Raymond II, Count of Tripoli facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raymond II
His seal
Count of Tripoli
Reign	1137–1152
Predecessor	Pons
Successor	Raymond III
Born	c. 1116
Died	1152 (aged 35–36) Tripoli
Spouse	Hodierna of Jerusalem
Issue	Raymond III Melisende
House	House of Toulouse
Father	Pons of Tripoli
Mother	Cecile of France
Religion	Catholicism

Raymond II (Latin: Raimundus; c. 1116 – 1152) was the count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152. A count was a powerful ruler of a region, similar to a duke or prince. Raymond became count after his father, Pons, Count of Tripoli, was killed during a battle. Raymond believed that some local Christians had betrayed his father. Because of this, he attacked their villages and punished many people.

Raymond was captured during a fight with Imad ad-Din Zengi, a strong Muslim ruler from Mosul. To get Raymond released, two important castles, Montferrand and Rafaniya, were given to Zengi in 1137. Since Raymond's army was not strong enough to protect his borders, he gave several forts to the Knights Hospitaller in 1142. These were special groups of Christian knights who protected pilgrims and fought for their faith.

During the Second Crusade, Raymond's great-uncle, Alfonso Jordan, died suddenly. Some people spread rumors that Raymond had poisoned him because Alfonso Jordan might have wanted to claim Tripoli for himself. Later, Alfonso Jordan's son, Bertrand, did try to take the fortress of Areimeh in Tripoli in 1149. But Raymond got it back with help from Muslim rulers and then gave the castle to the Knights Templar, another group of powerful Christian knights. Raymond's marriage to Hodierna of Jerusalem was not a happy one. He was later killed by a group called the Order of Assassins near the city of Tripoli. He was the first Christian ruler to be murdered by them.

Early Life and Family

Raymond II was the older son of Pons, Count of Tripoli and Cecile of France. We don't know his exact birth date, but he was likely born around 1116. When his father died in 1137, Raymond was described as "adolescent," meaning he was at least 15 years old. He and his younger brother, Philip, were old enough to sign important documents with their father in the early 1130s. Raymond was probably promised in marriage to Hodierna, a daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem, as early as 1127.

Becoming Count and Early Challenges

Facing Powerful Enemies

The Crusader states in 1135

In 1137, a Muslim commander from Damascus named Bazwāj attacked Tripoli. Raymond's father, Pons, was defeated in battle and later captured and executed. Bazwāj took a border fort but did not attack the main city of Tripoli. Raymond was very angry about his father's death. He attacked the villages of local Christians in the Mount Lebanon area, believing they had betrayed his father. Many of these captured people were severely punished in Tripoli.

After Pons' death, Imad al-Din Zengi, a strong Muslim ruler, invaded Tripoli in July 1137. Zengi laid siege to a castle called Montferrand. Raymond asked his uncle, Fulk, King of Jerusalem, for help. Fulk and Raymond decided to attack Zengi's forces, thinking they could easily win. However, Zengi surprised them and attacked first. Many Christian soldiers were killed, and Raymond himself was captured. Fulk and his remaining soldiers fled to Montferrand. Zengi then besieged Montferrand again.

When Zengi heard that more Christian armies were coming to help, he started talking with those inside the castle. The people inside Montferrand didn't know about the approaching help. They agreed to give the castle to Zengi in exchange for safe passage and the release of Raymond and all other Christian prisoners.

Strengthening Borders with Knights

After 1137, some Byzantine writers suggested that Raymond had promised loyalty to the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos. However, Raymond did not join the Emperor's military campaigns against Muslim rulers in 1138. This might have been because he didn't have enough soldiers to help.

To better protect his county's eastern borders, Raymond gave several settlements to the Knights Hospitallers in 1142. This gift included "the fortress of the Kurds," which later became the famous Krak des Chevaliers. This was a very important Crusader castle. He also promised the Hospitallers the castles of Montferrand and Rafaniya if they could recapture them from Zengi. By giving land to this military order, Raymond hoped to secure his county's defense. This generous gift helped create a powerful, almost independent, state for the Hospitallers.

Family Troubles and a Mysterious Death

The Second Crusade and a Claim to Tripoli

Krak des Chevaliers: a large fortress built by the Knights Hospitaller on land Raymond gave them in 1142

Raymond II was a great-grandson of Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade. Raymond IV was the first to call himself Count of Tripoli. However, Raymond II's family line came from Bertrand of Toulouse, whose claim to be a legitimate son was debated. Raymond IV's other son, Alfonso Jordan, was born after his father started using the title of Count of Tripoli. This made Alfonso Jordan a strong claimant to the title.

Alfonso Jordan was a leader of the Second Crusade. He died shortly after arriving in the Holy Land in April 1148. Because his death was so sudden, rumors spread that he had been murdered, even though he probably died from natural causes after a long sea journey. Some believed Raymond had poisoned him, fearing that his uncle wanted to take Tripoli. However, this story is not very reliable. Another writer thought Raymond's sister-in-law, Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem, had poisoned Alfonso Jordan to stop him from claiming Tripoli.

Raymond did not attend the meeting of Crusade leaders in Acre in 1148. He also stayed away from the Crusaders' siege of Damascus that year. In contrast, Alfonso Jordan's son, Bertrand, who had come with his father, joined the Crusaders' fights. Bertrand decided to claim Tripoli for himself and took the fortress of Areimeh in 1149. Raymond could not remove Bertrand from the fort, which controlled important roads. So, Raymond asked for help from Muslim rulers, including Mu'in ad-Din Unur of Damascus and Nur ad-Din. These two Muslim rulers captured Areimeh and imprisoned Bertrand and his family. After destroying the castle, they returned the land to Raymond. Raymond then gave this land to the Knights Templar in the early 1150s.

Final Years and Assassination

The trobadour Jaufre Rudel dying in the arms of Raymond's wife, Hodierna of Jerusalem

In 1150, Baldwin III of Jerusalem traveled through Tripoli to meet with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Baldwin asked Raymond to join him, and Raymond agreed. They both oversaw the transfer of castles to the Byzantines.

In 1151, a fleet from Egypt attacked Tripoli, destroying ships and capturing or killing many people in the harbor. Later, in December, Crusader troops raided the Beqaa Valley, taking prisoners and goods. In April or May 1152, Nur ad-Din attacked the county and captured Tortosa, leaving soldiers there. Baldwin III came to Tripoli and held a meeting with important leaders. Nur ad-Din's troops left Tortosa after the king arrived, but they destroyed the fortress. Since it was too expensive to rebuild, Raymond gave Tortosa first to the local bishop, then to the Templars. They turned it into one of their most important bases.

Raymond and his wife, Hodierna, had a difficult marriage. Her sister, Melisende, tried to help them resolve their problems, but their relationship remained tense. After the meeting in Tripoli, Melisende and Hodierna left for Jerusalem. Raymond rode with them for a short distance. On his way back to Tripoli, a group of Order of Assassins attacked and killed him at the southern gate of the city. Two of his knights were also killed. The reason for his murder is not fully known. Since the Assassins had not killed Christian rulers before, some historians believe they were angered by the Templars setting up their base in Tortosa.

Family Tree

Raymond and Hodierna's marriage date is not certain, but it might have been in 1133. Their son, Raymond III, was born in 1140. This meant he was still a child when he became Count of Tripoli after his father's death in 1152.