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The King of Jerusalem[1] was the supreme ruler of the Crusader States, founded by Christian princes in 1099 when the First Crusade took the city; it disappeared with the departure of the last crusader of Tartus in August 1291, less than two centuries later. Its history can be divided into various periods: those where the title of King of Jerusalem was associated with Jerusalem itself (1099–1187 and 1229–1244), and those where the title represents the highest level of suzerainty in the Holy Land without the city itself as part of the realm.
After the Crusader States ceased to exist, the empty title of King of Jerusalem was claimed by numerous Western kings and princes.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem had its origins in the First Crusade, when Godfrey of Bouillon took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Protector of the Holy Sepulcher) in 1099 and was crowned as ruler of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The following year, his brother Baldwin I was the first to use the title king and the first to be crowned king in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem itself.
The kingship of Jerusalem was partially elected and partially hereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless the king was elected, or at least recognized, by the Haute Cour. Here the king was considered a primus inter pares (first among equals), and in his absence his duties were performed by his seneschal.
The royal palace was located in the Citadel of the Tower of David. The Kingdom of Jerusalem introduced French feudal structures to the Levant. The king personally held several fiefs incorporated into the royal domain, that varied from king to king. He was also responsible for leading the kingdom into battle, although this duty could be passed to a constable.
While several contemporary European states were moving towards centralized monarchies, the king of Jerusalem was continually losing power to the strongest of his barons. This was partially due to the young age of many of the kings, and the frequency of regents from the ranks of the nobles.
After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the capital of the kingdom was moved to Acre, where it remained until 1291, although coronations took place in Tyre.
In this period the kingship was often simply a nominal position, held by a European ruler who never actually lived in Acre. When young Conrad III was king and living in Southern Germany, his father's second cousin, Hugh of Brienne, claimed the regency of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and, indirectly, his place in the succession. The claim was made in 1264 as senior descendant and rightful heir of Alice of Champagne, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, Hugh being the son of their eldest daughter. But was passed over by the Haute Cour in favour of his cousin, Hugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem.
After Conrad III's execution by Charles I of Sicily in 1268, the kingship was held by the Lusignan family, who were simultaneously kings of Cyprus. However, Charles I of Sicily purchased the rights of one of the heirs of the kingdom in 1277.
In that year, he sent Roger of Sanseverino to the East as his bailiff. Roger captured Acre and obtained a forced homage from the barons. Roger was recalled in 1282 due to the Sicilian Vespers and left Odo Poilechien in his place to rule. His resources and authority was minimal, and he was ejected by Henry II of Cyprus when he arrived from Cyprus for his coronation as King of Jerusalem.
Acre was captured by the Mamluks in 1291, eliminating the crusader presence on the mainland.
The frequent absence or minority of monarchs required regents to be appointed many times throughout the Kingdom's existence.
Over the years, many European rulers claimed to be the rightful heirs to one of these claims. None of these claimants, however, has actually ruled over any part of the kingdom:
Italics indicate individuals who did not themselves use the title of king of Jerusalem.
House of Lusignan
House of Savoy: Savoyard legitimate claimants
House of Lusignan: Lusignan illegitimate claimants and effective kings of Cyprus:
On the death of Charles II of Savoy, the Duchy of Savoy passed to his grand uncle and heir-male Philip (brother of Amadeus IX of Savoy). Although Charles II's sister Yolande Louise of Savoy did not succeed in Savoy because of her gender, she was the heir general of his brother and as such might be regarded to have succeeded him in claims to Cyprus and Jerusalem.
The Dukes of Savoy continued to claim Jerusalem. However, to avoid conflicts with claims of the major European houses as the Habsburg and Bourbons, the Savoyard claim appears hidden in the list of titles with the elliptical "&c."[2]
Issue of Philip II of Savoy House of Savoy:
Issue of Amadeus IX of Savoy
Mary of Antioch claimed the throne of Jerusalem from 1269 to 1277. She was the daughter of Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch and his second wife Melisende of Cyprus. Melisende was the youngest daughter of Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem and her fourth husband, Amalric II of Jerusalem, king of Cyprus.
Since Mary was, at the time of the death of Conrad III (Conradin), the only living grandchild of queen Isabella, she claimed the throne on basis of proximity in blood to the kings of Jerusalem. Denied by the Haute Cour, she went to Rome and sold her rights, with papal blessing and confirmation, to Charles of Anjou in 1277.
Thereafter, this claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem was treated also as tributary to the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance.
House of Anjou-Sicily
House of Anjou-Sicily: Senior Angevin claimants :
House of Valois-Anjou: Junior Angevin claimants :
House of Anjou-Hungary: Senior Angevin claimant :
House of Valois-Anjou
Aragonese claimants:
Angevin-Lorraine claimants : House of Valois-Anjou
House of Lorraine
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
French claimants: House of Valois-Anjou
House of Valois
House of Valois-Orléans
Spanish Bourbon claimant :
Habsburg claimant :
Two Sicilies claimants :
Senior line :
Junior line :
There are several potential claimants today on the basis of (disputed) inheritance of the title. None of these has, or claims, any power in the area of the former Kingdom.
Benito Mussolini, Soviet Union, 1944, 1949, 1970
Napoleonic Wars, Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon, Ferdinand I of Austria, Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Dynasty, House of Savoy, House of Lorraine, Kingdom of Hungary, House of Vasa
American Civil War, President of the United States, Mars, 2015, Pakistan