Eschiva was a Lady of Beirut in her own right, and heir to the Duchy of Athens. As would happen in those days, she was overlooked for titles and roles because she was a woman.

This person is my 17 x great-grand-mother.

She was born in 1253¹, most likely in Beirut. She is the daughter of Jean Ibelin, Lord of Beirut, and his wife Alice of Athens².

Titles

She inherited the title of Lady of Beirut³ when her elder sister died in 1282 or 1283⁴.

Family

Pope Gregory X issued a dispensation for her marriage to Honfroy de Monfort, Lord of Tyre, on 1 October 1274⁵. De Monfort died before she did^{6 7}.

Pope Nicholas IV issued a dispensation for her marriage to Amaury of Cyprus, Duke of Tyre, on 23 January 1291⁸. He was murdered before they married⁹.

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She married again, this time into the House of Poitiers-Lusignan, by marrying Guy Poitiers-Lusignan in 1291^{10 11 12}. Pope Nicholas IV provided dispensation for the marriage on 7 December 1291^{13 14}.

Together they had two children¹⁵:

• Hugh, later King Hugh IV of Cyprus.
• Isabelle

Notable events

In 1291, Muslim general Al Ashraf besieged the city of Beirut and she left for Cyprus before it fell¹⁶.

In 1308, she travelled to Morea, Greece, to claim her right to the duchy of Athens which she inherited from her mother¹⁷. She was shipwrecked on her return to Cyprus¹⁸, but there is no record of when or where this happened.

Death

She died in Nicosia in 1312¹⁹. They buried her in the Cathedral in Nicosia²⁰, but it’s not clear what she died of, or which cathedral they buried her in.

Lineage

This person is my 17 x great-grandmother.

References

1. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
2. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
3. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
4. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
5. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
6. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
7. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
8. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
9. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
10. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
11. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
12. The Manuscript Torino J.II.9: A late medieval perspective on musical life and culture at the court of the Lusignian kings at Nicosia; Andrée Giselle Simard; University of Akron; 2005-12[↩]
13. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
14. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
15. Cyprus; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
16. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
17. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
18. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
19. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]
20. Jerusalem, Nobility; Medieval Lands; Charles Cawley; (Retrieved 2024-04-19) [↩]