Bohemond ascended to the throne after the Antiochene noblemen dethroned his mother with the assistance of the lord of Armenian Cilicia, Thoros II.

He fell into captivity in the Battle of Harim in 1164, but the victorious Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo released him to avoid coming into conflict with the Byzantine Empire.

[7][8] Raynald ruled the principality as Constance's husband from 1153 until he was captured by Majd al-Din, governor of Aleppo, in late November 1160 or 1161.

[13] However, the Antiochene noblemen rebelled against her with the assistance of Thoros II, Lord of Armenian Cilicia, forcing her to leave Antioch in February 1163.

[18][19] Taking advantage of Bohemond's absence, Nur ad-Din attacked the fortress at Harenc in the Principality of Antioch (present-day Harem, Syria).

[19] Bohemond, Raymond III of Tripoli, Thoros II of Armenian Cilicia, and Constantine Kalamanos joined their forces and marched to Harenc, compelling Nur ad-Din to retreat.

[23] Before long, Nur ad-Din released Bohemond, along with Thoros II of Cilicia, for a ransom because he regarded them as vassals of the Byzantine emperor.

[23] The Muslims advised [Nur ad-Din] to proceed to Antioch and seize it because it was devoid of defenders and fighting men to hold it, but he did not do so.

[25][27] Manuel's cousin, Andronicus Komnenus, who was made Byzantine governor of Cilicia in 1166, often visited Antioch to meet Bohemond's beautiful young sister, Philippa.

[30] Mleh, who had seized Cilicia with Nur ad-Din's help, besieged Bagras, the fortress of the Knights Templars near Antioch, in early 1170.

[31] Bohemond sought assistance from Amalric of Jerusalem, and their united army defeated Mleh, also forcing him to restore the towns of the Cilician plains to the Byzantine Empire.

[32] Bohemond's relationship with Armenian Cilicia remained tense, which prevented him from pursuing an active foreign policy until Mleh was dethroned in 1175.

[37] Indeed, in December Philip and Bohemond jointly laid siege to Harenc, a fortress of As-Salih Ismail al-Malik, Emir of Damascus, seizing the opportunity following a mutiny of the garrison.

[42] Baldwin IV of Jerusalem feared that the two princes (who were his father's cousins) had come to dethrone him, the symptoms of his leprosy having become "more and more evident" by that time.

[43] Historian Bernard Hamilton, who accepts William of Tyre's narration, says that Bohemond and Raymond came to Jerusalem to choose a husband for Baldwin's sister and heir, Sibylla, wishing to decrease the influence of the king's maternal relatives.

[49][48] Bohemond besieged the fortress, but Rainald II Masoir, Lord of Margat, and other noblemen who supported the patriarch rose up against him.

[52] Fearing an attack on Antioch, Bohemond sold Tarsus to Roupen III, Lord of Armenian Cilicia, to raise funds.

[54][55] A charter shows that Bohemond was in Acre in April 1185, suggesting that he was present when the leper Baldwin IV died around that time.

[59] Raymond of Tripoli and his supporters could not prevent Baldwin V's mother, Sibylla, and her husband, Guy of Lusignan, from seizing the throne.

[59] Baldwin of Ibelin, who was the only Jerusalemite baron to refuse to pay homage to Sibylla and Guy after their coronation, moved to Antioch.

[61] Nomad Turkmen bands invaded Cilicia,[57] forcing the new ruler, Leo, to swear fealty to Bohemond shortly after his ascension in 1186 or 1187.

[63] Even so, Bohemond sent 50 knights under the command of his elder son, Raymond, to Jerusalem after a Christian army was almost annihilated in the Battle of Cresson.

[72][73] After the Knights Templar surrendered their fortress at Bagras to Saladin on 26 September, Bohemond pleaded for a truce, offering the release of his Muslim prisoners.

[70] Bohemond urged the Holy Roman emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, to come to Syria, offering him the suzerainty over Antioch.

[78] The defence of Antioch was a principal aim of his crusade,[71] but he died unexpectedly near Seleucia in Asia Minor (present-day Silifke in Turkey) on 10 June 1190.

[81] In May 1191 Bohemond sailed to Limassol along with Guy of Lusignan and Leo of Cilicia to meet King Richard I of England, who had arrived to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin.

[89][62] Leo invited Bohemond and his family to Bagras, saying that he wanted to start negotiations regarding the surrender of the fortress either to Antioch or to the Templars in early 1194.

[95] Before long, he decided to besiege Jabala and Latakia, but he had to return to Antioch to meet the papal legate, Conrad of Wittelsbach, the archbishop of Mainz.

[90][96] Leo I of Cilicia appealed to the Holy See to protect Raymond-Roupen's interest, but the Knights Templar submitted a complaint against him for refusing to restore Bagras to them.

[102] Bohemond's second wife, Theodora (whom the Lignages d'Outremer mentioned as Irene) was a relative of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.