- Raymond of Antioch
Raymond of Poitiers (c. 1115 –
June 29 ,1149 ) was Prince of Antioch 1136–1149. He was the younger son of William IX,Duke of Aquitaine and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his infamous liaison withDangereuse de Chatelherault .Assumes control
Following the regencies of
Baldwin II of Jerusalem (1130-1131) andFulk of Jerusalem (1131-1136), Raymond assumed control of theprincipality ofAntioch by his marriage in 1136 to theheiress ofBohemund II of Antioch , Constance, a child of ten years of age. The marriage had the blessing of the Patriarch of Antioch, but not ofAlice of Antioch , the mother of the bride, who believed that Raymond was intended to be her husband.The first years of Raymond and Constance's joint rule were spent in conflicts with the
Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus , who had come south partly to recoverCilicia from Leo of Armenia, and to reassert his rights over Antioch. Raymond was forced to pay homage, and even to promise to cede his principality as soon as he was recompensed by a new fief, which John promised to carve out for him in the Muslim territory to the east of Antioch. The expedition of 1138, in which Raymond joined with John, and which was to conquer this territory, naturally proved a failure. Raymond was not anxious to help the emperor to acquire new territories, when their acquisition only meant for him the loss of Antioch. John Comnenus returned unsuccessful to Constantinople, after demanding from Raymond, without response, the surrender of thecitadel of Antioch.truggles
There followed a struggle between Raymond and the
patriarch . Raymond was annoyed by the homage which he had been forced to pay to the patriarch in 1135 and the dubious validity of the patriarch's election offered a handle for opposition. Eventually Raymond triumphed, and the patriarch was deposed (1139). In 1142 John Comnenus returned to the attack, but Raymond refused to recognize or renew his previous submission, and John, though he ravaged the neighborhood of Antioch, was unable to effect anything against him. When, however Raymond demanded from Manuel, who had succeeded John in 1143, the cession of some of theCilicia n towns, he found that he had met his match. Manuel forced him to a humiliating visit toConstantinople , during which he renewed his oath of homage and promised to acknowledge a Greek patriarch.In the last year of Raymond's life Louis VII and his wife
Eleanor of Aquitaine (Raymond's niece) visited Antioch. Raymond sought to prevent Louis from going south toJerusalem and to induce him to stay in Antioch and help in the conquest ofAleppo and Caesarea. Raymond was also suspected of having an incestuous affair with his beautiful niece Eleanor. According toJohn of Salisbury , Louis became suspicious of the attention Raymond lavished on Eleanor, and the long conversations they enjoyed.William of Tyre claims that Raymond seduced Eleanor to get revenge on her husband, who refused to aid him in his wars against the Saracens, and that "contrary to [Eleanor's] royal dignity, she disregarded her marriage vows and was unfaithful to her husband." Most modern historians dismiss such rumours, however, pointing out the closeness of Raymond and his niece during her early childhood, and the effulgent Aquitainian manner of behaviour.Louis hastily left Antioch and Raymond was balked in his plans. In 1149 he was killed in the
Battle of Inab during an expedition againstNur ad-Din . He was beheaded byShirkuh , the uncle ofSaladin , and his head was placed in a silver box and sent to theCaliph ofBaghdad as a gift.Personality and family
Raymond is described by
William of Tyre (the main authority for his career) as "a lord of noble descent, of tall and elegant figure, the handsomest of the princes of the earth, a man of charming affability and conversation, open-handed and magnificent beyond measure"; pre-eminent in the use of arms and military experience; "litteratorum, licet ipse illiteratus esset, cultor" ("although he was himself illiterate, he was a cultivator of literature" - he caused the "Chanson des chétifs" to be composed); a regular churchman and faithful husband; but headstrong, irascible and unreasonable, with too great a passion for gambling (bk. xiv. c. xxi.). For his career see Rey, in the "Revue de l'orient latin ", vol. iv.With Constance, Raymond had three children, a son and heir
Bohemund III of Antioch and daughtersMaria of Antioch andPhilippa of Antioch .ources
*Maalouf, Amin. "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes", 1984
*1911
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