War of the Antiochene Succession

The War of the Antiochene Succession, also known as the Antiochene War of Succession, was a series of armed conflicts in northern Syria between 1201 and 1219 over the disputed succession of Bohemond III of Antioch. The Principality of Antioch was the leading Christian power in the region during the last decades of the 12th century, but the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia challenged its supremacy. The capture of an important fortress, Bagras, in Syria by Leo II of Cilician Armenia gave rise to a prolonged conflict already in the early 1190s. Leo tried to capture Antioch, but the Greek and Latin burghers formed a commune that prevented the Armenian soldiers from occupying the town. Bohemond III's eldest son, Raymond, died in 1197, leaving an infant son, Raymond-Roupen. The boy's mother, Alice, was Leo II's niece and heir presumptive. Bohemond III and the Antiochene noblemen confirmed Raymond-Roupen's right to succeed his grandfather in Antioch, but the commune preferred Bohemond III's younger son, Bohemond, Raymond-Roupen's uncle, who was already Count of Tripoli.

Bohemond of Tripoli seized Antioch without resistance after his father died in April 1201, prompting many Antiochene noblemen to seek refuge in Cilician Armenia. Leo invaded the principality in almost every year between 1201 and 1208, but he had to return to his kingdom on each occasion because either az-Zahir Ghazi, the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, or Kaykaus I, the Seljuq sultan of Rum, stormed into Cilician Armenia in his absence. Pope Innocent III initially supported Leo. However, the conflict between Leo and the Knights Templar over Bagras led to Leo's excommunication in 1208. During the following years, Leo captured new fortresses in Syria, only to abandon them in 1213 in an effort to improve his relationship with the Holy See. Taking advantage of Bohemond IV's isolation, Leo entered Antioch, helping Raymond-Roupen seize the principality in 1216. Before long, Leo abandoned Bagras and lost the Armenian fortresses to the north of the Taurus Mountains to the Seljuqs. Raymond-Roupen increased taxes, which made him unpopular in Antioch. His relationship with Leo became tense, enabling Bohemond IV to regain Antioch in 1219. The war contributed to the weakening of the Christian states in northern Syria.

Most official documents mentioning episodes of the war have been preserved by two military orders, the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights, because the state archives of the two crusader states deeply involved in the war—the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli—were destroyed, just like most of the relevant documents of the Knights Templar. The state archives of Cilician Armenia, a major actor during the conflict, have not survived either. The correspondence between the Cilician Armenian royal court and the Holy See, and a detailed report completed in 1204 by papal legates contain further information. Another important source of the conflict is a travelogue by the German cleric Wilbrand of Oldenburg who visited the region in this period.^[1] Often cited narrative sources of the war include the early-13th-century Old French continuation of William of Tyre's Chronicon, known as the Estoire d'Eracles ,^[2] and chronicles by the Syriac Orthodox bishop^[3] Bar Hebraeus, the Armenian aristocrat Sempad the Constable, and the Muslim scholar^[4] Ibn al-Athir.^[5] Archaeological evidence derrives from excavations at sites at the city of Antioch and the fortress of Bagras.^[5]

After Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Syria and Egypt, destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 1180s, Antioch became the leading Christian power of the Levant.^[6] By 1186 Leo II, Lord of Cilician Armenia, had already acknowledged the suzerainty of Bohemond III of Antioch,^[7] but their relationship became tense after Bohemond defaulted on a loan from Leo.^[7] Saladin annihilited the Jerusalemite field army in the Battle of Hattin in 1187. Subsequently, he conquered almost all western Christian lands in Syria and Palestine, but the Third Crusade (a large military expedition conducted by western European crusaders) secured the survival of the three crusader states.^[8]

In 1191 Leo captured and rebuilt Bagras, a strategically important fortress that Saladin had seized from the Knights Templar.^{[9] [10]} Bohemond ordered Leo to return it to the Templars, but Leo refused, stating that his right of recent conquest was stronger that the claim of the Templars who had lost their property.^{[7] [10] [11]} After Bohemond failed to include Cilician Armenia in his truce with Saladin in 1192, Leo invited Bohemond to Bagras to start negotiations.^{[7] [12]} Bohemond accepted the offer, but Leo took him prisoner, forcing him to surrender the city of Antioch.^{[7] [10] [13]} Although the Antiochene noblemen (who were closely related to Armenian nobles) were willing to accept Leo's rule, the mainly Greek and Latin townspeople formed a commune and prevented the Armenian soldiers from occupying the city.^{[13] [14]}

Peace was restored through mediation by Henry I of Jerusalem, who persuaded both Leo and Bohemond to renounce their claims to suzerainty over each other. Leo's occupation of Bagras was confirmed, and Bohemond's eldest son, Raymond, married Leo's niece and heir presumptive, Alice.^{[15] [16]} Raymond died in 1197, and his widow gave birth to a posthumous son, Raymond-Roupen.^{[17] [12]} The almost sixty-year-old Bohemond III sent Alice and her son to Armenia, showing that he did not want to acknowledge his infant grandson's right to succeed him in Antioch.^{[13] [17]}

Leo had meanwhile united the Armenian Church in Cilicia with Rome and acknowledged the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI.^{[18] [19]} The emperor's envoy, Conrad of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Mainz, was present when Leo was crowned the first king of Cilician Armenia on 6 January 1198.^{[18] [19]} Before long, Conrad went to Antioch and persuaded Bohemond and his barons to swear an oath to accept Raymund-Roupen's right to inherit Antioch.^{[16] [17]}

Bohemond III's younger son, Bohemond, Count of Tripoli, disputed the validity of this oath.^[20] He expelled his father from Antioch with the support of the Templars, the Hospitallers and the commune of the burghers in late 1198.^{[20] [21]} Three months later, Leo invaded the principality, forcing the younger Bohemond to permit his father to return to Antioch.^[21] Pope Innocent III also supported the restoration of Bohemond III in Antioch, but, responding to the Templars' demand, he also began urging Leo to restore Bagras to them.^[20]

When Bohemond III died in April 1201,^[20] Bohemond of Tripoli hurried to Antioch,^{[24] [25]} where, because he was the late prince's closest living relative, he was recognized by the commune of the townspeople as his father's rightful heir.^[24] The nobles who had regarded Raymond-Roupen (the only son of Bohemond III's eldest son) as the lawful prince fled to Cilician Armenia.^{[20] [24]} Bohemond IV won over the Knights Hospitaller by repaying a loan that Raymond III of Tripoli had long before borrowed from them.^[24]

The war, which spilled into many theatres, was sparked by Leo's continued support for Raymond-Roupen's claim.^[25] During the conflict, neither Leo nor Bohemond IV was able to control his own territory (Cilician Armenia and Tripoli, respectively) and Antioch at the same time, due to insufficient forces.^[25] Az-Zahir Ghazi, the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, and the Turkoman rulers of Anatolia were always ready to invade Cilician Armenia, while the Ayyubid rulers of Hama and Homs controlled the territory between Antioch and Tripoli, hindering the movements of Bohemond's troops between his two states.^[25]

Shortly after Bohemond returned to Antioch, Leo laid siege to it to press Raymond-Roupen's cause. Bohemond's allies, az-Zahir Ghazi and Sultan Suleiman II of Rum, invaded Cilician Armenia, forcing Leo to withdraw from Antioch in July 1201.^[24] Leo soon sent letters to Pope Innocent, informing him of Bohemond's cooperation with the Muslim rulers.^[25] He again invaded Antioch in 1202, but Aimery, King of Jerusalem and Cyprus, and the papal legate, Cardinal Soffredo, mediated a truce.^[24] After Bohemond IV refused to acknowledge the right of the Holy See to pass judgement in the case of the succession of Antioch, Leo renewed the war.^[26] Taking advantage of Bohemond's absence, Leo entered Antioch on 11 November 1203, but he was unable to seize the citadel, which was defended by the Templars and the troops of the commune.^[24] Before long, az-Zahir Ghazi again stormed into Cilician Armenia, forcing Leo to return to his kingdom.^{[27] [28]}

The Tripolitan aristocrat Renoart of Nephin married an heiress without Bohemond's consent for which he was condemned by the royal court. In response, he rebelled against Bohemond and routed him at the gates of Tripoli in late 1204.^{[29] [27]} Taking advantage of the situation, Leo seized the Antiochene fortresses in the Amanus Mountains on the southestern border of Cilician Armenia, which controlled the road towards Antioch.^[28] He also laid siege to the fortress at Trapessac on 25 December 1205, but az-Zahir Ghazi's troops routed his army.^[28] Meanwhile, Bohemond had crushed Renoart's revolt in Tripoli which enabled him to return to Antioch and force Leo to sign a truce for eight years in summer 1206.^{[28] [27]}

By the time of Bohemond's return, a papal legate, Peter of Capua, had come to Antioch. Initially, he acted as a neutral mediator between Bohemond and Leo, but he run into a sharp conflict with the Latin Patriarch of Antioch, Peter of Angoulême (who was Raymond-Roupen's supporter) over appointments to church offices, which led to the suspension of Peter of Angoulême's patriarchal rights.^[30] Exploiting the situation to get rid of his opponent, Bohemond replaced Peter of Angoulême with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Symeon II, with the support of the commune in early 1207.^{[29] [30]} The next year, Peter of Angoulême was reconciled with the legate, excommunicated Bohemond and the commune, and persuaded some nobles to rise up against Bohemond, forcing him to take refuge in the citadel. Leo entered Antioch with a small force, but Bohemond made a sortie and defeated the Armenians.^{[31] [30]} Peter of Angoulême was captured and died of dehydration in prison in 1208.^[32]

In 1208, the Ayyubid sultan al-Adil I invaded the County of Tripoli, creating an opportunity for Leo to plunder the land around Antioch.^[31] Bohemond persuaded Kaykaus I, Sultan of Rum, to invade Cilician Armenia, forcing Leo to withdraw from Antioch.^[33] Pope Innocent tasked Albert Avogadro, Patriarch of Jerusalem, with mediating a peace.^[31] Avogadro, who was an ally of the Knights Templar, urged Leo to return Bagras to them.^[31] In an attempt to renew the truce, Leo obeyed the legate's demand, promising to withdraw from Bagras.^[28]

Leo soon broke his promise and refused to return Bagras to the Templars,^[28] preferring to grant fortresses in Cilician Armenia to the Teutonic Knights.^{[32] [34]} He also terminated the union of the Armenian Church with Rome and arranged the marriage of Raymond-Roupen with Helvis, sister of Hugh I of Cyprus.^[34] In 1211, he ambushed a caravan which had been transporting provisions to the Templars.^[35] In the skirmish, Guillaume de Chartres, Grand Master of the Templars, was badly injured.^[35] News of Leo's action shocked Pope Innocent, who forbade all Christian rulers to assist Leo and urged John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem, to intervene on the Templars' behalf.^[36] John sent fifty knights to northern Syria to fight against Leo.^[37] in response, Leo expelled the Latin priests from Cilician Armenia and gave shelter to the Orthodox Patriarch, Symeon, who had been driven out of Antioch.^[38] He dispatched Raymond-Roupen to plunder the region of Antioch in 1212.^[35]

Leo realised that he could overcome Bohemond only if he come to an agreement with Bohemond's principal allies, the Templars, the papacy and Jerusalem. For this purpose, he renounced all lands that he had seized from the Templars, although retained Bagras.^[39] He also married off his eldest daughter, Stephanie to John of Brienne in 1214.^[40] His acts pacified Pope Innocent who lifted his excommunication.^[39] During the same period, Bohemond's position weakened.^[40] His attempt to take vengeance on the Assassins for the murder of his eldest son, Raymond, brought him into conflict with his old ally, az-Zahir Ghazi of Aleppo,^[34] and forced him to stay in Tripoli.^[35]

With Leo's support, Raymond-Roupen began to find new allies, promising land grants to the Hospitallers and Antiochene noblemen, including Acharie of Sermin, the head of the commune of the burghers. Taking advantage of the absence of Bohemond IV, Leo and his army entered Antioch during the night of 14 February 1216.^[41] A few days later, the Templars, who had held the citadel, also surrendered without a struggle.^{[34] [41]} Raymond-Roupen was consecrated prince by the Latin Patriarch of Antioch, Peter of Ivrea.^{[34] [41]} Thus having seized the Principality of Antioch for his protégé, Leo restored Bagras to the Knights Templar.^{[35] [34]} During Leo's absence, Kaykaus I captured the Armenian forts to the north of the Taurus Mountains, forcing him to concentrate on the defense of Cilician Armenia.^{[42] [35]}

After finding an empty treasury in Antioch, Raymond-Roupen increased taxation, which made him unpopular among his subjects.^[41] His relationship with Leo quickly deteriorated which cost him his claim to succeed Leo in Cilician Armenia.^[43] In 1217, he tried to capture Leo, but the Templars saved the Armenian king.^[35] Bohemond visited King John of Jerusalem in Acre in autumn 1217.^[44] Early the next year, John recognized Bohemond as the lawful prince, but did not provide him with military assistance.^[45] The burghers and noblemen of Antioch rose up against Raymond-Roupen.^[46] Their leader, William Farabel, persuaded Bohemond to return.^[46] After Bohemond's arrival, Raymond-Roupen at first sought refuge in the citadel but soon fled to Cilician Armenia, granting the citadel to the Hospitallers.^[46] Raymond-Roupen could never regain Antioch.^[47]

Leo was dying when Raymond-Roupen came to Cilician Armenia.^{[35] [46]} With Bohemond's restoration and Leo's death in May 1219, the war (as the historian Jochen Burgtorf states) "came to a rather unspectacular end".^[47] Leo disinherited Raymond-Roupen and willed his kingdom to his five-year-old daughter, Isabella.^{[35] [46]} Both Raymond-Roupen (the grandson of Leo's elder brother, Rupen) and John, King of Jerusalem (the husband of Leo's elder daughter, Stephanie) refused to accept Leo's last will, claiming Cilician Armenia for themselves.^{[48] [49]} The new conflict further weakened the Christian states of northern Syria.^[47]

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