Of Queen Sibylla's right to rule, Bernard Hamilton wrote " there is no real doubt, following the precedent of Melisende, that Sibylla, as the elder daughter of King Amalric, had the best claim to the throne ; equally, there could be no doubt after the ceremony that Guy only held the crown matrimonial.

Bernard Hamilton wrote " had Sibylla lived in more peaceful times she would have exercised a great deal of power since her husband's authority patently derived from her ", and that only the conquest by Saladin brought her rule to a speedy end.

In 1188, at Tortosa, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan and returned him to his wife, Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem.

Matters were complicated by a secret alliance between the Emperor of Constantinople and Saladin, warning of which was supplied by a note from Sibylla, ex-Queen of Jerusalem.

Sibylla and Guy's rule proved to be disastrous, and the kingdom was nearly wiped out by Saladin after the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

Guy was imprisoned in Damascus, while Sibylla together with Balian of Ibelin remained behind to defend Jerusalem, which was handed over to Saladin on 2 October.

Jerusalem was defended by Queen Sibylla, Patriarch Heraclius, and Balian, who subsequently negotiated its surrender to Saladin on October 2 ( see Siege of Jerusalem ).

In summer 1188, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan, the husband of Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem, from captivity.

It claims that Sibylla was in love with Baldwin of Ibelin, a widower over twice her age, but he was captured and imprisoned in 1179 by Saladin.

By September 1187, Saladin was besieging the Holy City, and Sibylla personally led the defence, along with Patriarch Eraclius and Balian of Ibelin, who had survived Hattin.

It claims that Sibylla and Baldwin of Ibelin were in love, and when Baldwin was captured by Saladin after the Battle of Jacob's Ford in 1179, they exchanged letters during his imprisonment ; that Sibylla herself proposed to Baldwin in a letter, with the wedding set to occur after his release.

Saladin granted his request, provided that Balian not take up arms against him and not remain in Jerusalem for more than one day ; however, upon arrival in the holy city, Patriarch Heraclius, Queen Sibylla, and the rest of the inhabitants begged him to take charge of the defense of the city.

Baldwin and his advisors recognised that it was essential for Sibylla to be married to a Western nobleman in order to access support from Europe in a military crisis ; while Raymond was still regent, a marriage was arranged for Sibylla and William of Montferrat, a cousin of Louis VII of France and of Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor.

Before Raymond and Bohemond arrived, Agnes and King Baldwin arranged for Sibylla to be married to a Poitevin newcomer, Guy of Lusignan, whose older brother Amalric of Lusignan was already an established figure at court.

In 1177 he performed the funeral services for William of Montferrat, husband of Baldwin IV's sister Sibylla, when the patriarch of Jerusalem, Amalric of Nesle, was too sick to attend.

Before Raymond and Bohemond arrived, however, Agnes and King Baldwin arranged for Sibylla to be married to a Poitevin newcomer, Guy of Lusignan, whose older brother Amalric of Lusignan was already an established figure at court.

As a leper, Baldwin was not expected to reign long or produce an heir, and courtiers and lords positioned themselves for influence over Baldwin's heirs, his sister Sibylla and his half-sister Isabella.

In his capacity as regent, Raymond of Tripoli had begun negotiations for the marriage of princess Sibylla to William of Montferrat, a first cousin of Louis VII of France and of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.

It was hoped that he would be able to govern for the king when he became incapacitated, and succeed him with Sibylla.

The mid-thirteenth century Old French Continuation of William of Tyre ( formerly attributed to Ernoul ) claims that Agnes advised her son to marry Sibylla to Guy, and that Amalric had brought Guy to Jerusalem specifically for him to marry Sibylla.

Guy went with Sibylla to Jerusalem for his stepson's funeral in 1186, along with an armed escort, with which he garrisoned the city.

Raynald of Châtillon gained popular support for Sibylla by affirming that she was " li plus apareissanz et plus dreis heis dou rouame " (" the most evident and rightful heir of the kingdom ").

Conrad denied sanctuary to Sibylla and Guy, who camped outside the city walls for months.

His wife Sibylla of Acerra did establish a regency for her second son William III, but Henry VI returned to Italy later that year, his army financed by the lucrative ransom of Richard I. Naples surrendered in May, almost without a blow, and the rest of the Regno followed.

Guy of Lusignan became king of Jerusalem in 1186, in right of his wife Sibylla, after the death of Sibylla's son Baldwin V. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was at this time divided between the " court faction " of Guy, Sibylla, and relative newcomers to the kingdom such as Raynald of Châtillon, as well as Gerard of Ridefort and the Knights Templar ; and the " nobles ’ faction ", led by Raymond III of Tripoli, who had been regent for the child-king Baldwin V and had opposed the succession of Guy.

1198 ), the second son of King Tancred of Lecce and Sibylla of Acerra, was briefly king of Sicily for ten months in 1194.

He retired as bailli when Baldwin IV came of age in 1176, having arranged for Baldwin IV's sister Sibylla of Jerusalem to marry William Longsword of Montferrat.

Sibylla was raised by her great-aunt, the Abbess Ioveta of Bethany, sister of former Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, who founded the convent of St. Lazarus in Bethany for her sister in 1128, and died there in 1163.

In 1174, her father sent Frederick de la Roche, archbishop of Tyre, on a diplomatic legation to Europe to drum up support ( martial and financial ) for the Crusader states, and to arrange a suitable marriage for Sibylla.

In 1176, Baldwin and Raymond arranged for Sibylla to marry William Longsword of Montferrat, eldest son of the Marquess William V of Montferrat, and a cousin of Louis VII of France and of Frederick Barbarossa.

Sibylla is pregnant with their second child when she finds the ivory tablet concealed by her husband, and the identities of mother and son are revealed.

In the last pages of the book Sibylla comes to Rome to seek an audience with the great Pope and to give her confession.

Raymond and his supporters went to Nablus, presumably in an attempt to prevent Sibylla from claiming the throne, but Sibylla and her supporters went to Jerusalem, where it was decided that the kingdom should pass to her, on the condition that her marriage to Guy be annulled.

During the lengthy siege, which lasted until 1191, Patriarch Heraclius, Queen Sibylla and her daughters, and many others died of disease.

* After the death of the child-king Baldwin V, his mother succeeds him as Sibylla of Jerusalem and appoints her disfavoured husband Guy de Lusignan king consort.

Also in 1157, on the death of patriarch Fulcher, Melisende, her half-sister Sibylla of Flanders, and Ioveta the Abbess of Bethany, had Amalric of Nesle appointed as patriarch of Jerusalem.

In 1160 she gave her assent to a grant made by her son Amalric to the Holy Sepulchre, perhaps on the occasion of the birth of her granddaughter Sibylla to Agnes and Amalric.

His importance had dwindled with the victory of Agnes and her supporters, and with the accession of Baldwin V, infant son of Sibylla and William of Montferrat.

In 1186 he was succeeded by his mother Sibylla and her second husband Guy of Lusignan, ruling jointly.

Sibylla was being raised by her great-aunt Ioveta in the convent of Bethany, while Isabella was at the court of her mother, the dowager queen Maria Comnena, in Nablus.

A plan to marry Sibylla to Hugh III of Burgundy had broken down ; Raymond of Tripoli seems to have been attempting to marry her to Baldwin of Ibelin to bolster his power-base.

Although Baldwin seems to have held no ill-will towards his sister, Baldwin appointed his 5-year-old nephew Baldwin of Montferrat as his heir and successor, with the support of Agnes and her husband Reginald of Sidon, Raymond, and many of the other barons, excluding Sibylla from the succession.

Baldwin V of Jerusalem ( Baldwin of Montferrat, also known as Baudouinet ) ( August 1177 August 1186 ) was the son of Sibylla of Jerusalem and her first husband, William of Montferrat.

The other faction, more supportive of Sibylla, centred around her maternal uncle Joscelin III of Edessa and mother Agnes of Courtenay, now the wife of Reginald of Sidon.

His legal heir was his sister, Sibylla, but it was decided that her son Baldwin of Montferrat would inherit the kingdom, preceding Sibylla's claim.

Sibylla already had one child, a son from her first marriage to William of Montferrat.