Philip of Milly - Lord of Oultrejordain

Lord of Oultrejordain

In July 1161, as Melisende lay dying, Philip exchanged the lordship of Nablus with Baldwin III in order to become lord of Oultrejordain. This allowed Baldwin to regain control of the southern half of the kingdom while his mother was in no condition to oppose him, but he was probably also aiming to strengthen Oultrejordain with a powerful and loyal baron. Baldwin died in 1163 and was succeeded by his brother Amalric, who was a friend of Philip and a fellow supporter of Melisende during the earlier struggle in 1151.

Philip joined Amalric's invasion of Egypt in 1167. The Ibelin family later recalled an event during the siege of Bilbeis, in which Philip saved the life of Hugh of Ibelin, who had broken his leg when his horse fell in a ditch. The Templars as a whole refused to support Amalric's invasion, and the king blamed them for the failure of the expedition. After the death of their Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort in January 1169, Amalric pressured them to elect Philip in his place in August of that year. With the election of Philip, Amalric regained Templar support for the invasion of Egypt, although by the end of the year Amalric was forced to retreat.

For unknown reasons he resigned as Grand Master in 1171, and was succeeded by Odo de St Amand. Philip accompanied Amalric to Constantinople as ambassador to the Byzantine Empire in order to restore good relations with them after the failure of the Egyptian invasion. He probably died on April 3, before reaching Constantinople.