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Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse
Raymond of Saint-Gilles (c. 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 to 1099. He spent the last five years of his life establishing the County of Tripoli in the Near East.
Raymond was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de La Marche. He received Saint-Gilles with the title of "count" from his father and displaced his niece Philippa, Duchess of Aquitaine, his brother William IV's daughter, in 1094 from inheriting Toulouse.
In 1094, William Bertrand of Provence died and his margravial title to Provence passed to Raymond. A bull of Urban's dated 22 July 1096 names Raymond comes nimirum Tholosanorum ac Ruthenensium et marchio Provintie Raimundus ("Raymond, count of Toulouse and Rouergue, margrave of Provence").
Raymond was deeply religious, and wished to die in the Holy Land, and so when the call was raised for the First Crusade, he was one of the first to take the cross. He is sometimes called "the one-eyed" (monoculus in Latin) after a rumour that he had lost an eye in a scuffle with the doorkeeper of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during an earlier pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The oldest and the richest of the crusaders, Raymond left Toulouse at the end of October 1096, with a large army and company that included his wife Elvira of Castile, his infant son (who would die on the journey) and Adhemar, bishop of Le Puy, the papal legate. He ignored requests by his niece, Philippa (the rightful heiress to Toulouse) to grant the rule of Toulouse to her in his stead; instead, he left Bertrand, his eldest son, to govern.
According to Raymond of Aguilers's Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem, after Raymond's forces took the route through the Alps and Northern Italy, they reached Sclavonia (Kingdom of Croatia) in winter of 1096. Described in biblical terms, for some 40 days passed through the mountains, forests and fog without trade and guide from native population who also attacked army's rear (at the time was a succession crisis in Croatia). To discourage their attacks, he ordered mutilation of six captive Slavs, and Peter Tudebode in Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere wrote that Raymond "lost many noble knights while passing through Sclavonia".
After "strenuous passage across Sclavonia", they entered Shkodër the capital of the kingdom of Duklja where Raymond "affirmed brotherhood and bestowed many gifts upon the king of the Slavs" (Constantine Bodin), but once again were attacked by the Slavs. Then they marched to Dyrrhachium, and then east to Constantinople along the same route used by Bohemond of Taranto. Along the route they confronted Pecheneg and Byzantine mercenaries, capturing cities of Roussa and Rodosto.
At the end of April 1097, he was the only crusade leader not to swear an oath of fealty to Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Instead, Raymond swore an oath of friendship, and offered his support against Bohemond, mutual enemy of both Raymond and Alexios.
He was present at the siege of Nicaea and the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097, but his first major role came in October 1097 at the siege of Antioch. The crusaders heard a rumour that Antioch had been deserted by the Seljuk Turks, so Raymond sent his army ahead to occupy it, offending Bohemond of Taranto who wanted the city for himself. The city was, however, still occupied, and was taken by the crusaders only after a difficult siege in June 1098. Raymond took the palatium Cassiani (the palace of emir Yaghi-Siyan) and the tower over the Bridge Gate. He was ill during the second siege of Antioch by Kerbogha which culminated in a controversial rediscovery of the Holy Lance by a monk named Peter Bartholomew.
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Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse
Raymond of Saint-Gilles (c. 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 to 1099. He spent the last five years of his life establishing the County of Tripoli in the Near East.
Raymond was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de La Marche. He received Saint-Gilles with the title of "count" from his father and displaced his niece Philippa, Duchess of Aquitaine, his brother William IV's daughter, in 1094 from inheriting Toulouse.
In 1094, William Bertrand of Provence died and his margravial title to Provence passed to Raymond. A bull of Urban's dated 22 July 1096 names Raymond comes nimirum Tholosanorum ac Ruthenensium et marchio Provintie Raimundus ("Raymond, count of Toulouse and Rouergue, margrave of Provence").
Raymond was deeply religious, and wished to die in the Holy Land, and so when the call was raised for the First Crusade, he was one of the first to take the cross. He is sometimes called "the one-eyed" (monoculus in Latin) after a rumour that he had lost an eye in a scuffle with the doorkeeper of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during an earlier pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The oldest and the richest of the crusaders, Raymond left Toulouse at the end of October 1096, with a large army and company that included his wife Elvira of Castile, his infant son (who would die on the journey) and Adhemar, bishop of Le Puy, the papal legate. He ignored requests by his niece, Philippa (the rightful heiress to Toulouse) to grant the rule of Toulouse to her in his stead; instead, he left Bertrand, his eldest son, to govern.
According to Raymond of Aguilers's Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem, after Raymond's forces took the route through the Alps and Northern Italy, they reached Sclavonia (Kingdom of Croatia) in winter of 1096. Described in biblical terms, for some 40 days passed through the mountains, forests and fog without trade and guide from native population who also attacked army's rear (at the time was a succession crisis in Croatia). To discourage their attacks, he ordered mutilation of six captive Slavs, and Peter Tudebode in Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere wrote that Raymond "lost many noble knights while passing through Sclavonia".
After "strenuous passage across Sclavonia", they entered Shkodër the capital of the kingdom of Duklja where Raymond "affirmed brotherhood and bestowed many gifts upon the king of the Slavs" (Constantine Bodin), but once again were attacked by the Slavs. Then they marched to Dyrrhachium, and then east to Constantinople along the same route used by Bohemond of Taranto. Along the route they confronted Pecheneg and Byzantine mercenaries, capturing cities of Roussa and Rodosto.
At the end of April 1097, he was the only crusade leader not to swear an oath of fealty to Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Instead, Raymond swore an oath of friendship, and offered his support against Bohemond, mutual enemy of both Raymond and Alexios.
He was present at the siege of Nicaea and the Battle of Dorylaeum in 1097, but his first major role came in October 1097 at the siege of Antioch. The crusaders heard a rumour that Antioch had been deserted by the Seljuk Turks, so Raymond sent his army ahead to occupy it, offending Bohemond of Taranto who wanted the city for himself. The city was, however, still occupied, and was taken by the crusaders only after a difficult siege in June 1098. Raymond took the palatium Cassiani (the palace of emir Yaghi-Siyan) and the tower over the Bridge Gate. He was ill during the second siege of Antioch by Kerbogha which culminated in a controversial rediscovery of the Holy Lance by a monk named Peter Bartholomew.