Maria of Antioch (pretender)

Maria of Antioch (died after 10 December 1307) was the pretender to the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277. She was the daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende de Lusignan. By her mother, she was the granddaughter of Queen Isabella I and King Amalric II of Jerusalem.

The King of Jerusalem, Conradin, was executed in 1268 by Charles of Anjou, who had by papal authority seized Conradin's Kingdom of Sicily. At the time of his death, Maria was the only living grandchild of Queen Isabella; this allowed her to claim the throne of Jerusalem on the basis of proximity in blood to the Kings of Jerusalem.[1] The Haute Cour of Jerusalem passed over her claim, however, and instead chose Hugh III of Cyprus - a great-grandson of Queen Isabella I - as the next ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Maria then went to Rome and proposed the sale of her rights to Charles of Anjou; with papal blessing and confirmation, these were sold to Charles in 1277.[2] Charles then took the title King of Jerusalem, and conquered Acre, holding it until 1285. Thereafter, the claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem frequently changed hands, being passed down by testament or conquest rather than by direct inheritance.

Maria died, childless, in Castello de Canosa, Apulia, after 10 December 1307.

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Setton, Kenneth M. (ed.) (1985). A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East, p. 201. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-09144-9
  2. ↑ Hindley, Geoffrey (2004). The Crusades: Islam and Christianity in the Struggle for World Supremacy, p. 269. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-1344-5.
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