Raynald of Châtillon

The Principality of Antioch was a crusader state established by western European aristocrats in northern Syria and the fertile plains of Cilicia during the First Crusade. The First Crusade was declared at the Council of Clermont in 1095 by Pope Urban II against the Muslim Seljuk Turks for the rescue of the Christian Byzantine Empire and the liberation of Jerusalem. At a meeting at Constantinople, the crusader leaders promised to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos that they would return to the Byzantine Empire all lands seized from the Seljuks that the Seljuks had conquered from the Byzantines. Although Antioch (now Antakya in Turkey) was one of the cities that the Byzantines had lost to the Seljuks, after capturing the city on 3 June 1098, the crusaders granted it to the Italo-Norman aristocrat Bohemond of Taranto, claiming that the Byzantines had failed to support them during the siege. As a consequence of the First Crusade, further three crusader states—the County of Edessa, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the County of Tripoli—were founded in the Near East between 1098 and 1105.[1] The Armenian warlords of the mountainous regions of Cilicia took advantage of the westerners' arrival to strengthen their position against the Byzantines and their Turkic neighbours. The Armenian Rubenids closely cooperated with the crusaders (or Franks) and often accepted the suzerainty of the princes of Antioch.[2]

Bohemond and his successors in Antioch, Tancred, Roger, Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and Bohemond II fought the Byzantines and the Muslim rulers of the cities of Aleppo and Shaizar (now both in Syria) to consolidate their rule.[3][4] The Byzantines did not abandon their claim to Antioch. Emperor Alexios forced Bohemond I to acknowledge Byzantine suzerainty over the principality in the Treaty of Devol in 1108 but the treaty was never implemented. In 1137, Alexios's son and successor John II Komnenos extracted an oath of fealty from Raymond of Poitiers who ruled Antioch as the husband and co-ruler of Bohemond II's only daughter Constance. The Byzantines also conquered Cilicia, and Raymond had to acknowledge the loss of the territory.[5][6]

Occupying a narrow strip of land, the crusader states' survival depended on external support, and their leaders often appealed for help to the rulers of Catholic Europe.[7] The balance of power drastically changed with the emergence of a talented Turkic military leader Imad al-Din Zengi who assumed power in Mosul (in present-day Iraq) in 1127, and in Aleppo in 1128.[8][9] Zengi captured the city of Edessa (now in Turkey) in late 1144. When Zengi died in 1146 his younger son Nur ad-Din succeeded him in Syria. Edessa's fall led to the Second Crusade which ended with an unsuccessful siege of the large city of Damascus in the summer of 1148. The remnaing strongholds of the County of Edessa were sold to the Byzantine Empire in 1150.[10]

Raynald was the younger son of Hervé II, Lord of Donzy.[11][12] In older historiography, Raynald was described as the son of Geoffrey, Count of Gien,[13] but in 1989 Jean Richard demonstrated Raynald's kinship with the lords of Donzy.[11] They were influential noblemen in the Duchy of Burgundy (in present-day western France), claiming the Palladii (a Roman aristocratic family) as their ancestors.[11]

Raynald was born around 1123 or 1125.[11][14] He received the lordship of Châtillon-sur-Loire,[11][14] but a part of his patrimony was "violently and unjustly confiscated", according to one of his letters.[15] He came to the Kingdom of Jerusalem before 1153 when he was mentioned as a mercenary fighting in the army of Baldwin III of Jerusalem.[16] According to modern historians, he had joined the army of Louis VII of France during the Second Crusade.[11] Louis departed from France in June 1147.[17] The 12th-century historian William of Tyre, who was Raynald's opponent, claimed that Raynald was "almost a common soldier".[11] Louis VII left the Holy Land for France in the summer of 1149, but Raynald stayed behind in Palestine.[11][18]

Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch, and thousands of his soldiers fell in the Battle of Inab on 28 June 1148, leaving the principality almost undefended.[19] Baldwin III of Jerusalem (who was the cousin of Raymond's widow, Constance, the ruling Princess of Antioch) came to Antioch at the head of his army at least three times during the following years.[20] To secure the defence of the principality, Baldwin tried to persuade her to remarry, but she did not accept his candidates.[21] She also refused John Roger, whom the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel I Komnenos, proposed for her husband.[22]

Raynald accompanied Baldwin to Antioch in 1151 and settled in the principality, according to the historian Steven Runciman.[13] It is certain that Raynald fought in Baldwin's army during the siege of Ascalon in early 1153.[12] He may have already been engaged to Constance of Antioch (as Runciman suggests),[13] or their betrothal took place during Raynald's visit to the principality before the end of the siege (as the historian Malcolm Barber proposes).[15] They kept their betrothal a secret until Baldwin gave his permission to their marriage.[13][15]

The crusader states around 1165

After Baldwin granted his consent, Constance married Raynald.[15][13][23] He was installed prince in or shortly before May 1153.[24] In that month, he confirmed the privileges of the Venetian merchants.[25] William of Tyre recorded that his subjects were astonished that their "famous, powerful and well-born" princess condescended to "marry a kind of mercenary knight".[16] The wealthy Latin Patriarch of Antioch, Aimery of Limoges, was Raynald's principal opponent.[26] He even refused to pay a subsidy to him.[23] In retaliation, Raynald captured and tortured Aimery, forcing him to sit naked and covered with honey in the sun, before imprisoning him.[23][27] Aimery was only released on Baldwin III's demand, but he soon left his see for Jerusalem.[23][27]

Emperor Manuel sent his envoys to Antioch, proposing to recognize Raynald as the new prince if he launched a campaign against the Armenians of Cilicia, who had risen up against Byzantine rule.[23][26] Manuel also promised that he would compensate Raynald for the expenses of the campaign.[23] After Raynald defeated the Armenians at Alexandretta in 1155, the Knights Templar seized the region of the Syrian Gates that the Armenians had recently captured.[26] Although the sources are unclear, Runciman and Barber agree that it was Raynald who granted the territory to them.[26][27]

Always in need of funds, Raynald urged Manuel to send the promised subsidy to him, but Manuel failed to pay the money.[27] Raynald made an alliance with Thoros II of Cilicia.[28] They attacked Cyprus, subjecting the Byzantine island to a three-week orgy of violence in early 1156.[28] They only left Cyprus on the rumour of an imperial fleet approaching the island, but only after they had forced all Cypriots to ransom themselves, with the exception of the wealthiest individuals (including Emperor Manuel's nephew, John Doukas Komnenos), whom they carried off to Antioch.[28][29]

Taking advantage of the presence of Thierry, Count of Flanders, and his army in the Holy Land and an earthquake that destroyed most towns of Northern Syria, Baldwin III of Jerusalem invaded the Muslim territories in the valley of the Orontes River in the autumn of 1157.[30] Raynald joined the royal army, and they laid siege to Shaizar.[29][30] Shaizar was held by Assassins, but it had been ruled by the Muslim Munqidhites who paid an annual tribute to Raynald.[30] Before the capitulation of the garrison, Baldwin decided to grant the fortress to Thierry of Flanders, but Raynald demanded that the count should pay homage to him for the town.[31] After Thierry sharply refused to swear fealty to an upstart, the crusaders abandoned the siege.[31] They marched on Harenc (present-day Harem, Syria), which had been an Antiochene fortress before Nur ad-Din captured it in 1150.[32] After the crusaders captured Harenc in February 1158, Raynald granted it to the Flemish Raynald of Saint-Valery.[31][33]

Emperor Manuel unexpectedly invaded Cilicia, forcing Thoros II to seek refuge in the mountains in December 1158.[34][35] Raynald hurried to Mamistra to voluntarily make his submission to the emperor.[34][33] On Manuel's demand, he and his retainers walked barefoot and bareheaded through the streets of the town to the imperial tent where he prostrated himself, begging for mercy.[36] William of Tyre stated that "the glory of the Latin world was put to shame" on this occasion, because envoys from the nearby Muslim and Christian rulers were also present at Raynald's humiliation.[37] Manuel only forgave him after Raynald agreed to accept a Greek Patriarch in Antioch.[36] Raynald also had to promise that he would allow a Byzantine garrison to stay in the citadel whenever it was required and would send a troop to fight in the Byzantine army.[36] Before long, Baldwin III of Jerusalem persuaded Manuel to consent to the return of the Latin patriarch, Aimery, to Antioch, instead of installing a Greek patriarch.[35][38] When the emperor entered Antioch with much pomp and ceremony on 12 April 1159, Raynald held the bridle of Manuel's horse.[35][38] Manuel left the town eight days later.[39]

Raynald made a plundering raid in the valley of the river Euphrates at Marash to seize cattle, horses and camels from the local peasants in November 1160 or 1161.[40][41][42] Majd al-Din, governor of Aleppo, attacked Raynald and his retinue on the way back to Antioch.[40] Raynald tried to fight, but the Muslim warriors unhorsed and captured him.[41] He was sent to Aleppo where he was put in jail.[41]

Raynald imprisoned at Aleppo (from a mid-14th-century manuscript of William of Tyre's Historia and its Continuation)

Almost nothing is known about Raynald's life while he was kept in jail for fifteen years.[37] He shared his prison with Joscelin III of Courtenay, the titular Count of Edessa, who had been captured a couple of months before.[43] In Raynald's absence, Constance wanted to rule alone, but Baldwin III of Jerusalem made Patriarch Aimery regent for her fifteen-year-old son (Raynald's stepson), Bohemond III of Antioch.[43][40] Constance died around 1163, shortly after her son reached the age of majority.[44] Her death deprived Raynald of his claim to Antioch.[37] However, he had become an important personality, with prominent family connections, as his stepdaughter, Maria of Antioch, married Manuel I Komnenos in 1161, and his own daughter, Agnes, became the wife of Béla III of Hungary.[37]

When Gümüshtekin, governor of Aleppo, one of the last independent Muslim rulers in Syria before Saladin, had conquered almost all neighboring states, he released Raynald, along with Joscelin of Courtenay and all other Christians prisoners in 1176.[45] Raynald's ransom, fixed at 120,000 gold dinars, reflected his prestige.[37] It was most probably paid by Manuel I Komnenos, according to Barber and Bernard Hamilton.[46][47]

Raynald came to Jerusalem with Joscelin before 1 September 1176 [48] where he became a close ally of Joscelin's sister, Agnes of Courtenay.[49] She was the mother of the young Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, who suffered from leprosy.[49][50] Hugo Etherianis, who lived in Constantinople after around 1165, mentioned in the preface of his About the Procession of the Holy Spirit that he had asked "Prince Raynald" to deliver a copy of the work to Aimery of Limoges.[51] According to historian Bernard Hamilton, these words suggest that Raynald led the embassy that Baldwin IV sent to Constantinople to confirm an alliance between Jerusalem and the Byzantine Empire against Egypt.[51]

Execution of Raynald at Hattin (from a 15th-century manuscript of William of Tyre's Historia and its Continuation)

The Estoire de Eracles wrongly claimed that Saladin's sister was also among the prisoners taken by Raynald when he seized the caravan.[92][106] Actually, she returned from Mecca to Damascus in a subsequent pilgrim-caravan in March 1187.[92] To protect her against an attack by Raynald, Saladin escorted the pilgrims while they were travelling near Oultrejordain.[109] Saladin stormed into Oultrejordain on 26 April and pillaged Raynald's domains for a month.[110] Thereafter, Saladin marched to Ashtara, where the troops coming from all parts of his realm assembled.[111]

The Christian forces assembled at Sepphoris.[111][112] Raynald and Gerard of Ridefort persuaded Guy of Lusignan to take the initiative and attack Saladin's army, although Raymond III of Tripoli had tried to persuade the king to avoid a direct fight with it.[103][113] During the debate, Raynald accused Raymond of Tripoli of co-operating with the enemy.[114] Saladin inflicted a crushing defeat on the crusaders in the Battle of Hattin on 4 July.[115] Most commanders of the Christian army were captured on the battlefield.[116]

Guy of Lusignan and Raynald were among the prisoners who were brought before Saladin.[117] Saladin handed a cup of iced rose water to Guy.[118] After drinking from the cup, the king handed it to Raynald.[118] Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani (who was present) recorded that Raynald drank from the cup.[117] Since customary law prescribed that a man who gave food or drink to a prisoner could not murder him, Saladin stated that it was Guy who had given the cup to Raynald.[118] Saladin called Raynald to his tent.[117] He accused him of many crimes (including brigandage and blasphemy), offering him to choose between conversion to Islam or death, according to Imad ad-Din and Ibn al-Athir.[103][118] After Raynald flatly refused to convert, Saladin took a sword and struck Raynald with it.[103][118] As Raynald fell to the ground, Saladin beheaded him.[103][119] The reliability of the reports of Saladin's offer to Raynald is subject to a scholarly debate, because the Muslim authors who recorded them may have only wanted to improve Saladin's image.[120] Ernoul's chronicle and the Estoire de Eracles recounted the events ending with Raynald's execution in almost the same language as the Muslim authors.[118] However, according to Ernoul's chronicle, Raynald refused to drink from the cup that Guy of Lusignan handed to him.[117][121] According to Ernoul, Raynald's head was struck off by Saladin's mamluks and it was brought to Damascus to be "dragged along the ground to show the Saracens, whom the prince had wronged, that vengeance had been exacted".[122][121] Baha ad-Din also wrote that Raynald's fate shocked Guy of Lusignan, but Saladin soon comforted him, stating that "A king does not kill a king, but that man's perfidy and insolence went too far".[123]

Tomb of Raynald's daughter, Agnes (or Anna), and her husband, Béla III of Hungary (Matthias Church, Budapest)

Raynald's first wife, Constance of Antioch (born in 1128), was the only daughter of Bohemond II of Antioch and Alice of Jerusalem.[124] Constance succeeded her father in Antioch in 1130.[125] She was given in marriage to Raymond of Poitiers in 1136.[126] Years after his death, Raynald married the widowed Constance and seized Antioch.[13]

Their daughter, Agnes, moved to Constantinople in early 1170 to marry Kaisar Alexios-Béla, the younger brother of Stephen III of Hungary, who lived in the Byzantine Empire.[127] Agnes was renamed Anna in Constantinople.[128] Her husband succeeded his brother as Béla III of Hungary in 1172.[129] She followed her husband to Hungary, where she gave birth to seven children before she died around 1184.[128] Raynald and Constance's second daughter, Alice, became the third wife of Azzo VI of Este in 1204.[130] Raynald also had a son, Baldwin, from Constance, according to historian Bernard Hamilton, but Runciman says that Baldwin was Constance's son from her first husband.[131][132] Baldwin moved to Constantinople in the early 1160s.[44] He died fighting at the head of a Byzantine cavalry regiment in the Battle of Myriokephalon on 17 September 1176.[133]

Raynald's second wife, Stephanie of Milly, was the younger[134] daughter of Philip of Milly, Lord of Nablus, and Isabella of Oultrejourdain.[135] She was born around 1145.[136] Her first husband, Humphrey III of Toron, died around 1173.[137] She inherited Oultrejourdain from her niece, Beatrice Brisbarre, shortly before she married Miles of Plancy in early 1174.[137] Miles of Plancy was murdered in October 1174.[138][134]

Most information on Raynald's life was recorded by Muslim authors who were hostile to him.[139] Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad described him as a "monstrous infidel and terrible oppressor"[140] in his biography of Saladin.[141] Saladin compared Raynald with the king of Ethiopia who had tried to destroy Mecca in 570 and was called the "Elephant" in the Surah Fil of the Quran.[142]

Most Christian authors who wrote of Raynald in the 12th and 13th centuries were influenced by Raynald's political opponent, William of Tyre.[139] The author of the Estoire of Eracles stated that Raynald's attack against a caravan at the turn of 1186 and 1187 was the "reason of the loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem".[92] Modern historians have usually also treated Raynald as a "maverick who did more harm to the Christian than to the [Muslim] cause".[139] Runciman describes him as a marauder who could not resist the temptation presented by the rich caravans passing through Oultrejordain.[73] Runciman argues that Raynald attacked a caravan during the 1180 truce because he "could not understand a policy that ran counter to his wishes".[73] According to Barber, Raynald's behavior during the reign of Guy of Lusignan shows that the kingdom had broken up into "a collection of semi-autonomous fiefdoms" by that time.[105]

Some Christian authors regarded Raynald as a martyr for the faith.[103] Peter of Blois dedicated a book (entitled Passion of Prince Raynald of Antioch) to him shortly after his death.[103] Among modern historians, Bernard Hamilton describes Raynald as "an experienced and responsible crusader leader" who made several attempts to prevent Saladin from uniting the Muslim realms along the borders of the crusader states.[143]