Philip of Ibelin (1180–1227)

Philip of Ibelin (1180-1227) was a leading nobleman of the Kingdom of Cyprus. As a younger son of Balian of Ibelin and the dowager queen Maria Komnene, he came from the high Crusader nobility of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.^[1]

Philip
regent of Cyprus
Born	1180
Died	1227 (aged 46–47)
Noble family	House of Ibelin-Jaffa
Spouse(s)	Alice of Montbéliard
Issue	Maria, nun John (jurist), count of Jaffa and Ascalon
Father	Balian of Ibelin
Mother	Maria Komnene

Life

Philip is first mentioned in 1206, when he and his older brother John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut accompanied their niece Alice^{[Note 1]} to Cyprus for her marriage to Hugh I of Cyprus. Both brothers moved their power base to the island permanently before 1217, probably after coming into conflict with King John of Jerusalem. In 1218 Hugh I of Cyprus died and Philip was made steward (i.e. regent) to Henry I of Cyprus during his minority - in this position he was instrumental in the house of Ibelin's rising dominance over the island.^[2]

Marriage and issue

Philip married Alice of Montbéliard (died after 1244), a sister of Odo of Montbéliard.^[2] They had two children:

1. Maria of Ibelin († after 1244), became a nun, for whom in 1244 Alice funded the establishment of St Theodor monastery in Nicosia.^[3]
2. John of Ibelin († 1266), Count of Jaffa^[2]

Notes

1. Alice was the grand-daughter of their mother, Maria Kommene, by her first marriage

Bibliography

• Steven Runciman: A History of the Crusades. 1951.
• Kenneth M. Setton, Robert Lee Wolff, Harry W. Hazard: A History of the Crusades, Volume II. The Later Crusades, 1189-1311. 2006.

References

1. Boas, Adrian (14 October 2015). The Crusader World. Routledge. ISBN 9781317408321.
2. Schrader, Helena P. (23 August 2018). Rebels Against Tyranny: Civil War in the Crusader States. Wheatmark, Inc. ISBN 9781627876247.
3. Cyprus Today. Public Information Office. 2006.