Pons, Count of Tripoli

Seal of Pons of Tripoli

Pons of Tripoli (c. 1098 – 1137) was the son of Bertrand of Tripoli, and was count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137.

Pons married Cecile of France, the widow of his mentor Tancred, Prince of Galilee, and daughter of Philip I of France. This marriage helped to reconcile the Norman and Provençal Crusaders, who had fallen out during the Siege of Antioch.

In 1118 he allied with Baldwin II, the new king of Jerusalem, and in 1119 the two marched north to aid Roger of Salerno against an invasion by Il-ghazi. Roger decided not to wait for them, and he and his army were slaughtered at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis. However, Pons and Baldwin managed to prevent Ilghazi from occupying the Principality of Antioch by defeating him at the Battle of Hab. Several years later, Baldwin II was taken hostage by Balak ibn-Braham.

In 1124, while Baldwin was still imprisoned, Pons helped capture Tyre, one of the last coastal cities remaining in Muslim hands. Baldwin was released later that year, and in 1125 he and Pons won a decisive victory over the Muslims at the Battle of Azaz. In 1131 Pons came into conflict with Fulk of Jerusalem, who had ascended the throne that year, and was defeated at the Battle of Rugia.

In 1137 Tripoli was invaded by the sultan of Damascus, and Pons was taken prisoner and later executed with most of the other Frankish prisoners. He was succeeded by his son Raymond II.

Sources

• William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
• Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1952.