The 1170 Syrian Earthquake

On the morning of 29 June 1170, the inhabitants of what are now western Syria, central southern Turkey, and Lebanon were disturbed by one of the largest seismic events ever to occur along the northern part of the Dead Sea Transform Fault System (also called simply the Levant Fracture).

We've mentioned earthquakes before, during a synod in England in 1382, the 1386 Destruction of Basel, and the Monday before Easter 1185 in the East Midlands. The 1170 Syrian quake was so devastating that an uneasy truce was formed between enemies Emir of Aleppo and Damascus Nur ad-Din and King Amalric I of Jerusalem.

The day had begun in 1170 and people were going about their business when it struck. In Antioch, Patriarch Atanasius I was performing Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Peter, where 70 years earlier a version of the Holy Lance had been found. Athanasius was pulled out alive but died soon after from his injuries. About 50 others were killed in the collapse of the dome. Several other churches in Antioch were also destroyed, as were the defensive walls along the Orontes river.

Damage reached from Antioch to Tripoli in the south. Bohemond III, Prince of Antioch, was so distressed by the destruction all around that he cut his hair and donned sackcloth as a sign of mourning. The Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller had been given several castles by Count Raymond II of Tripoli as a shield on his borders to hold against the Turks. They were all reported as destroyed.

This earthquake has been estimated to have been a magnitude 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale. The illustration shows the destructive force of the scale. Damage was so widespread that it appears in several records. In all, an estimated 80,000 people were killed, and aftershocks were felt for three months.

Although Nur ad-Din and Amalric were agreed to hold off on hostilities while rebuilding their kingdoms, others were not so kind. In December, Saladin came with an enormous force to besiege Amalric's fortress of Darum in the south while Tripoli was still trying to rebuild. For some reason, however, Saladin destroyed part of Darum and left without occupying it. Amalric rebuilt Darum to be stronger, but the threat from Egypt was clear.

Amalric did his best to preserve the kingdom. We will see how that turned out tomorrow.

Replacing Baldwin

I've written many times before about the importance of marriages in noble families, forging alliances with other powerful families through marriage. In the case of Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem, finding a husband for his sister was even more crucial, because he needed to secure the succession, and he wasn't going to get an heir himself.

Baldwin had leprosy, which did not stop him from trying to be an effective king, but it meant marriage and procreation was out of the question. The best route was his sister, Sibylla. She had already been married, to William of Montferrat, and had a son named Baldwin, but William died from malaria. Sibylla herself was in the line of succession, but they wanted to make sure it would last beyond her.

Baldwin himself had become ill when visiting William, and although he survived for several more years, it became important to make sure Sibylla had a husband who could help raise her son to be the next king, and who could be trusted to perform as regent for that son so that Baldwin could safely abdicate, since he was becoming increasingly unable to perform his duties.

The High Court wanted her to marry Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, who was now a vassal of King Philip II of France after Philip invaded Burgundy. Baldwin was so desperate to get Sibylla married that he sent a message to Philip, empowering him to choose another suitor if Hugh refused. Hugh accepted, and intended to sail to Jerusalem in early 1180 for an Easter wedding. Unfortunately, internal strife in France prevented Hugh from leaving.

William of Tyre, who had helped raise Baldwin IV and wrote a history of the lands controlled by the Crusades, recorded that Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince Bohemond III of Antioch set out for Jerusalem, sensing Baldwin's weakness and looking to usurp his throne. There is a belief that Raymond's intent was to force Baldwin to marry Sibylla to Baldwin of Ibelin, an important noble and close friend of Raymond, then force Baldwin to abdicate.

Their plan was foiled when Sibylla hastily married Guy of Lusignan, a French knight from Poitou, in 1180. (The illustration is of their marriage.) (His older brother, Aimery of Lusignan, had married the daughter of Baldwin of Ibelin, which would have made family gatherings awkward.) Guy became, by marriage, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon and bailiff of Jerusalem.

In 1182, with his health declining, King Baldwin declared Guy regent, but doubts about how Guy and Raynald of Châtillon provoked Saladin with whom Baldwin had a truce disillusioned Baldwin, and he tried to have the marriage annulled. Baldwin died in 1185, having become blind and lame in his final years. Sibylla's son became Baldwin V, but died within the year.

The High Court agreed that she should be queen, but only on the condition that she would annul the marriage to Guy. Sibylla agreed, on the condition that she be allowed to choose her next husband. The marriage was annulled, Sibylla was crowned Queen of Jerusalem in Summer 1186, and she chose as her husband ... Guy of Lusignan, who was crowned King of Jerusalem in September 1186.

Guy has been mentioned a few times before, and I'd like to tell you a little more about his life before and after becoming King of Jerusalem.