Raymond of Poitiers

Raymond of Poitiers (1105 – 29 June 1149) was the prince of Antioch from 1136 until his death. He ruled the Principality of Antioch as the first husband of Princess Constance. He preserved the integrity of the principality, but failed in his attempts to expand it.

Raymond was born to Duke William IX of Aquitaine and Countess Philippa of Toulouse. Aquitaine passed to William X, Raymond's older brother, and Raymond moved to the court of King Henry I of England. There he received an offer from King Fulk of Jerusalem and the nobles of Antioch to marry Constance, a child princess, and take up rule over her principality. Despite the respective attempts of her kinsman King Roger II of Sicily and her mother, Princess Alice, to prevent the union, Raymond arrived in the Latin East and married Constance in 1136 with the help of the Latin patriarch of Antioch, Ralph of Domfront.

Raymond's priority as prince was to recapture Cilicia, but he was foiled by the arrival of Emperor John II Komnenos, who both captured the region and exacted homage from Raymond. Raymond promised to surrender Antioch in return for a new principality in northern Syria, but was not eager to help John carve it out. A power struggle with Ralph, which originated shortly after Raymond's accession, flared up after the emperor's departure and ended with the patriarch's deposition in 1140. Raymond readily assisted Fulk in his struggles against the Muslim Turkic rulers in Syria and initially cooperated with his northern neighbor Count Joscelin II of Edessa. The principality saw an influx of Poitevin culture, and Raymond was able to secure the appointment of a Poitevin, Aimery of Limoges, to the patriarchal office.

John returned in 1142 and demanded Antioch, but died in Cilicia the following year before he could launch an attack. Raymond attempted to conquer Cilicia from John's successor, Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and Aleppo from Imad al-Din Zengi, but was driven back by both. Raymond's relationship with Joscelin broke down after Joscelin refused to assist Raymond against Zengi, and when Zengi attacked Edessa in 1144, Raymond declined Joscelin's pleas for help. The loss of Edessa to the Muslims triggered the Second Crusade. King Louis VII of France and his wife, Raymond's niece Queen Eleanor, arrived in Antioch in 1148. Raymond enlisted Eleanor's help in convincing Louis to attack Zengi's son and successor, Nur al-Din, but Louis grew jealous of their relationship, which was rumored to be incestuous. After Louis left, Raymond boycotted the crusade, which ended in an ignominious defeat at Damascus. This defeat encouraged the sultan of Rum, Mesud I, who launched an attack on Marash with Nur al-Din's help. Raymond clashed with Zengi, and was killed in the Battle of Inab.

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_of_Poitiers