Raymond IV (redirected from Raymond of Saint-Gilles)

Raymond IV, count of Toulouse

Raymond IV, c.1038–1105, count of Toulouse (1093–1105), leader in the First Crusade (see Crusades). He was also count of Saint Gilles and marquis of Provence. The first great prince to take the Cross, he was the chief planner and organizer of the expedition. He refused to follow Bohemond I and Godfrey of Bouillon in swearing fealty to the Byzantine emperor Alexius I, confining himself to a promise (1097) to do no injury to the emperor's life or honor. Raymond distinguished himself at the sieges of Nicaea, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but quarreled (in vain) with Bohemond over the possession of Antioch. Having refused the title king of Jerusalem, he fought at Ashkelon (1099). Unable to protect his city of Laodicea against Bohemond, he went to Constantinople to seek the aid of Alexius. Subsequently he was held prisoner by Tancred, who was acting as regent for Bohemond. At the end of his life, with Byzantine support, he laid siege to Tripoli, which was finally formed into a county by his descendants.

Bibliography

See biography by J. H. Hill and L. L. Hill (1962).

---

Raymond IV

 French Raimond known as Raymond of Saint-Gilles

(born 1041 or 1042, Toulouse, county of Toulouse—died Feb. 28, 1105, near Tripoli) Count of Toulouse (1093–1105) and marquis of Provence (1066–1105). The first western European ruler to join the First Crusade, he helped capture Antioch (1098) and Jerusalem (1099) but refused the Crusaders' crown of Jerusalem. He also conquered and ruled Tripoli (1102–05).