Isabella of Ibelin, Queen of Cyprus

Who was Isabella of Ibelin, Queen of Cyprus?

Isabella of Ibelin was lady of Beirut from 1264 until her death in 1282, and also held the title of Queen of Cyprus. She was the daughter of Jean d'Ibelin, lord of Beirut, and of Alice de la Roche sur Ognon. As a great-granddaughter of the powerful Crusader noble John of Ibelin, she was a member of the influential Ibelin family. Upon her father's death, she inherited the Ibelin family palace in Beirut, and the leadership of the fief. It was part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but had an independent treaty from 1261 with Baibars, leader of the Muslim Mamluks.

As a child, Isabella was betrothed in 1265 to the young Hugh II, king of Cyprus, but he died before the marriage was consummated. She then ruled independently, and as Lady of Beirut had friendly relations with the Mamluks, negotiating her own new 10-year truce with Baibars on May 9, 1269. She had an affair with the impetuous Julian of Sidon, and her "notorious lack of chastity" prompted the official letter Audi filia et from Pope Clement IV, urging her to marry. In 1272, at the age of 20, she married Haymo Léstrange, a wealthy lord from the Welsh Marches who may have been a companion of Prince Edward. The marriage was short though, as Haymo died in 1273. While on his deathbed, he put Isabelle and Beirut under the unusual protection of Baibars, the Muslim sultan. King Hugh I of Cyprus wanted to use Isabella's status as a wealthy heiress to choose a new husband for her, to attract another distinguished knight to the fight in the Holy Land. Hugh forcibly took Isabella to Cyprus to arrange a new marriage, but Isabella resisted, and received the support of both Baibars and the Knights Templar. The matter was brought to the Jerusalem High Court, and became a political dispute during the Crusades as to who had lordship over the Lady of Beirut, the Crusader king or the Muslim sultan. The High Court ruled in favor of Baibars, and Mamluk guards were assigned to Isabella's protection. After Baibars' death in 1277, Isabella married twice more, to Nicolas l'Alleman, lord of Caesarea, and then to Guillaume Berlais.