Oultrejordain
| Lordship of Oultrejordain | ||||||||||
| Vassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem | ||||||||||
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 Lordship of Oultrejordain. 12th century.
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| Capital |
Montreal (1115 to 1140s) Kerak (1140s to 1188) |
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| Languages | Latin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek) | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syrian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism | |||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | |||||||||
| Lord | ||||||||||
| • | 1118–1126 | Roman of Le Puy | ||||||||
| • | 1177–1187 | Raynald of Châtillon | ||||||||
| Historical era | High Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | First Crusade | 1118 | ||||||||
| • | Conquered by Saladin | 1187 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Israel Jordan Palestine
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The Lordship of Oultrejordain or Oultrejourdain (Old French for "beyond the Jordan", also called Lordship of Montreal) was the name used during the Crusades for an extensive and partly undefined region to the east of the Jordan River, an area known in ancient times as Edom and Moab. It was also referred to as Transjordan.
Oultrejordain extended southwards through the Negev to the Gulf of Aqaba (Ile de Graye, now Pharaoh's Island). To the north and east (the ancient Gilead) there were no real borders — to the north was the Dead Sea and to the east were caravan and pilgrimage routes, part of the Muslim Hejaz. These areas were also under the control of the sultan of Damascus, and by custom the two opponents rarely met there, for battle or for other purposes.
Before the First Crusade, Oultrejordain was controlled by the Fatimids of Egypt, whose representatives (originally very few, if any at all) withdrew when the Crusaders arrived. The various tribes there quickly made peace with the Crusaders. The first expedition to the area was under Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1100. Baldwin also invaded again in 1107 and 1112, and built Montreal in 1115 to control the Muslim caravan routes, which provided enormous revenue to the kingdom. The crusaders also controlled the area around Petra, where they set up an archbishopric under the authority of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
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Wikipedia