Commune of Antioch

Who he is

Name

The commune of Antioch; its mayor on 1 January 1200 is not pinned

Title

Sworn commune (communia) of the burghers of Antioch

Since

1194

Confidence

medium

Formed in 1194 in the cathedral of St Peter, under the patriarch, by the mostly Greek and Latin townspeople, when Bohemond III, a prisoner of Leo at Sis, had agreed to hand the city to Armenian troops under Hethum of Sason; the clergy and the Greeks stirred up resistance, the Armenians were driven out, and the commune recognised Bohemond's son Raymond as lord until his father's release (Setton, p. 555). In late 1198 Bohemond of Tripoli summoned the commune and had it release its oath to his father, so that his claim rested on the commune's election (Setton, p.

556). In April 1201 he rings the commune's bell and is accepted as prince. The commune has a mayor later (Acharie of Sarmin, seneschal and mayor, is named in 1216); no mayor is named for 1200.

Overlord

The prince of Antioch (Bohemond III), whose authority it accepts while fearing an Armenian succession.

What it holds

• The burghers' sworn association within the city of Antioch, with its bell and assemblies
• Defence of the walls with the prince's men; in 1203 the commune and the Templars hold the citadel against Leo (later)

How it was acquired

Sworn in 1194 in the cathedral of St Peter.

Allies and rivals

With Bohemond of Tripoli and the Templars; against Leo of Armenia and the Armenian succession; uneasy with the barons sworn to Raymond-Roupen.

How things stand that morning

Active and armed in the city; it accepted Bohemond III's restoration by Leo's army in early 1199 without resistance.

Wealth

The burghers' trade and crafts; the commune's own revenues are not recorded.

Military

The townsmen's militia on the walls; no figures.

Threats

• An Armenian prince
• Leo's troops

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. April 1201 (later)Accepts Bohemond IV as prince at his father's funeral.Depends on: Bohemond III's death. Stopped by: Leo occupying the city.

Where the sources disagree

• Patriarch at its founding: 'the elderly patriarch Aimery' (Setton, p. 555; Wikipedia, Bohemond III) or Ralph II (Wikipedia, Commune of Antioch, after Runciman), which agrees with the Church map's list (Ralph II, 1193-1196). The Wikipedia War article dates the commune's founding to 1192 with Bohemond's capture; 1194 is followed.

Evidence: Its founding and its choices of 1194, 1198 and 1201 are well told; its officers and constitution in 1200 are not documented in the sources read.

On the map: Drawn as the walled city only.

Primary sources for Antioch

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Chronicle of Ernoul and Bernard the Treasurer, Ernoul, squire of Balian of Ibelin, and later compilers (the 1187 core soon after the event; the whole in its present form 1227 to 1232). The Ibelin household's version of events in Outremer. Read online
• The Cream of the History of Aleppo, Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim (about 1240 to 1260). The annals of Aleppo. Read online
• The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre (Eracles), Anonymous continuators, the earliest drawing on Ernoul (about 1220 to 1277; the first continuation (1184 to 1197, the Lyon Eracles) compiled about 1230 from material of the 1190s). For the Latin East at 1200 it narrates the aftermath of the Third Crusade: the truce of 1192, the succession to Jerusalem through Queen Isabella's marriages to Henry of Champagne (died September 1197) and Aimery of Lusignan, Aimery's rule as king of Jerusalem from 1198 while king of Cyprus, the German crusade of 1197 to 1198 and the recovery of Beirut and Sidon, the truce with al-Adil of 1198, the Antioch succession quarrel between Bohemond IV and Leo of Armenia, and the Pisan plot against Aimery. Read online
• The Anonymous Syriac Chronicle to 1234, Anonymous (a Syrian Orthodox writer, probably of Edessa) (about 1234 to 1240). An Edessene chronicle independent of Michael the Syrian in its later part, with a secular section reaching 1234 that gives the Jazira, Edessa, Harran, Mardin and Melitene about 1200 under al-Adil's sons and the Artuqids, the Seljuks of Rum, the Armenians of Cilicia and the Franks of Antioch, and a church section to 1207 on the Jacobite succession after Michael's death in 1199. Read online
• The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian (Michael the Great), Michael the Syrian, patriarch of Antioch 1166 to 1199 (about 1180 to 1195). The Jacobite patriarch's world chronicle, in parallel columns of church, secular and miscellaneous events, ending four years before 1200 and shortly before his own death on 7 November 1199, which left the Syrian Orthodox church with a disputed succession in 1200. Read online
• The Chronicle of Smbat Sparapet (Sempad the Constable), Smbat Sparapet, brother of King Hetum I of Cilicia (about 1270 to 1276). The Cilician court chronicle, drawing on Matthew of Edessa for its early part and on family memory later. Read online
• Calendar of the Acts of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Various, calendared by Reinhold Rohricht (documents 1097 to 1291; calendar published 1893, Additamentum 1904). A chronological calendar of every charter, letter and treaty of the Latin East then known, with date, parties, witnesses and the edition where each is printed. Read online
• The Registers of Pope Innocent III (pontifical years 1 to 3, 1198 to 1201), Innocent III (Lotario dei Conti di Segni) and the papal chancery (1198 onwards, year by year). The register for the second and third pontifical years (February 1199 to February 1201) holds the letters that set the eastern stage for 1200: the exchange with Kaloyan of Bulgaria opened in December 1199 and continued through 1200 over union with Rome and a crown, letters to Vukan of Zeta and to Stefan of Serbia, letters to Alexios III and the patriarch John Kamateros pressing for church union and help for the crusade, the preaching commissions and the legation of Peter Capuano, the Antioch succession quarrel between Bohemond and Leo of Armenia, letters to Aimery of Cyprus and Jerusalem, and the French interdict over Ingeborg. Read online

4 more in the sources library for The Latin East and the Ayyubids.