crusader state · Anatolia and the Levant

Lordship of Beirut

1110 CE – 1291 CE · capital Beirut

A Crusader lordship whose Ibelin lords led the barons of Outremer against Emperor Frederick II.

Origins

Baldwin I took Beirut in May 1110 with Genoese and Pisan ships, and the city became a lordship of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, first held by Fulk of Guines and later by the Brisebarre family.

Rule and society

Beirut was lost to Saladin in 1187 and regained by German crusaders in 1197. Its most famous lord, John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut, rebuilt the citadel and a palace whose marble and mosaics impressed visitors, and led the baronial resistance to the imperial officials of Frederick II in the 1230s. The city traded with Damascus and Cyprus, and its lords held lands on both shores.

Decline and legacy

After the Ibelin line ended, Beirut passed through heiresses. Following the fall of Acre in 1291, its garrison surrendered to the Mamluks in July and the city was dismantled.

Connections (2)

More states of Anatolia and the Levant →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lordship of Beirut. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-beirut
MLA
“Lordship of Beirut.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-beirut. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Lordship of Beirut.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-beirut.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lordship of Beirut’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-beirut (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻