page_title: Pons, Count of Tripoli
section_title: Minority
hierarchical_section_title: Pons, Count of Tripoli / Reign / Minority
caption_attribution_description: Chastel Blanc, also known as Safita Tower, Syria
context_page_description: Pons was count of Tripoli from 1112 to 1137. He was a minor when his father, Bertrand, died in 1112. He swore fealty to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in the presence of a Byzantine embassy. His advisors sent him to Antioch to be educated in the court of Tancred of Antioch, ending the hostilities between the two crusader states. Tancred granted four important fortresses to Pons in the Principality of Antioch. Since Pons held his inherited lands in fief of the kings of Jerusalem, Tancred's grant strengthened the autonomy of the County of Tripoli. On his deathbed, Tancred also arranged the marriage of his wife, Cecile of France, to Pons.
  Pons closely cooperated with Tancred's successor, Roger of Salerno, against the Muslim rulers in the 1110s. He refused obedience to Baldwin II of Jerusalem in early 1122, but their vassals soon mediated a reconciliation between the two rulers. Pons was one of the supreme commanders of the crusader troops during the successful siege of Tyre in 1124.
context_section_description: Pons was a minor when his father died on 3 February 1112. Anna Comnena recorded that Bishop Albert of Tripoli wanted to keep the money that a Byzantine embassy had deposited with Pons' father and himself. Lewis says, the dispute is evidence the bishop exerted a strong influence on the government during Pons' minority. The money was returned to the Byzantines only after they had threatened to impose a blockade on Tripoli. Pons could only keep the gold and other valuable objects explicitly promised to his father as personal gifts. The Byzantines also persuaded Pons to swear fealty to Alexios I Komnenos as his grandfather and father had done.
  His "guardians and lords" concluded an agreement with Tancred of Antioch, making Pons "one of Tancred's knights", according to Ibn al-Qalanisi. Historian Jean Richard associated the "guardians and lords" with the most influential noblemen of the County of Tripoli who ruled the county on the minor count's behalf. Their decision helped to reconcile Antioch's Norman and Tripoli's Occitan crusaders, who had fallen out during the Siege of Antioch. The conflict with the Byzantines also contributed to the rapprochement between Tripoli and Antioch.
  Tancred granted Tortosa (now Tartus in Syria), Maraclea, Safita and Krak des Chevaliers—which had been claimed by the counts of Tripoli—to Pons in fief. Pons held his inherited lands in fief of the kings of Jerusalem. Tancred's grant contributed to the development of Tripoli into an autonomous crusader state. He died in December 1112, but only after ordering his wife, Cecile of France, be engaged to Pons. William of Malmesbury wrote that the dying prince arranged the marriage because he was convinced that Pons would be a successful military leader.
  Pons remained in Antioch during the first months or years of the rule of Tancred's successor, Roger of Salerno. Baldwin I of Jerusalem sent envoys to Antioch to seek the assistance of Roger and Pons against Mawdud, the Seljuk atabeg (governor) of Mosul, who had invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in late June 1113. However, Baldwin did not wait until their arrival and attacked the invaders near Tiberias. His army was defeated on 28 June. Pons accompanied Roger during the campaign and they sharply criticized Baldwin for his impatience after their arrival.
caption: Fortress of Safita, granted to Pons by Tancred of Antioch
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