Humphrey IV of Toron

Humphrey IV of Toron
Marriage of Humphrey and Isabella of Jerusalem
Lord of Toron
Reign	1179–1180
Predecessor	Humphrey II of Toron
Successor	Acquired by the Crown
Spouse(s)	Isabella of Jerusalem
Noble family	Toron
Father	Humphrey III of Toron
Mother	Stephanie of Milly
Born	c. 1166
Died	1198
Religion	Roman Catholic

Humphrey IV of Toron (c. 1166 – 1198) was a leading baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He inherited the Lordship of Toron from his grandfather, Humphrey II of Toron, in 1179. He was also heir to the Lordship of Oultrejourdan through his mother, Stephanie of Milly. He renounced Toron on his engagement to the half-sister of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, Isabella, in 1180, because Baldwin wanted to prevent him from uniting two large fiefs. Humphrey married Isabella in Kerak Castle in autumn 1183. Saladin, the Ayyubbid sultan of Egypt and Syria, laid siege to Kerak during the wedding, but Baldwin IV and Raymond III of Tripoli relieved the fortress.

After the death of Baldwin IV's nephew and successor, the child Baldwin V of Jerusalem, in summer 1186, the barons who did not want to acknowledge the right of Baldwin V's mother, Sybilla, and of her husband, Guy of Lusignan, to inherit the kingdom, decided to proclaim Humphrey and his wife king and queen. However, Humphrey, who did not want to reign, deserted them and did homage to Sybilla and Guy. He was captured in the Battle of Hattin, in which Saladin imposed a crushing defeat on the united army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1187. His mother offered the surrender of the fortresses of Oultrejordain to Saladin in exchange for Humphrey's release. Although the garrisons of Kerak and Montréal refused to surrender, Saladin set Humphrey free. Kerak only fell to Saladin's troops in late 1188, Montréal in early 1189.

After the death of Sybilla in autumn 1190, most barons of the realm (including Isabella's stepfather, Balian of Ibelin) wanted to give Isabella in marriage to Conrad of Montferrat, a successful military leader. The marriage of Humphrey and Isabella was annulled, although they protested against the decision. Humphrey joined the retinue of Richard I of England during Richard's crusade in 1191–1192. Since Humphrey was fluent in Arabic, he conducted negotiations with Saladin's brother, Al-Adil, on Richard's behalf.