Melisende, Armenian Queen of Jerusalem

Most people know about the Kardashians' or Cher's Armenian heritage. But not many know that a lot of queens of Jerusalem were of either partial or full Armenian descent and were married to the Crusader kings. Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders. One of my favorite queens of Jerusalem is Melisende. She was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161. She was an influntial woman of her time that fought neighbouring Muslim powers, her husband and later her son. Melisende was born in 1105. She was the eldest daughter of the second King of Jerusalem Baldwin II and Armenian Princess Morphia of Melitene. Since Baldwin and Morphia didn't have any sons, Melisende was groomed to be her father's heir. Melisende was highly educated and had amazing parents as her role models. Even though her parents' marriage was a diplomatic one, her parents were very loyal to each other. When Baldwin II was adviced to set aside his Armenian wife and find a new bride who might bear him sons, he refused and was devoted to his wife. He delayed his coronation for a year and a half so that he could be crowned with his wife Morphia. In 1123 when Baldwin II was captured by Muslim Turks, Morphia hired a band of Armenian soldiers to release her husband out of captivity. When this plan failed, she traveled to Northern Syria to negotiate her husband's release and even handed over her youngest daughter Yvette as a ransom. I don't know why Hollywood didn't use this story for its movies. :) When Melisende was 23 years old, her father chose Fulk of Anjou, a wealthy elderly French knight to be her husband. They got married in 1129 and in 1130 Melisende gave birth to her fist son, named Baldwin for his grandfather. Unfortunately, after King Baldwin II died, Fulk tried to undermine Melisende's power and even accused her of infidelity. She was temporarily excluded from important decisions in the kingdom. The royal council was on Melisende's side and eventually she took control of the kingdom. In 1143 Fulk died in a hunting accident, after that Melisende ruled as Queen of Jerusalem. Melisende was a strong leader and enjoyed power. She didn't cede power to her son and held on to it for as long as she could until her son rebelled against her and took over the kingdom. During her reign, Melisende restored the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built the Church of Saint Anne, rebuilt the Tomb of the Virgin, rebuilt and developed St. James's Church. She built an Armenian Church over the tomb of Virgin Mary and endowed lands around it to St. James' Armenian Patriarchate. She also helped enlarge Armenian Church lands which became known as the Armenian Quarter. She built three bazaars which are still in use in the Old City of Jerusalem. She was known to be a generous patroness of the church and arts. Melisende was a strong and wise leader in a male-dominated Medieval world. I wish more people (and especially Armenians) knew about her.