Balian of Ibelin - Legacy

Legacy

Balian died in 1193, in his early fifties. With Maria he had four children:

• Helvis of Ibelin, who married (1) Reginald of Sidon; (2) Guy of Montfort.
• John of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut and constable of Jerusalem, and regent for his niece Maria of Montferrat, Queen of Jerusalem. He married (1) Helvis of Nephin; (2) Melisende of Arsuf.
• Margaret, who married (1) Hugh of Saint-Omer (stepson of Raymond III of Tripoli); (2) Walter of Cæsarea.
• Philip of Ibelin, Regent of Cyprus, who married Alice of Montbéliard, and sired John of Ibelin, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon

Balian's squire Ernoul, who was with him on the embassy to Tripoli in 1187, wrote parts of the Old French continuation of the Latin chronicle of William of Tyre (William had died in 1186, before the fall of Jerusalem). Although this family of manuscripts now often bears his name, his account only survives in fragments within it, mainly for the period 1186–88, with a heavy bias in favour of the Ibelin family.

Balian became a common name in the Ibelin family in the 13th century. Balian, lord of Beirut, son of John and grandson of the above Balian, succeeded his father as lord of Beirut in 1236. Balian of Beirut's brother, also named John, had a son named Balian; this Balian was lord of Arsuf and married Plaisance of Antioch.

The name also passed into the family of the Greniers of Sidon, since Balian's daughter Helvis and Reginald of Sidon named their son Balian.