Page 71 - A Walk to Caesarea / Joseph Patrich

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective 57

in 1110 to Eustace Garnier – a senior member of the a
nobility, who played a central role in the government

of the state in the 1120s. Information about the other

lords of Caesarea, their wives, and their connections

to the lords of other seigneuries and political activity

in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond is dispersed

in the available sources. There is almost no data

about Caesarea itself. The seals of a number of lords of b
Caesarea are also known (Fig. 62).

The seigneury of Caesarea ranged from Athlit in

the north to Nah. al Poleg in the south, and to the foot
of the Carmel and Samaria mountains to the east,

comprising an area of about 500 square miles, which

included some 100 tax-paying villages. The farmers c

were mainly native-born Muslims; agricultural settlers

arrived from Europe as well. The tax was supposed to

provide for 50 knights of the kingdom and 50 horsemen

of the city, and a similar number of horsemen of the

church who were subordinate to the authority of the

archbishop of Caesarea. A number of knights, under

the command of a viscount, were stationed in Qaqun Fig. 62a–c
fortress, to the southeast, on the road to Nablus, but Seals of the Lords of Caesarea

most of them were located in Caesarea as a garrison, a. Seal of Hugo Granier, the Latin Lord of Caesarea depicted as
or accompanied the lord of Caesarea on his journeys. an armed horseman. On the reverse: a tower with a gate in the
When the lord was absent from the city, it was under wall, surrounded by a Latin inscription: “The city of Caesarea”
the command of a second viscount. The seigneury also
had an administrative staff. In addition, the Church b. Seal of Galter Granier, Lord of Caesarea, who is depicted as an
establishment also had large tracts of land, possessed armed horseman. On the reverse: A city surrounded by a wall
by the archbishop of the city or by the Brotherhood in the middle of which is an inner Keep (donjon), surrounded
of the Holy Sepulcher, the Monastery of Mary in the by a Latin inscription: “The city of Caesarea”
Valley of Jehoshaphat or Saint Lazarus Monastery near
c. Seal of E(vremar), archbishop of Caesarea, holding his scepter
and a palm branch. On the reverse: Peter baptizing Cornelius,
centurion (commander) of the Italian cohort in Caesarea, who
was the first Gentile to convert to Christianity. The depiction

Jerusalem. At the turn of the thirteenth century, many is surrounded by an inscription identifying the scene

tracts of land, both within and outside the city, were

handed over to the large military orders – the Hospitallers, the Templars, and the

Teutons. Caesarea's importance for the Crusaders was that it was a fortified city; the

port was less significant for them. Al-Idrisi (d. 1166) describes it as “a very large

town, having also a populous suburb. Its fortifications are impregnable.” He spoke

derisively about the port, noting that there was place for loading only one ship

at a time. In 1177, Johannes Phocas depicts it as “a large and populous city, built

on the shore of the sea. In it is a truly wonderful harbor, made by human skill…”

(tr. A. Stewart, PPTS V.3, p. 35), while Jacques de Vitry (1180) reports that it

had no convenient port, and William of Tyre also stresses the lack of a port (even

though the Crusaders restored it and made use of it in their wars). Thus, it is clear

that at that time the Caesarea harbor was not a bustling port, so its attraction was