Maria Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem

Maria Komnene or Comnena ( Greek : Μαρία Κομνηνή, Maria Komnēnē ), (c. 1154 – 1208/1217), was the second wife of King Amalric I of Jerusalem and mother of Queen Isabella of Jerusalem . She was the daughter of John Komnenos, sometime Byzantine dux in Cyprus , and Maria Taronitissa, a descendant of the ancient Armenian kings. Her sister Theodora married Prince Bohemund III of Antioch , and her brother Alexios was briefly, in 1185, a pretender to the throne of the Byzantine Empire . After the annulment of his first marriage to Agnes of Courtenay , Amalric was anxious to forge an alliance with Byzantium and asked the emperor Manuel I Komnenos for a bride from the imperial family. Maria was the emperor's grandniece and he bestowed upon her a rich dowry . The marriage of Amalric and Maria was celebrated with much fanfare at Tyre , on 29 August 1167. Maria bore him a daughter, Isabella, in 1172, and a stillborn child in 1173. On his deathbed, in 1174, Amalric left Nablus to Maria, who became dowager queen upon his death, and Isabella. In 1177, Maria married Balian of Ibelin , who commanded the defense of Jerusalem against Saladin in 1187. She bore him at least four children: Helvis of Ibelin , who married (1) Reginald of Sidon (widower of Agnes of Courtenay ), and (2) Guy of Montfort John of Ibelin , Lord of Beirut and constable of Jerusalem , who married Helvis of Nephin, then Melisende of Arsur Margaret, who married (1) Hugh of Tiberias (stepson of Raymond III of Tripoli ), and (2) Walter of Caesarea Philip of Ibelin, bailli (regent) of Cyprus, who married Alice of Montbéliard. Maria and Balian supported Conrad of Montferrat (uncle of the late King Baldwin V ) in his struggle for the crown against Guy of Lusignan . They arranged for Maria's daughter by Amalric, Isabella, to have her first marriage annulled so that she could marry Conrad, giving him a stronger claim to the throne. In this, Maria and Balian gained the enmity of Richard I of England and his chroniclers. The anonymous author of the Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi wrote of them: Steeped in Greek filth from the cradle, she had a husband whose morals matched her own: he was cruel, she was godless; he was fickle, she was pliable; he was faithless, she was fraudulent. As the grandmother of Alice of Champagne (Isabella's daughter by her third husband, Henry II of Champagne ), Maria conducted the marriage negotiations with Cyprus in 1208 – Alice was to marry Hugh I of Cyprus . Blanche of Navarre , Regent and Countess of Champagne, widow of Alice's paternal uncle, provided the dowry for Alice. This is the last time Maria is mentioned, and she was certainly dead by 1217.

Maria Komnene or Comnena ( Greek : Μαρία Κομνηνή, c. 1154 – 1208/1217) was the second wife of King Amalric I of Jerusalem and mother of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem . She was the daughter of John Doukas Komnenos , sometime Byzantine dux in Cyprus , and Maria Taronitissa. Her sister Theodora married Prince Bohemund III of Antioch , and her brother Alexios was briefly, in 1185, a pretender to the throne of the Byzantine Empire .

12th century Queen consort of Jerusalem (r.1167–1174) Maria Komnene ( ; c. 1154 – 1217), Latinized Comnena , was the queen of Jerusalem from 1167 until 1174 as the second wife of King Amalric . She occupied a central position in the Kingdom of Jerusalem for twenty years, earning a reputation for intrigue and ruthlessness. Maria was a grandniece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos . Her marriage to Amalric in 1167 served to establish an alliance between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem . When Amalric died in 1174, the crown passed to Maria's stepson, Baldwin IV , and she withdrew with her daughter, Isabella , to the city of Nablus , which she was to rule as queen dowager . Due to Baldwin's leprosy , Maria's stepdaughter, Sibylla , and daughter, Isabella, were regarded as potential successors. Maria married the lord of Ibelin , Balian , in 1177, with whom she had four more children. From 1180, Maria was one of the leaders of the faction opposing Sibylla and her husband Guy of Lusignan . Baldwin IV died in 1185, leaving Sibylla's son, Baldwin V , as king. When Baldwin V died the next year, Maria and her party planned to crown her daughter Isabella and son-in-law Humphrey IV of Toron , but Humphrey submitted to Sibylla and Guy, who thus solidified their hold on the kingdom. The Egyptian ruler Saladin invaded in 1187, capturing Jerusalem and most of the kingdom. Sibylla died in 1190 while Guy was retaking Acre , and his opponents asserted that his reign had thus ended and that Maria's daughter Isabella was the rightful heir. Maria had Isabella's marriage to Humphrey annulled so that the new queen could marry the more capable candidate, Conrad of Montferrat . Maria died in the reign of her great-granddaughter Isabella II , having outlived all her allies and adversaries.

Queen of Jerusalem from 1167 to 1174 Maria Komnene ( Greek : Μαρία Κομνηνή ; c. 1154 – 1217), Latinized Comnena , was the queen of Jerusalem from 1167 until 1174 as the second wife of King Amalric . She occupied a central position in the Kingdom of Jerusalem for twenty years, earning a reputation for intrigue and ruthlessness. Maria was a grandniece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos . Her marriage to Amalric in 1167 served to establish an alliance between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem . When Amalric died in 1174, the crown passed to Maria's stepson, Baldwin IV , and she withdrew with her daughter, Isabella , to the city of Nablus , which she was to rule as queen dowager . Due to Baldwin's leprosy , Maria's stepdaughter, Sibylla , and daughter, Isabella, were regarded as potential successors. Maria married the lord of Ibelin , Balian , in 1177, and had four more children. From 1180, Maria was one of the leaders of the faction opposing Sibylla and her husband Guy of Lusignan . Baldwin IV died in 1185, leaving Sibylla's son, Baldwin V , as king. When Baldwin V died the next year, Maria and her party planned to crown her daughter Isabella and son-in-law Humphrey IV of Toron , but Humphrey submitted to Sibylla and Guy, who thus solidified their hold on the kingdom. Saladin , ruler of Egypt and Syria, invaded in 1187, capturing Jerusalem and most of the kingdom. Sibylla died in 1190 while Guy was retaking Acre , and his opponents asserted that his reign had thus ended and that Maria's daughter Isabella was the rightful heir. Maria had Isabella's marriage to Humphrey annulled so that the new queen could marry the more capable candidate, Conrad of Montferrat . Maria died in the reign of her great-granddaughter Isabella II , having outlived all her allies and adversaries.