Raymond III of Tripoli (1140-1187) was the Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187, succeeding Raymond II of Tripoli and preceding Raymond IV of Tripoli, and the Duke of Galilee under the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Biography[]
Raimond was born in 1140 to the House of Toulouse, a dynasty of Catholic Occitans. Raimond (also spelled "Raymond") was the son of Raymond II of Tripoli, and he succeeded his father when he was assassinated by the Hashshashin in 1152 while he was young. Raymond agreed with Manuel I of Byzantium to marry his sister Melisende of Tripoli to him, but Manuel later had doubts of their parenthood, so he called off the engagement and took back the enormous dowry. Raymond responded by plundering Cyprus. In 1164, Raymond and Bohemond III of Antioch marched to relieve the city of Harem in Syria from the army of Nur ad-Din, but Raymond, Bohemond, Joscelin III of Edessa, and Hugh VIII of Lusignan were captured. In 1173 he paid off his ransom and later became regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem for Baldwin IV of Jerusalem after Amalric I of Jerusalem died after assassinating Miles of Plancy, but in 1176 Baldwin came of age. He served his son Baldwin V of Jerusalem during the war with the Ayyubid Empire of Saladin, and he also served under King Guy de Lusignan.
Under King Guy, Raymond was the Duke of Galilee, having a sizeable realm that was due to be inherited by the Kingdom of France on his death. Raymond III wanted to seize power for himself, so he rebelled when Guy refused to change the succession laws to election. His rebellion was quelled and he was imprisoned, but later released. In 1187 he fought the Muslims of Saladin at the Battle of Hattin with his lord, and after the crushing defeat there, he died of illness.