The Lordship of Sidon (French: Saete/Sagette), (Later County of Sidon) was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,[1] one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much smaller than the others and had the same level of significance as several neighbors, such as Toron and Beirut, which were sub-vassals.

Lordship (County) of Sidon
1110–1268
Coat of arms of the House of Grenier of Sidon
Coat of arms of the House of Grenier
StatusVassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem
CapitalSidon
Common languagesLatin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek)
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism
GovernmentFeudal monarchy
Lord/Count 
• 1110–1123
Eustace I Grenier
• 1239–1260
Julian Grenier
Historical eraHigh Middle Ages
• First Crusade
1110
• Conquered by Baibars
1268
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Fatimid Caliphate
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)

Sidon was captured in December, 1110 and given to Eustace I Grenier. The lordship was a coastal strip on the Mediterranean Sea between Tyre and Beirut. It was conquered by Saladin in 1187 and remained in Muslim hands until it was restored to Christian control by German Crusaders in the Crusade of 1197. Julien Grenier sold it to the Knights Templar after it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1260 before the Battle of Ain Jalut. One of the vassals of the lordship was the Lordship of the Shuf.

Rulers of Sidon edit

Lordship of the Schuf edit

The Schuf was created out of the Lordship of Sidon as a vassal around 1170. It was centred on the Cave of Tyron. Julian of Sidon sold it to the Teutonic Knights in 1256.

  • Andrew of Schuf (13th century)
  • John of Schuf (13th century)
  • Julian of Sidon (mid 13th century)

See also edit

Sources edit

  1. ^ According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin

Bibliography edit

  • John L. La Monte, Feudal Monarchy in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1100-1291. The Medieval Academy of America, 1932.
  • Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Feudal Nobility and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1174-1277. The Macmillan Press, 1973.
  • Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100-1187. Cambridge University Press, 1952.
  • Steven Tibble, Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291. Clarendon Press, 1989.