Kings of Jerusalem
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Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

This is a list of Kings of Jerusalem, from 1099 to 1291, as well as claimants to the title up to the present day.

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Kings of Jerusalem (1099–1291)

The Kingdom of Jerusalem had its origins in the First Crusade, when Godfrey of Bouillon took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Protector of the Holy Sepulcher) in 1099 and was crowned as ruler of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The following year, his brother Baldwin I was the first to use the title king and the first to be crowned king in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem itself.

The actual title of the early kings of Jerusalem was Rex Latinitas Ierosolimitanus, or other variations meaning king of the Latins of Jerusalem. They did not pretend to rule over the native Christian, Muslim, or Jewish populations.

The kingship of Jerusalem was partially elected and partially hereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless the king was elected, or at least recognized, by the Haute Cour. Here the king was considered a primus inter pares (first among equals), and in his absence his duties were performed by his seneschal.

The royal palace was located in the Citadel of the Tower of David. The Kingdom of Jerusalem introduced French feudal structures to the Levant. The king personally held several fiefs incorporated into the royal domain, that varied from king to king. He was also responsible for leading the kingdom into battle, although this duty could be passed to a constable.

While several contemporary European states were moving towards centralized monarchies, the king of Jerusalem was continually losing power to the strongest of his barons. This was partially due to the young age of many of the kings, and the frequency of regents from the ranks of the nobles.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the capital of the kingdom was moved to Acre, where it remained until 1291, although coronations took place in Tyre.

In this period the kingship was often simply a nominal position, held by a European ruler who never actually lived in Acre. When young Conrad III was king and living in Southern Germany, his father's second cousin, Hugh of Brienne, claimed the regency of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and, indirectly his place in the succession. The claim was made in 1264 as senior descendant and rightfull heir of Alice of Champagne, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, Hugh being the son of their eldest daughter. But was passed over by the Haute Cour in favor of his cousin, Hugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem.

After Conrad III's execution by Charles I of Sicily in 1268, the kingship was held by the Lusignan family, who were simultaneously kings of Cyprus. However, Charles I of Sicily purchased the rights of one of the heirs of the kingdom in 1277.

In that year, he sent Roger of Sanseverino to the East as his bailiff. Roger captured Acre and obtained a forced homage from the barons. Roger was recalled in 1282 due to the Sicilian Vespers and left Odo Poilechien in his place to rule. His resources and authority was minimal, and he was ejected by Henry II of Cyprus when he arrived from Cyprus for his coronation as King of Jerusalem.

Acre was captured by the Mamluks in 1291, eliminating the crusader presence in the east.

King/Queen Reigned Regent
Godfrey (Protector of the Holy Sepulchre) 1099–1100
Baldwin I 1100–1118
Baldwin II 1118–1131 Eustace Grenier (Regent, 1123)
William Bures (Regent, 1123-1124)
Melisende and Fulk 1131–1153 Fulk lost influence after 1136, and died in 1143. Melisende continued to reign by right of law
Baldwin III 1143–1162, was crowned as co-ruler and heir of Melisende 1143; claimed full power in 1153 Melisende (Regent and advisor, 1154–1161)
Amalric I 1162–1174
Baldwin IV 1174–1185 Raymond III of Tripoli (Regent, 1174–1177)
Guy of Lusignan (Regent, 1183–1184)
Baldwin V 1185–1186 Raymond III of Tripoli (Regent, 1185–1186)
Sibylla and Guy 1186–1190
Jerusalem lost in 1187; Sybilla died in 1190, but Guy refused to cede crown; kingship disputed until 1192, after which kings ruled over a narrow coastal strip
Isabella I 1192–1205
With Conrad I 1192
With Henry I 1192–1197
With Amalric II 1197–1205
Maria 1205–1212 John of Ibelin (Regent, 1205–1210)
With John I 1210–1212
Yolande (Isabella II) 1212–1228 John I (Regent 1212–1225)
With Frederick 1225–1228
Conrad II (Conrad of Hohenstaufen) 1228–1254 Frederick II (Regent, 1228–1243)
Queen Alice of Cyprus (Regent, 1243–1246)
King Henry I of Cyprus (Regent, 1246–1253)
Queen Plaisance of Cyprus (Regent, 1253–1254)
Conrad III 1254–1268 Queen Plaisance of Cyprus (Regent, 1254–1261
Isabella of Lusignan (Regent, 1261–1264)
Hugh of Antioch (Regent, 1264–1268 (challenged by the claim of Hugh of Brienne))
Hugh (the former Hugh of Antioch) 1268–1284 (firstly challenged by claims of Hugh of Brienne and Mary of Antioch, then opposed by Charles of Anjou)
Charles of Anjou 1277–1285 (Opposed by Hugh I and John II)
John II 1284–1285 (Opposed by Charles of Anjou)
Henry II 1285–1291
Acre captured in 1291; kingdom ends.

Claimants Kings of Jerusalem (1291 until today)

Origins of the claims

Over the years, many European rulers claimed to be the rightful heirs to one of these claims. None of these claimants, however, has actually ruled over a part of the Kingdom:

  • After the end of the kingdom, Henry II of Cyprus continued to use the title of king of Jerusalem. After his death the title was claimed by his direct heirs, the kings of Cyprus.
  • The title was also continuously used by the Angevin kings of Naples, whose founder, Charles of Anjou, had bought a claim to the throne from Mary of Antioch. Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated as a tributary of the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance. As Naples was a papal fief, the Popes often endorsed the title of King of Jerusalem as well as of Naples, and the history of these claims is that of the Neapolitan Kingdom.

Potential claimants today

There are several potential claimants today on the basis of (disputed) inheritance of the title. None of these has, or claims, any power in the area of the former Kingdom.

Lines of succession in several claims

Italics indicate individuals who did not themselves use the title of king of Jerusalem.

Cypriot claimants

House of Lusignan

In 1460, Charlotte was dispossessed of Cyprus by her illegitimate half-brother James. However, she maintained her claims until 1485, when she resigned them to the next legitimate heir, Charles I of Savoy.

House of Lusignan

  • Lusignan illegitimate claimants :
    • James II 1460–1473 (illegitimate, usurped Cyprus from his half-sister Charlotte)
    • James III 1473–1474
    • Catherine 1474–1489 (wife and widow of James II)
    • Catherine surrendered her rights to the Republic of Venice in 1489.

House of Savoy

On the death of Charles, the Duchy of Savoy passed to his heir-male Philip, and the Dukes of Savoy continued to claim Jerusalem. However, there was never historically a bar on female succession to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although it always ran through a semi-salic line. The birth order of Anna and Marie, daughters of Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, is uncertain, so the heirs of either might be the Savoyard heirs-general. Neither appear to have used the title king of Jerusalem or ever asserted a claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem.

House of Ligne or House of Urach-Württemberg

House of Savoy

Neapolitan claimants

House of Anjou

Mary of Antioch claimed the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277. She was the daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende of Cyprus. Melisende was the youngest daughter of Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem and her fourth husband, Amalric II of Jerusalem.

Since Mary was, at the time of the death of Conrad III, the only living grandchild of queen Isabella, she claimed the throne on basis of proximity in blood to the kings of Jerusalem. Denied by the Haute Cour, she went to Rome and sold her rights, with papal blessing and confirmation, to Charles of Anjou in 1277.

Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated also as tributary to the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance.

House of Anjou

House of Anjou

House of Anjou

House of Anjou

Rene I united the claims of junior and senior lines. However, in 1441, control of the Kingdom of Naples was lost to Alfonso V of Aragon, who also claimed the kingdom of Jerusalem thereby.

In addition, while René was succeeded in Bar by his grandson René of Vaudemont, René's nephew and heir male Charles IV of Anjou claimed the kingdoms of Sicily and Jerusalem, and he then testamented them to his cousin Louis XI of France.

In 1494 Charles VIII of France also claimed the Kingdom of Naples and Jerusalem as the great-grandson of Louis II of Anjou and launched his conquest.

  • Angevin-Lorraine claimants :

House of Anjou

  • Yolande 1480–1483, Titular Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, Aragon etc

House of Lorraine

House of Habsburg-Lorraine

House of Anjou

  • French claimants
    • Charles IV 1480–1481, heir male of René, Titular King of Jerusalem and Sicily
    • Louis 1481–1483, first cousin, by testament
    • Charles V 1483–1498 — In 1495, Charles VIII of France had conquered Naples and was crowned as king. He died 1498, leaving his sister Anne of Beaujeu as his heir-general, and his second cousin Louis XII of France as his heir male. After Anne of France, the heir-general was Anne of Laval, great-granddaughter of Louis XI's eldest surviving sister. See above (Cyprus claim)
    • Louis V 1498–1515 took up the claim, although he was heir-male of Charles and lacked close descent from the main Neapolitan lines (he was a descendant of the eldest daughter of Charles II of Naples). He succeeded in conquering part of Naples 1500–1504. No other French king has adopted the title. [1].
  • Habsburg claimants :
    • Joseph 1707–1711
    • Charles VI 1711–1740, who lost the Kingdom of Naples in 1734 to a Bourbon prince, the future Charles III of Spain, and renounced his claims, retaining his titles to Naples and Jerusalem during his lifetime.
    • Charles of Bourbon 1734–1788 Charles was obliged by treaty to prevent the union of the crowns of Spain and the Two Sicilies, and so resigned the Two Sicilies to his son Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. However, the Kings of Spain continued to use the titles of the Two Sicilies and Jerusalem.

Other historic claims

  • Hugh of Brienne and his heirs represent the senior heirs-general to the Kingdom, although they never pressed the claim after Hugh's rejection by the Haute Cour. His current heir-general is Charles-Antoine Lamoral, aforementioned, who calls himself the Prince de Ligne de la Trémoïlle.
  • Frederick of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia, briefly used the title after the death of Conradin in 1268, as grandson of Frederick II, who had crowned himself King of Jerusalem in his own right. This claim was never recognized in Outremer or elsewhere.
  • According to E.P. Karnovich (1886)[1], there was a colonel named Prince de Lusignan in the Russian service, allowed to be called the titular King of Cyprus and Jerusalem by Tsar Nicholas I. He claimed to be descended from Christobul de Lusignan, who had served in the Greek army under the Byzantine empire and was allegedly descended from a member of the Cypriot House of Lusignan who'd moved to Egypt and on to St Petersburg in Russia. Tsar Nicholas I allowed Colonel Lusignan to be matriculated as a Russian noble, that is a person holding an office which ennobled him.[2] The colonel was probably known as Louis Christian de Lusignan.[3]

References

  1. ^ Evgenii Petrovich Karnovich (1823-1885) Rodovye prozvaniya I tituly v Rossii (Family Names and Titles in Russia) St Peterburgh 1886
  2. ^ Cecil R. Humphery-Smith, Princes of Lusignan page 5 The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies 2004.
  3. ^ In the issue No. 180 of the Peterburgskiy Listok (Petersburg List) Newspaper July 3-15, 1884, a list of deceased in St Petersburg between June 11 and June 18 was found. There was a record for Louis Christian de Lusignan, colonel (retired). In the same newspaper issue No. 172 June 25-July 7, 1884, the following article was published: "The deceased who was buried thereby on Smolensk graveyard on July 23, was a titled King of Cyprus and Jerusalem and Armenia, descendant of one of the protector of God's Casket, colonel of the Russian service, Louis de Lusignan."

See also
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