the Frankish schism — Count Raymond defects to Saladin

اختلاف الفرنج وانحياز القمص ريموند إلى صلاح الدين

c. 1186 CE · 582 AH

Raymond of Tripoli, wedded to the lady of Tiberias, had ruled for Baldwin IV heir and tasted kingship; when the boy died the crown passed to his mother, who crowned the newcomer Guy before the patriarch — and demanded Raymond accounts. Openly estranged, he wrote to Saladin, embraced his alliance for a promise of rule over all the Franks, and freed the captive knights. Their word was split and their unity scattered — among the greatest causes of Jerusalem recovery, says Ibn al-Athir ¹.

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In time

The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Summary

When the leprous king of the Franks died, the kingship passed to his mother. She married Guy and placed the crown on his head, with the testimony of the patriarch and the notables. This weighed heavily on Count Raymond, lord of Tripoli, who had been guardian of her sister's son and was eager for the kingship. When he was asked for the revenues of the boy's guardianship, he openly broke away and corresponded with Saladin, promising him the whole kingdom of the Franks, and he released his knights. Their word divided and their unity scattered, and this was among the greatest causes of the conquest of Jerusalem. ¹

Connections

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Occurred at: Tiberias
Had participant: Raymond III of Tripoli· Guy de Lusignan· Queen Sibylla· Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

People and things also explored

Ending the Ubaydid Khutba and Restoring the Abbasid Khutba in Egypt· the great battle at Acre — the sieges fiercest day· the Ayyubid shuffle — al-Adil to Aleppo, al-Aziz to Egypt· The scare over the conjunction of six planets in Libra in 582 AH· The battle of the Ford of Sorrows (Jacob's Ford, 575 AH)· Battle of Arsuf· Battle of Hattin· Battle of Jacob's Ford

Sources

al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 141-142

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “the Frankish schism — Count Raymond defects to Saladin”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/frank-split-raymond-582/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Ending the Ubaydid Khutba and Restoring the Abbasid Khutba in Egypt

Al-Imad al-Katib: Salah al-Din opened the year 567 with Egypt's greatest obedience — the Abbasid khutba, first Jumu'a at Fustat's mosque, the second at Cairo; al-Adid died that Ashura, and the palace's treasures sold for ten years. Shihab al-Din ibn Abi Asrun bore the news to Baghdad, and al-Imad wrote a general proclamation read across the lands of Islam — 'no minbar remains in those lands but the khutba for our lord al-Mustadi' is upon it'. Ibn al-Athir adds: Nur al-Din ordered it, Salah al-Din feared an Egyptian rising, and the Ajami called al-Amir al-Alim mounted the minbar before the khatib and prayed for al-Mustadi' — 'not two goats butted over it'. The khutba spread to Yemen, Barqa, Tawzar and Egypt to Aswan; Ibn al-Jawzi wrote his book al-Nasr ala Misr.