Editing Raynald of Châtillon (section)

== Lord of Oultrejordain ==

=== First years ===

After his return from Constantinople early in 1177, Raynald married [[Stephanie of Milly, Lady of Oultrejordain|Stephanie of Milly]], the lady of [[Oultrejordain]], and Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV also granted him [[Hebron]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=117}} The first extant charter styling Raynald as "Lord of Hebron and Montréal" was issued in November 1177.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=100 (note 22)}} He owed service of 60 knights to the Crown, showing that he had become one of the wealthiest barons of the realm.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=117}}{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=593 (note 2)}} From his castles at [[Kerak Castle|Kerak]] and [[Montreal (Crusader castle)|Montréal]], he controlled the routes between the two main parts of Saladin's empire, Syria and Egypt.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=268}} Raynald and Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV's brother-in-law, [[William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon|William of Montferrat]], jointly granted large estates to [[Rodrigo Álvarez]], the founder of the [[Order of Mountjoy]], to strengthen the defence of the southern and eastern frontier of the kingdom.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=117}} After William of Montferrat died in June 1177, the king made Raynald regent of the kingdom.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=118}}

[[File:Seal Reynald of Chatillon 2.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A seal depicting a bird of prey and a fortress |Raynald's seal]]

Baldwin IV's cousin Count [[Philip I of Flanders]] came to the Holy Land at the head of a crusader army in early August 1177.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=268}} The king offered him the regency, but Philip refused the offer, saying that he did not want to stay in the kingdom.{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=268–269}} Philip declared that he was "willing to take orders" from anybody, but he protested when Baldwin confirmed Raynald's position as "regent of the kingdom and of the armies" as he thought that a military commander without special powers should lead the army.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=123}} Philip left the kingdom a month after his arrival.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=133}}

Saladin invaded the region of [[Ascalon]], but the royal army launched an attack on him in the [[Battle of Montgisard]] on 25{{nbsp}}November, leading to his defeat.{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=270–271}} William of Tyre and [[Ernoul]] attributed the victory to the king, but [[Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad]] and other Muslim authors recorded that Raynald was the supreme commander.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=100 (note 24)}} Saladin himself referred to the battle as a "major defeat which God mended with the famous battle of Hattin",<ref>''The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin'', p. 54.</ref> according to Baha ad-Din.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=101 (note 25)}}

Raynald signed a majority of royal charters between 1177 and 1180, with his name always first among signatories, showing that he was the king's most influential official during this period.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=101 (note 26)}} Raynald became one of the principal supporters of [[Guy of Lusignan]], who married the king's elder sister, [[Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem|Sybilla]], in early 1180, although many barons of the realm had opposed the marriage.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=275}}{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=101}} The king's half sister, [[Isabella I of Jerusalem|Isabella]] (whose stepfather, [[Balian of Ibelin]], was Guy of Lusignan's opponent), was engaged to Raynald's stepson, [[Humphrey IV of Toron]], in autumn 1180.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=275}}

Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV dispatched Raynald, along with [[Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem|Heraclius]], the [[Latin patriarch of Jerusalem]], to mediate a reconciliation between Bohemond III of Antioch and Patriarch Aimery in early 1181.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=101 (note 27)}}{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=277}} The same year, [[Ruben III, Prince of Armenia|Roupen III, Lord of Cilician Armenia]], married Raynald's stepdaughter, [[Isabella of Toron]].{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=101 (note 29)}}

=== Fights against Saladin  ===

[[File:Karak Castle 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|alt=A castle built of stones on a cliff near a settlements|[[Kerak Castle]], a major fortress in the [[Lordship of Oultrejordain]] (present-day [[al-Karak]] in [[Jordan]])]]

Raynald was the only Christian leader who fought against Saladin in the 1180s.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=276}}{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=102}} The contemporary chronicler Ernoul mentions two raids that Raynald made against [[Caravan (travellers)|caravans]] travelling between Egypt and Syria, breaking the truce.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=103 (note 39)}} Modern historians debate whether Raynald's military actions sprang from a desire for booty,{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=431}} or were deliberate maneuvers to prevent Saladin from annexing new territories.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=102}} After as-Salih died on 18{{nbsp}}November 1181, Saladin tried to seize Aleppo, but Raynald stormed into Saladin's territory, reaching as far as [[Tabuk, Saudi Arabia|Tabuk]] on the route between [[Damascus]] and [[Mecca]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=170–171}} Saladin's nephew, [[Farrukh Shah]], invaded Oultrejordain instead of attacking Aleppo to compel Raynald to return from the [[Arabian Desert]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=171}} Before long, Raynald seized a caravan and imprisoned its members.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=171}} On Saladin's protest, Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV ordered Raynald to free them, but Raynald refused.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=171–172}} His defiance annoyed the king, enabling [[Raymond III of Tripoli]]'s partisans to reconcile him with the monarch.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=103 (note 42)}} A close relative of Baldwin, Raymond had assumed the regency in 1174 but was banned from the kingdom for allegedly plotting against the ailing king.{{sfn|Lock|2006|pp=61, 66}} Raymond's return to the royal court put an end to Raynald's paramount position. After accepting the new situation, Raynald cooperated with the king and Raymond during the fights against Saladin in the summer of 1182.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=103}}

Saladin revived the [[Fatimid navy|Egyptian naval force]] and tried to capture [[Beirut]], but his ships were forced to retreat.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=278}} Raynald ordered the building of at least five ships in Oultrejordain. They were carried across the [[Negev]] desert to the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] at the northern end of the [[Red Sea]] in January or February 1183.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=284}}{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=180}}{{sfn|Mallett|2008|p=142}} He captured the fort of Ayla (present-day [[Eilat]] in Israel), and attacked the Egyptian fortress on [[Pharaoh's Island]]. Part of his fleet made a plundering raid along the coasts against ships delivering [[Hajj|Muslim pilgrims]] and goods, threatening the security of the holy cities of Mecca and [[Medina]].{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=284}}{{sfn|Mallett|2008|pp=142–143}} Raynald left the island, but his fleet continued the siege.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=437}} Saladin's brother, [[Al-Adil I|al-Adil]], the governor of Egypt, dispatched a fleet to the Red Sea. The Egyptians relieved Pharaoh's Island and destroyed the Christian fleet. Some of the soldiers were captured near Medina because they landed either to escape or to attack the city. Raynald's men were executed, and Saladin took an oath that he would never forgive him.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=437}}{{sfn|Mallett|2008|p=143}} Though Raynald's naval expedition "showed a remarkable degree of initiative" according to Hamilton, most modern historians agree that it contributed to the unification of Syria and Egypt under Saladin's rule.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=181}} Saladin captured Aleppo in June 1183, completing the encirclement of the crusader states.{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=599}}

Baldwin IV, who had become seriously ill, made Guy of Lusignan regent in October 1183.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=281}} Within a month, Baldwin had dismissed Guy, and had Guy's five-year-old stepson, [[Baldwin V of Jerusalem|Baldwin V]], crowned king in association with himself.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=282}} Raynald was not present at the child's coronation, because he was at the wedding of his stepson, Humphrey, and Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV's sister, Isabella, in Kerak.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=440}} Saladin unexpectedly invaded Oultrejordain, forcing the local inhabitants to seek refuge in Kerak.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=440}} After Saladin broke into the town, Raynald only managed to escape to the fortress because one of his retainers had hindered the attackers from seizing the bridge between the town and the castle.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|pp=440–441}} Saladin [[Siege of Kerak|laid siege to Kerak]].{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=441}} According to Ernoul, Raynald's wife sent dishes from the wedding to Saladin, persuading him to stop bombarding the tower where her son and his wife stayed.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=441}} After envoys from Kerak informed Baldwin{{nbsp}}IV of the siege, the royal army left Jerusalem for Kerak under the command of the king and Raymond{{nbsp}}III of Tripoli.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=441}} Saladin abandoned the siege before their arrival on 4{{nbsp}}December.{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=441}} On Saladin's order, [[Izz al-Din Usama|Izz ad-Din Usama]] had a fortress built at [[Ajloun]], near the northern border of Raynald's domains.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=225}}

=== Kingmaker  ===

[[File:Français 2629, fol. 300, Couronnement de Gui de Lusignan.jpeg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|alt=A crowned woman who sits on a throne puts a crown on the head of a man who kneels before her; they are surrounded by two bishops, other clerics and secular lords and ladies|Coronation of [[Guy of Lusignan]], by his wife, [[Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem|Sybilla of Jerusalem]], who was proclaimed queen with Raynald's assistance (from a late-15th-century manuscript of William of Tyre's {{lang|la|Historia}} and its ''Continuation'').]]

Baldwin IV died in early 1185.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=284}} His successor, the child Baldwin{{nbsp}}V, died in late summer 1186.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=289}} The [[High Court of Jerusalem]] had ruled that neither Baldwin{{nbsp}}V's mother, Sybilla (who was Guy of Lusignan's wife), nor her sister, Isabella (who was the wife of Raynald's stepson), could be crowned without the decision of the pope, the [[Holy Roman Emperor]], and the kings of France and England on Baldwin{{nbsp}}V's lawful successor.{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=289–290, 293}} However, Sybilla's uncle, Joscelin{{nbsp}}III of Courtenay, took control of Jerusalem with the support of Raynald and other influential prelates and royal officials.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=218}}{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=604}} Raynald urged the townspeople to accept Sybilla as the lawful monarch, according to the {{lang|fr|Estoire d'Eracles}}.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=220}} Raymond{{nbsp}}III of Tripoli, and his supporters tried to prevent her coronation and reminded her partisans of the decision of the High Court.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=294}} Ignoring their protest, Raynald and [[Gerard of Ridefort]], [[Grand Master of the Knights Templar]], accompanied Sybilla to the [[Holy Sepulchre]], where she was crowned.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=294}} She also arranged the coronation of her husband, although he was unpopular even among her supporters.{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=294–295}}{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=605}} Her opponents tried to persuade Raynald's stepson, Humphrey, to claim the crown on his wife's behalf, but Humphrey deserted them and swore fealty to Sybilla and Guy.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=295}}{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=605}} Raynald headed the list of secular witnesses in four royal charters issued between 21{{nbsp}}October 1186 and 7{{nbsp}}March 1187, showing that he had become a principal figure in the new king's court.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|pp=107–108}}

[[Ali ibn al-Athir]] and other Muslim historians stated that Raynald made a separate truce with Saladin in 1186.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=225}} This "seems unlikely to be true", according to Hamilton, because the truce between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Saladin legally covered Raynald's domains as they formed a [[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|large fiefdom]] in the kingdom.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=225}} In late 1186 or early 1187, a rich caravan travelled through Oultrejordain from Egypt to Syria.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=225}} Ali ibn al-Athir mentioned that a group of armed men accompanied the caravan.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=107}} Raynald seized the caravan, possibly because he regarded the presence of soldiers as a breach of the truce, according to Hamilton.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|pp=106–107}}{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=297}} He took all the merchants and their families prisoner, seized a large amount of booty, and refused to receive envoys from Saladin demanding compensation.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=297}}{{sfn|Runciman|1989|p=450}} Saladin sent his envoys to Guy of Lusignan, who accepted his demands.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=297}} However, Raynald refused to obey the king, stating in the words of the {{lang|fr|Estoire d'Eracles}} that "he was lord of his land, just as Guy was lord of his, and he had no truces with the [[Saracen]]s". For Barber, Raynald's disobedience indicates that the kingdom was "on the brink of breaking up into a collection of semi-autonomous fiefdoms" under Guy's rule.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=297}} Saladin proclaimed a {{lang|ar|[[jihad]]}} (or holy war) against the kingdom, taking an oath that he would personally kill Raynald for breaking the truce.{{sfn|Baldwin|1969|p=606}} The historian [[Paul M. Cobb]] remarks that Saladin "badly needed a victory against the Franks to silence those who criticized him for spending so much time at war with his fellow Muslims".{{sfn|Cobb|2016|p=185}}

{{Quote box
| title = Ali ibn al-Athir on Raynald's attack against a caravan
| quote = Prince Reynald, lord of Kerak, was one of the greatest and wickedest of the Franks, the most hostile to the Muslims and the most dangerous to them. Aware of this, Saladin targeted him with blockades time after time and raided his territory occasion after occasion. As a result he was abashed and humbled and asked Saladin for a truce, which was granted. The truce was made and duly sworn to. Caravans then went back and forth between Syria and Egypt. [In the year 582 [[Hijri year|AH]]], a large caravan, rich in goods and with many men, accompanied by a good number of soldiers, passed by him. The accursed one treacheously seized every last man and made their goods, animals and weapons his booty. Those he made captive he consigned to his prisons. Saladin sent blaming him, deploring his treacherous action and threatening him if he did not release the captives and the goods, but he would not agree to do that and persisted in his refusal. Saladin vowed that, if ever had him in his power, he would kill him.
| author = [[Ali ibn al-Athir]]
| source = ''[[The Complete History]]''<ref>''The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from'' Al-Kamil Fi'l-Ta'rikh, pp. 316–317 (s.a. 582).</ref>
| align = center
| width = 75%
| bgcolor = #F5FAFF
| title_bg = #CEE0F2
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}}