Barisan of Ibelin

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Barisan of Ibelin or Barisan d'Ibelin, later Balian of Ibelin or Balian d'Ibelin (died 1150/1152) was an important figure in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and was the founder of the Ibelin family. His name was later written as "Balian" and he is sometimes known as Balian the Elder or Balian I.

From his name, Barisan was probably from northern Italy (perhaps Pisa or Genoa) or Sardinia. His father was perhaps also a Barisan(us). However, nothing is known of his life before 1115, when he appears as Constable of the County of Jaffa and Askalon. In 1120 he was present at the Council of Nablus, where the first laws of the kingdom were promulgated. Around and before 1122 (probably in 1120), his services were rewarded with a marriage to Helvis of Ramla, daughter of Baldwin I of Ramla. In 1134, when Hugh II of Le Puiset, count of Jaffa, rebelled against King Fulk, Barisan supported the king, and soon became prominent at Fulk's court. In 1141 he was named (some say he inherited it) lord of the newly constructed castle of Yebna, located in the County of Jaffa between Jaffa itself and the fortress of Ascalon, which was at this point still controlled by Fatimid Egypt, and from which his family took the Frenchified name, Ibelin, which also became the Frenchified name of the castle itself. In 1148 Barisan inherited the nearby lordship of Ramla, through his wife Helvis (d. after 1158), daughter of Baudoin I, Lord of Ramla, and wife, whom he married before 1122. That year (1148), Barisan was also present at the council convened at Acre after the arrival of the Second Crusade, at which it was decided to attack Damascus (see Siege of Damascus).

With Helvis, Barisan was the father of:

Barisan died in 1150/1152 and Ibelin was inherited by Hugh. Helvis then married Manasses of Hierges, Constable of Jerusalem.

[edit] Sources

  • William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey, trans. Columbia University Press, 1943.
  • Peter W. Edbury, John of Ibelin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Boydell Press, 1997.
  • Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1952.