'Balian of Ibelin' (
1239 –
29 September 1277) was the
Lord of Arsuf from 1258 until the early 1260s (probably 1261), when he sold it to the
Knights Hospitaller. He was the son and successor of
John of Arsuf,
Constable of Jerusalem. At the time when he sold it to the Hospital, his fief of Arsuf was worth six knights' fees and twenty sergeants'; the Hosptial took up his obligations with the exception of the ''
servise de cors''.
He was married to
Plaisance of Antioch from 1254 until their divorce in 1258, after which he moved from
Antioch to
Tripoli. He was created
Constable of Jerusalem like his father had been in 1268 and held that post until his death.
Hugh III of Cyprus and Jerusalem appointed Balian
bailiff, effectively regent, of the kingdom upon returning to
Cyprus in October 1276. Hugh's claim to the royal title, however, was disputed by
Charles I of Naples, who sent
Roger of Sanseverino to
Acre as his bailiff in 1277.
Balian initially refused to admit Roger into the citadel until papers signed by Charles,
Mary of Antioch, and
Pope John XXI were produced and the Knights Hospitallers and
John of Versailles,
Patriarch of Jerusalem, had refused to intervene. To avoid war, he allowed Roger in and Charles was proclaimed king.
References
★ Marshall, Christopher. ''Warfare in the Latin East, 1192–1291''. Cambridge Unversity Press, 1992.