People/Latin Crusaders and Crusader states

c. 1125–1187 · Prince of Antioch and lord of Kerak

Raynald of Châtillon

Frankish lord known for his long captivity, Red Sea expedition and caravan raids, killed by Saladin after Hattin.

Raynald of Châtillon
Verified biography·Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Reynald came from a comparatively minor noble family in France. Through marriage to Princess Constance he became prince of Antioch in 1153. Captured during a raid in 1160, he spent about sixteen years in captivity at Aleppo; after his release he gained lordship of Kerak and Montreal through a second marriage.

02

Role in the Crusades

From his Transjordan lordships Reynald sent ships into the Red Sea in 1182–1183, threatened routes to the Hijaz and attacked caravans during periods of truce. These actions stand behind the reports that Saladin made a personal vow against him. Reynald was captured after Hattin in 1187 and killed in Saladin's presence.

Method note

Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Related cases

1158–1159 · Antioch

Byzantine–Frankish rapprochement

In 1158 the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos came to Cilicia and forced Prince Reynald of Châtillon of Antioch, who had plundered Cyprus, to submit before him. In April 1159 he entered Antioch in ceremony; an agreement with Nur al-Din then freed thousands of Latin prisoners.

Open record →1160 – 1176 · Aleppo

Long captivity of Raynald of Châtillon

Prince Reynald of Châtillon of Antioch was captured at the end of 1160 by the forces of Majd al-Din, governor of Aleppo, while returning from a plundering raid near Marash. Held in the citadel of Aleppo for about sixteen years, he was released for a high ransom in 1176.

Open record →1182 – 1183 · Aqaba – Yanbu

Raynald's Red Sea expedition

In the winter of 1182–1183 Reynald of Châtillon launched ships, carried overland in pieces, into the Gulf of Aqaba. The raiders attacked ports on the Red Sea coast and merchant and pilgrim ships; an Ayyubid fleet under Admiral Husam al-Din Lu'lu' stopped the expedition.

Open record →1186 (late) · Moab / Kerak

Raid on the Kerak caravan

At the end of 1186 or early 1187, Reynald of Châtillon, lord of Kerak, attacked a large caravan travelling from Egypt to Damascus despite the truce. He took the merchants and goods to Kerak and refused the demands of both Saladin and King Guy to return them; this became the direct cause of Saladin's declaration of war.

Open record →3–4 July 1187 · Hattin

Battle of Hattin

On 3–4 July 1187 at Hattin near Tiberias, Saladin wore down the main army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with thirst and fire and then destroyed it. King Guy of Lusignan was captured, Reynald of Châtillon was killed and the True Cross was taken; the kingdom's defensive strength collapsed in a single day.

Open record →