn Guy granted Toron and Chastel Neuf (two domains that Humphrey had abandoned in 1180) to Joscelin of Courtenay in 1186, stipulating that should he restore the two estates to Humphrey, he would receive the compensation that Humphrey had received for them.Template:Sfn

Battle of Hattin

Raynald of Châtillon plundered a caravan moving from Egypt to Syria in early 1187, claiming that the truce between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Saladin did not cover his Lordship of Transjordan.Template:Sfn After King Guy failed to persuade Raynald to pay compensation, Saladin proclaimed a jihad (holy war) against the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Saladin's army crushed the united forces of the kingdom in the Battle of Hattin on 4 July 1187.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Humphrey also participated in the battle.Template:Sfn He was captured on the battlefield like most of the commanders of the Christian army.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn With the exception of Raynald (whom he personally beheaded) and the knights of the Military Orders (who were massacred by fanatics), Saladin spared their lives.Template:Sfn Saladin sent his prisoners to Damascus and conquered the Christian towns and fortresses one after another.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Two castles in Oultrejordan – Kerak and Montréal – were among the few fortresses that resisted.Template:Sfn In October, Humphrey's mother, Stephanie of Milly, promised to persuade the garrisons at the two fortresses to surrender if Saladin released Humphrey.Template:Sfn Saladin accepted her offer and allowed Humphrey to join her.Template:Sfn However, the defenders refused to surrender and Humphrey returned to Damascus.Template:Sfn Before long, Saladin set Humphrey free again without demanding ransom.Template:Sfn Saladin's troops were unable to seize Kerak until the end of 1188, and Montréal some months later.Template:Sfn

Annulment of marriage

Template:See also

Humphrey and his wife were present at the camp of the crusaders who besieged Acre when Queen Sybilla and her two daughters died in 1190.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Most barons of the realm regarded Humphrey's wife as Sybilla's lawful heir, stating that Guy had lost his claim to rule after his wife and their children died.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn However, they also felt Humphrey was unsuitable to rule the kingdom, especially because he had refused to claim the throne against Sybilla and Guy in 1186.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn They preferred Conrad of Montferrat, a crusader leader who had prevented Saladin from occupying Tyre.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Isabella's stepfather, Balian of Ibelin, was one of Conrad's supporters.Template:Sfn He and his partisans decided that the marriage of Isabella and Humphrey should be annulled.Template:Sfn The marriage was childless.Template:Sfn The contemporaneous Itinerarium Regis Ricardi describes Humphrey, around 1190, as "more like a woman than a man, gentle in his dealings and with a bad stammer".Template:Sfn Isabella's mother, Maria Comnena, entered Isabella's tent and forced her to leave Humphrey.Template:Sfn

Maria Comnena swore that Baldwin IV had forced her daughter to marry Humphrey at the age of eight.Template:Sfn Ubaldo Lanfranchi, Archbishop of Pisa (who was Papal legate), and Philip of Dreux, Bishop of Beauvais, annulled Humphrey's marriage to Isabella.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn During an inquiry ordered by Pope Innocent III into the prelates' decision, a group of knights who were present at the proceedings stated that both Isabella and Humphrey had protested the annulment.Template:Sfn Before he died, Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury forbade Isabella to marry Conrad, stating that both Isabella and Conrad would commit adultery if they married.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ignoring the archbishop's ban, Conrad of Montferrat married Isabella on 24 November 1190.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Last years

Humphrey was among the barons who accompanied Guy of Lusignan, who did not renounce the kingdom, to meet King Richard I of England in Limassol in Cyprus in May 1191.Template:Sfn Both men did homage to Richard.Template:Sfn Richard dispatched Humphrey, who was fluent in Arabic, to open negotiations with Saladin's brother, Al-Adil, in Lydda (now Lod in Israel). No agreement was reached, although Richard offered the hand of his sister, Joan, to Al-Adil and the Holy Land as her dowry.Template:Sfn

Two men murdered Conrad of Montferrat in Tyre on 28 April 1192.Template:Sfn Although one of them confessed that Rashid ad-Din Sinan, head of the Assassins, had sent them to kill him, Humphrey was one of the suspects accused by contemporaneous sources of hiring them.Template:Sfn Modern historians are unanimous in saying that Humphrey was innocent, pointing out that his "career was not notable for displays of initiative in any case".Template:Sfn The widowed Isabella married Count Henry II of Champagne in Acre on 5 May 1192.Template:Sfn

Humphrey died in 1198, shortly after Isabella, who had again been widowed, married King Aimery of Cyprus.Template:Sfn In 1229, Humphrey's patrimony, Toron, was restored to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in accordance with the treaty of Al-Kamil, sultan of Egypt, and the Holy Roman emperor, Frederick II.Template:Sfn The domain was seized by Maria of Antioch, who was the great-granddaughter of Humphrey's sister, Isabella of Toron.Template:Sfn