County of Jaffa and Ascalon
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1100–1268 | |||||||||
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| Status | Vassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem | ||||||||
| Capital | Jaffa | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek) | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | ||||||||
| Count | |||||||||
• c.1100 | Roger and Gerard | ||||||||
• 1266–1268 | James of Ibelin | ||||||||
| Historical era | High Middle Ages | ||||||||
• First Crusade | 1100 | ||||||||
• Conquered by Baibars | 1268 | ||||||||
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The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.
Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Bouillon after the First Crusade in 1100, and was unsuccessfully claimed by Daimbert of Pisa, the first Latin patriarch. It remained part of the royal domain until it was given to Hugh of Le Puiset in 1110. When Hugh II rebelled against King Fulk in 1134 the county was divided into a number of smaller holdings, and Jaffa itself became a royal domain. In 1151 it was designated as the apanageofKing Baldwin III's younger brother, Amalric. After the siege of Ascalon in 1153, King Baldwin III conquered Ascalon, which was added to Amalric's territory.[1]
Jaffa and Ascalon were then granted to close relatives of the monarch and passed in and out of direct royal control as its holders ascended the throne. Around 1250 it was given to a branch of the Ibelin family. With the capture of Jaffa by Baibars in 1268, the county became titular. It was bestowed anew upon John Perez Fabrice by James II of Cyprus and Jerusalem.
The County of Jaffa and Ascalon had a number of vassals of its own:
In 1153, Amalric was granted Ascalon as well, and from then on Jaffa and Ascalon were held by the same count.
