Philip of Montfort, Lord of Castres, in France, was made Lord of Toron in 1240 and Constable of Jerusalem in 1244. Philip was one of the few Christian knights to escape the disaster at the Battle of La Forbie where over 5,000 crusaders died and 800 were taken prisoner. In 1246, Henry I of Cyprus, Regent of Jerusalem, made him Lord of Tyre as a reward for his services. He joined the Seventh Crusade, and was the ambassador of Louis IX of France in negotiations for a truce and retreat from Damietta. In 1256, he expelled the Venetians from Tyre. During the War of St. Sabas he attempted to relieve the Genoese in Acre in 1258, but was repulsed contributing to their defeat to Venice. In 1266, he lost Toron to the Sultan Baibars. Even in Philip's old age, Baibars feared both his energetic leadership and the possible success of his appeals to Europe for aid. In 1270, Philip was killed by an assassin possibly in the employ of Baibars. He was succeeded by his son Philip II in his French possessions, and by his son John of Montfort in Tyre. | |