Lucienne of Segni (r. around 1252–1258)

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Lucienne of Segni (r. around 1252–1258)

Princess and regent of Tripoli and Antioch . Reigned around 1252 to 1258; great-niece of Pope Innocent III; cousin of Pope Gregory IX; second wife of Bohemund V, prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli (r. 1233–1252); children: Bohemund VI, prince of Antioch (r. 1251–1268), count of Tripoli (r. 1251–1275); Plaisance of Antioch (who married Henry I, king of Cyprus [r. 1218–1253]).

Chosen by her cousin Pope Gregory IX to become the second wife of Prince Bohemund V, ruler of Antioch and Tripoli, Lucienne of Segni provided her new husband with close ties to the papacy. Bohemund, however, was less delighted by the frequent visits of her relatives and friends from Rome. The couple, who held court in Tripoli and virtually ignored Antioch, had two children: a daughter Plaisance of Antioch , who married King Henry I of Cyprus, and a son Bohemund VI, who was 15 when his father died in 1252. Lucienne assumed the regency for her underage son, remaining in Tripoli and leaving the governing of Antioch to her Roman relatives. When Tripoli came under the control of the Embriaco family in 1258, Lucienne was deposed, although many of her Roman relatives remained in positions of authority. The local barons, objecting to interference by foreigners, marched upon Tripoli to rid it of Lucienne's relatives, wounding Bohemund in the process. Later, Bohemund retaliated by arranging the murder of Bertrand, a young member of the Embriaco family. Although the rebels withdrew, the murder precipitated a long period of unrest between the houses of Antioch and Embriaco.

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