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| Aimeric I | |
|---|---|
 The seal of Count Aimeric | |
| Prince of Melitene | |
| Reign | 1113—1126 |
| Predecessor | Drogo |
| Successor | Aimeric |
| Born | c.1076/1081 |
| Died | 19 July 1132 |
| Spouse | Alice |
| Issue | Aimeric II Bertrand |
| House | Seiches |
| Father | Turold |
| Mother | Matilda of Mayenne |
Aimeric I (Also spelled Aymeric, Aymaric, or Aimaric; c. 1076/1081 - 19 July 1132), was the Prince of Melitene from 1113 to his death.
Early Life and Career
[edit]It is not known when Aimeric (also spelled Aymeric) was born, however it is known that he was “a man of youth and knowledge” by his succession to the County of Melitene according to William of Tyre, that his father, Turold, was born in 1057, and that he was old enough to go on the First Crusade by 1096. In France, Aimeric inherited the seigneury of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 1087 and was a vassal of Count Fulk IV of Anjou. As lord of Saint-Germain, Aimeric eventually became embedded in the power struggles over the County of Maine.
By 1092, Aimeric held a castle at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, from which he resisted the counts’ authority with limited success. As the son of Matilda de Mayenne and Turold de Saint-Germain, Aimeric was the maternal nephew of Drogo, Seigneur of Mayenne (the brother of Matilda). Aimeric joined his uncle on the First Crusade in 1096, however there is evidence that he travelled with the host of Duke Robert of Normandy rather than Stephen-Henry of Blois like his uncle. Aimeric again split from Drogo at the Siege of Antioch (1097–1098), at which point Drogo travelled to join Baldwin of Boulogne in Edessa. Aimeric, by contrast, is named as one of the participants in the Siege of Jerusalem (1099).
Aimeric wandered around the Latin levant afterwards. He is named as one of the lords present at the Battle of Ascalon (1099), but is also named as Lord of Kafr Nabil & Qaernat in 1101, which Drogo had previously held before being forced to renounce it for Bohemond. Aimeric clearly did not intend to travel back home in any case, having renounced all of his landholdings in Europe for his youngest sister, Beatrice de Saint-Germain. It was only by 1103 that Aimeric was named alongside his uncle in any action after 1096, when he was in Melitene alongside Drogo, attempting to hold it against Danishmendid assault after being invited in by the Armenians of Melitene after the death of their former ruler, Gabriel of Melitene.
By 1104, the venture had failed, with Drogo and Aimeric being forced to abandon the settlement. Aimeric is named at the Battle of Ramla (1105), suggesting he had temporarily abandoned his uncle once again. After 1106, however, Aimeric served fairly faithfully as Drogo’s lieutenant as Drogo founded his County of Melitene. Aimeric took part in the Battle of Kahta (1106), where Drogo seized Melitene from Sungur and the Battle of Baskil (1109), where Drogo was repulsed from seizing Kherbard. Drogo ultimately captured Kherbard in 1110, and in that year Aimeric was granted the fiefs of Nurhak and Surgu, after having presumably lost his fiefs of Nafr Kabil and Qaernat. Aimeric served as regent of the County of Melitene after Drogo was captured in winter 1118, and possibly contributed to his ransom in January 1119. Aimeric may have also been Lord of Polat by 1114.
Prince of Melitene
[edit]Succession
[edit]
Sources
[edit]Primary Sources
[edit]William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
Secondary Sources
[edit]- Mackandie, Robert (1983). The County of Melitene. University of Tennessee.
- Wyre, Raymond (2002). The Northern Crusader States: Frankish rule of Syria and Upper Mesopotamia 1099 - 1150. Gudhem Publishers. ISBN 9-78-0-415-39312-6.
- Marles, Henry (2002). The Early Growth of the Crusader States. Gudhem Publishers. ISBN 978-8-84221-449-6.
- Barber, Malcolm (2012). The Crusader States. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11312-9.