Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          ABT 1107 
Death:          Feb 1130 Sicily
Cause of Death: killed in battle

Notes
b 1107/1108
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemond_II_of_Antioch
Bohemond II (1107/1108 – February 1130) was Prince of Taranto from 1111 to 1128 
and Prince of Antioch from 1111/1119 to 1130. He was the son of Bohemond I, who in 
1108 was forced to submit to the authority of the Byzantine Empire in the Treaty of 
Devol. Three years later, the infant Bohemond inherited the Principality of Taranto 
under the guardianship of his mother, Constance of France. The Principality of Antioch 
was administered by his father's nephew, Tancred, until 1111. Tancred's cousin, 
Roger of Salerno, managed the principality from 1111 to 1119. After Roger died in the 
Battle of the Field of Blood, Baldwin II of Jerusalem took over the administration of 
Antioch. However, he did acknowledge Bohemond's right to personally rule the 
principality upon reaching the age of majority.

Bohemond came to Antioch in autumn 1126. He launched successful military 
campaigns against the nearby Moslem rulers, but his conflict with Joscelin I of 
Courtenay enabled Imad ad-Din Zengi to secure Mosul and Aleppo. Meanwhile, Roger 
II of Sicily occupied the Principality of Taranto in 1128. Bohemond died fighting 
against Danishmend Emir Gazi Gümüshtigin during a military campaign against Cilician 
Armenia, and Gümüshtigin sent Bohemond's embalmed head to the Abbasid Caliph.
Early life[edit]

Bohemond II was the son of Bohemond I, Prince of Taranto and Antioch, and 
Constance of France.[1] He was born in 1107 or 1108.[2][3] In 1104, Bohemond I 
returned to Europe to seek military assistance against the Byzantine Empire and left 
his nephew Tancred in Syria to administer Antioch.[4] Two charters show that Tancred 
styled himself "prince of Antioch" in 1108.[5] In September of that year, Bohemond I 
was forced to sign the Treaty of Devol, which authorized the Byzantine Empire to 
annex the Principality of Antioch upon his death.[6]

Bohemond I died in Apulia in 1111. Bohemond II was still a minor,[7] so his mother 
took charge of the government of Taranto.[8] The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I 
Komnenos sent envoys to Tancred to demand control of Antioch, but Tancred refused 
to obey and continued to govern the principality.[9] Tancred died in 1112 and 
bequeathed Antioch to his sister's son, Roger of Salerno.[10][11]

Roger's legal status during his rule in Antioch is uncertain.[12] According to William of 
Tyre, Tancred made Roger his successor "with the understanding that, at the demand 
of Bohemond or his heirs, he should not refuse to return it," suggesting that Roger 
was simply regent for the child Bohemond.[13] Roger adopted the title of prince, which 
implies that he regarded himself the ruler of Antioch in his own right.[12][14] The 
contemporaneous Fulcher of Chartres accused Roger of depriving of "his inheritence 
his own lord, the son of Bohemond [I], then living in Apulia with his mother."[15] 
Charters issued in Bohemond's Italian domains between 1117 and 1119 emphasized 
that he was the son of the prince of Antioch, but did not style him prince.[16]

After Roger and most Antiochene noblemen perished in the Battle of the Field of Blood 
on 28 June 1119, Baldwin II of Jerusalem hurried to Syria to save Antioch from Ilghazi, 
the Artuqid ruler of Mardin.[17][18] The notables of Antioch proclaimed Baldwin ruler 
of Antioch, but they emphasized that Antioch was Bohemond's "rightful inheritance," 
according to Walter the Chancellor.[15][19] Baldwin promised to cede Antioch to 
Bohemond if Bohemond came to the principality.[15] Those who were present at the 
meeting agreed that Bohemond should marry Baldwin's daughter, Alice.[19][20] They 
also decreed that Bohemond would not be entitled to reclaim grants made during his 
absence from the principality.[20]

Baldwin II was captured in 1123,[21] and the burghers of Antioch sent envoys to 
Bohemond, urging him to come to his principality.[22] Bohemond reached the age of 
majority at the age of 16.[2] According to William of Tyre, he made an agreement with 
William II, Duke of Apulia, stipulating that the one who first died without issue was to 
will his principality to the other; however, the reliability of William's report is suspect.
[23][24] Alexander of Telese recorded that before leaving for Syria, Bohemond 
entrusted his Italian domains to the Holy See, but Romuald of Salerno said that he 
made Alexander, Count of Conversano, the overseer of those lands.[23][25] Bohemond 
sailed from Otranto with a fleet of twenty-four ships in September 1126.[26]

Prince of Antioch[edit]

Bohemond landed at the port of St. Symeon in the Principality of Antioch in October or 
November.[20][22] He went to Antioch to meet Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who 
subsequently ceded Antioch to him.[26] Bohemond was officially installed as prince in 
Baldwin's presence.[27]

Matthew of Edessa portrayed Bohemond as "a forceful character and great 
power."[27] Badr ad-Daulah captured Kafartab shortly after Bohemond's arrival, but 
Bohemond quickly recaptured the fortress in early 1127.[26][27] According to historian 
Steven Runciman, Bohemond's attack against the Munqidhites of Shaizar, which was 
recorded by Usama ibn Munqidh, also occurred during this period.[26][27]

Bohemond came into conflict with Joscelin I of Edessa in 1127,[28][22] although 
sources do not reveal the reason behind the enmity of the two Christian rulers.[28] 
According to Runciman, Joscelin seized former Antiochene territories from Il-Bursuqi, 
governor of Mosul. Furthermore, Bohemond refused to cede Azaz to Joscelin, despite 
the fact that Roger of Salerno promised it to Joscelin as the dowry of his second wife, 
Maria of Salerno.[29] Taking advantage of Bohemond's absence due to a campaign, 
Joscelin invaded Antioch with the assistance of Turkish mercenaries, plundering the 
villages along the frontier.[29]

Bernard of Valence, Latin Patriarch of Antioch, imposed an interdict on the County of 
Edessa.[29] Baldwin II of Jerusalem hurried to Syria to mediate between Bohemond 
and Joscelin in early 1128.[22][29] Joscelin, who had become seriously ill, agreed to 
restore the property to Bohemond and to do homage to him.[30] However, the conflict 
between Bohemond and Joscelin enabled Imad ad-Din Zengi, Il-Bursuqi's successor as 
governor of Mosul, to seize Aleppo without resistance on 28 June 1128.[31]

Meanwhile, Bohemond's cousin, William II of Apulia, had died without issue on 25 July 
1127.[24] Pope Honorius II tried to prevent Roger II of Sicily (the cousin of both 
William and Bohemond) from seizing Apulia, but Roger did not obey him.[25] In May 
1128, he invaded Bohemond's Italian principality,[25] capturing Taranto, Otranto and 
Brindisi without resistance.[25] He completed the conquest of the whole principality 
around 15 June.[25]

Taking advantage of the disputes between the Assassins and Taj al-Muluk Buri, 
atabeg of Damascus, Baldwin II of Jerusalem invaded Damascene territory and laid 
siege to Banias in November 1129.[32] Bohemond and Joscelin joined Baldwin, but a 
heavy rainfall forced the crusaders to abandon the siege.[32][28]

Bohemond decided to recover Anazarbus and other territories which had been lost to 
the Cilician Armenia.[33] He invaded Cilicia in February 1130, traveling along the 
Ceyhan River.[34] Leo I of Cilicia sought assistance from the Danishmend Emir Gazi 
Gümüshtigin who made a surprise attack on Bohemond's army.[35] Bohemond and his 
soldiers were massacred in the battle.[36][37] According to Michael the Syrian, the 
Turks killed Bohemond because they did not recognize him; had they recognized him, 
they would have saved him so they could demand a ransom from him.[38] Gümüshtigin 
had Bohemond's head embalmed and sent to Al-Mustarshid, the Abbasid Caliph.[35]
Bohemond's wife, Alice, was the second daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem and 
Morphia of Melitene.[41] Their only child, Constance, was two when Bohemond died in 
1130.[42] Alice tried to secure the regency for Constance for herself, but the 
Antiochene noblemen preferred her father, Baldwin II of Jerusalem.[42] After 
Bohemond's death, Roger II of Sicily laid claim to Antioch, but he could never assert it 
against Constance.[43]

Parents
____ Bohemond I (1052 - 3 Mar 1111)
____ Constance (1078 - 14 Sep 1125)

Siblings
____ Bohemond II (ABT 1107 - Feb 1130)

Marriage To OF ANTIOCH Alice (ABT 1110 - AFT 1136)
    m. 1126 

Notes

Parents
____ Baldwin II (ABT 1085 - 21 Aug 1131)
OF MELITENE Morphia (Malfia) (ABT 1080 - ABT 1127)

Children by OF ANTIOCH Alice ABT 1110 - AFT 1136
OF ANTIOCH Constance (1128 - 1163)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017