Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
There were also a number of independent seigneuries, and some land held under direct royal control, such as Jerusalem itself, Acre and Tyre.
Its first two counts became kings of Jerusalem, and the county was bestowed as a royal gift on Joscelin I of Edessa.
The County of Tripoli, the nearest of them, is sometimes considered to have been a vassal lordship under the king's suzerainty, although it preserved an extraordinary degree of sovereignty.
Antioch was almost independent, for it was founded already before the kingship and its first holder was a rival of kings, the original leader of the crusade.
[1] Jaffa, on the Mediterranean coast, was fortified after the First Crusade, and was a separate county until the revolt of Hugh II of Le Puiset in 1134.
Originally held by the bishop of Ramla-Lydda, in 1126 Ramla became part of Jaffa, and a separate lordship was created after Hugh II's revolt in 1134.
The Lords of Ramla were: The Lordship of Ibelin was also created out of Jaffa (in the 1140s, or perhaps as early as 1134 after Hugh II's revolt).
It was one of the longest-lived seigneuries, surviving until the final collapse of the kingdom in 1291, although only as a tiny strip on the Mediterranean coast surrounding Beirut.
Banias (Caesarea Philippi) was under the control of the Assassins from 1126–1129, when it was given to the Franks following the purge of the sect in Damascus by Taj al-Muluk Buri.
A noblemen Eustace I Grenier, a trussed advisor of Baldwin I of Jerusalem, was granted the lordship of both cities.
The Lordship of Oultrejordain, consisting of land with an undefined boundary to the east of the Jordan River, was one of the largest and most important seigneuries.
The lords of Oultrejordain were: (Titular lords/princes are italicized) The Lordship of Adelon seems to have been created after the center of the kingdom was moved to Acre, and held some influence under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
The Lordship of Botrun was a fief around the city Batrun from 1115: Caymont was created in 1192 after the Third Crusade for Balian of Ibelin, who had lost his other territories to Saladin.
[citation needed] Denys Pringle quotes William of Tyre indicating the year 1117 for the date when Baldwin I has built the castle of Scandalion.
[citation needed] Conrad of Montferrat practically created this lordship during the Third Crusade by defending it, as it was the only remaining town of the kingdom.
Tyre, always an important town, had been part of the royal domain, and after Conrad, it also belonged to the kings personally.
Sometime after 1246, Tyre was conferred upon Philip of Montfort by Henry I of Cyprus (then regent of Jerusalem) for his support of the Ibelin (baronial) party against the Imperialists.
The heirs sold in 1220 the seigneury[dubious – discuss] to the Teutonic Knights, who used the place near Acre as their fortress in Outremer.
Firstly, in the early years of the kingdom, lords sought out their own territories, and lordships changed hands often.
Secondly, the average lifespan of male lords in Palestine was rather low, due to the constant state of warfare and violence, which led to inheritances by females and/or extinction of whole families.
Female succession opened up the option for the liege or the monarch to reward services, loyalty and capability, as well as achievements, by giving an heiress' hand in marriage and her inherited lordship to a "new man".
A typical succession pattern was a father followed by a daughter, sister, or niece, who was then married to a man worthy of some reward, who then himself succeeded to the territory.
A less careful observer may think that they were not hereditary, but almost always their succession took place according to feudal rights of inheritance, utilizing the relatively high number of heiresses.
