Maria Comnena (c.1150-1208 or later) was the second wife of Amalric I of Jerusalem and mother of Isabella of Jerusalem. She was the daughter of Ioannes Comnenus, sometime Byzantine dux in Cyprus, and Maria Taronitissa, a descendant of the ancient Armenian kings. Her sister Theodora married Prince Bohemund III of Antioch, and her brother Alexios was briefly emperor of Thessalonica. Events Philip of Swabia King of Germany and rival Holy Roman Emperor to Otto IV, assassinated June 21 in Bamberg by German Count Otto of Wittelsbach because Philip had refused to give him his daughter in marriage. ... Amalric I (also Amaury or Aimery) (1136 – 1174) was king of Jerusalem from 1162 to 1174. ... Isabella of Jerusalem (c. ... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus The Comnenus family was an important family in the history of the Byzantine Empire. ... Bohemund III of Antioch (1144-1201), also know as the Stammerer, was ruler of the principality of Antioch (a crusader state) from 1163 to his death. ... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ...

After the annulment of his first marriage to Agnes of Courtenay, Amalric was anxious to forge an alliance with Byzantium and asked the emperor Manuel for a bride from the imperial family. Maria Comnena was no beauty, but she was the emperor's grandniece and he bestowed upon her a rich dowry. The marriage of Amalric and Maria was celebrated with much fanfare at Tyre, on August 29, 1167. Agnes of Courtenay (died c. ... Fresco of Manuel I Manuel I Comnenus Megas (November 28, 1118? - September 24, 1180) was Byzantine Emperor from 1143 to 1180. ... Tyre (native Phoenician Ṣur, Latin Tyrus, Akkadian Ṣurru, Tiberian Hebrew צר Ṣōr, Greek Τύρος Týros, Arabic الصور aṣ-Ṣūr) is an ancient Phoenician city in Lebanon on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of Sidon. ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... Events Taira no Kiyomori becomes the first samurai to be appointed Daijo Daijin, chief minister of the government of Japan Peter of Blois becomes the tutor of William II of Sicily Absalon, archbishop of Denmark, leads the first Danish synod at Lund Absalon fortifies Copenhagen William Marshal, the greatest knight...

Maria bore him a daughter, Isabella, in 1172, and a stillborn child some time later. On his deathbed, Amalric left Nablus to Maria, who became dowager-queen upon his death, and Isabella. Nablus also (rarely) spelled Nabulus ( Arabic نابلس; Hebrew שכם, Shechem) is a major city (pop. ...

In 1177, Maria married Balian of Ibelin. She bore him at least two children, John of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut and constable of Jerusalem, and Philip of Ibelin, bailli of Cyprus. Maria and Balian supported Conrad of Montferrat in his struggle for the kingship against Guy of Lusignan, and arranged for Maria's daughter by Amalric, Isabella, to marry Conrad, giving him a stronger claim to the throne. Balian of Ibelin (died 1193) was an important noble of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. ... John of Ibelin (c. ... The Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller seigneuries. ... There were six major officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: constable, marshal, seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor. ... Conrad of Montferrat was one of the major participants in the Third Crusade, and was briefly king of Jerusalem in 1192. ... Guy of Lusignan (died 1194) was a French knight who, through marriage, became king of Jerusalem, and led the Kingdom to disaster at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. ...

As the grandmother of Alice of Champagne (Isabella's daughter by her second husband, Henry II of Champagne), Maria conducted the marriage negotiations with Cyprus in 1208 – Alice was to marry Hugh I of Cyprus. Blanche of Navarre, Regent and Countess of Champagne, widow of Alice's paternal uncle, provided the dowry for Alice. This is the last time Maria is mentioned. Alice of Jerusalem or Alice de Champagne (1196 – 1246) was the daughter of Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem and count Henry II of Champagne, king-consort Henry I of Jerusalem. ... Henry II of Champagne (c. ... Hugh I of Cyprus (born 1294 or 1295, died 1218) succeeded to the throne of Cyprus in 1205 underage upon the death of his elderly father Amalric of Lusignan, King of Cyprus and King-Consort of Jerusalem. ...

Sources

• Payne, Robert. The Dream and the Tomb, 1984