The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

the entire quarter or only parts of it? The 1154 contracts provide a first opportunity to examine
the value of Gibelet in comparison to other possessions in the Latin East.
Acre and Gibelet
What was the value of Gibelet from a Genoese perspective, in comparison to Acre? There is no
doubt of the importance of Acre to Genoa in the twelfth century. Acre was the leading sea-port
town in the kingdom of Jerusalem. It was, therefore, a major attraction for merchants. It was
especially important for Genoa because unlike its rivals, Genoa had no official access to Tyre, the
second largest sea-port town in the kingdom of Jerusalem, until the establishment of the second
kingdom. When the crusaders conquered Acre in 1104, territorial concessions in the city
had been
first granted to Genoa, followed by concessions to Venice and Pisa. 08 Indeed, medieval maps of
Acre show the importance of the Italian communities in the city because
the Italian sections were
marked in some detail and were conveniently located not far away from the harbour. How
accurate are these maps? This question has been asked by many historians and archaeologists 409
This paper is not concerned with these debates. However, it is important to bear in the mind that,
at any rate, these maps represent a situation at a much later period. Nonetheless, the size of this
quarter and the facilities it provided are important for the comparative discussion of Gibelet and
also for the assessment
of the power the Embriaco family had in the Latin East.
The terms of the contract for Acre clearly include all the possessions of the commune in
the city, with no exceptions: `totum illud quod comune lanue habet in Acri et eius pertinentiis,
sine contradictione comunis lanue et omnium personarum pro eo...., 410
The fee demanded from
the Embriaci for Acre was 1000s Genoese (£50). Compared to Gibelet, however, this was not a
4081
Libri lurium, vol. I/1, no. 60, pp. 99-102. For the debate about the authenticity of this charter, see Hans
E. Mayer and Marie-Luise Favreau, `Das Diplom Balduins I für Genua und Genuas Goldene Inschrift in
der Grabeskirche', Quellen und Forchungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken, 55/56 (1976), 22-
95; and in response Kedar, 'Genoa's Golden Inscription in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre', p. 327; A
short summary of this debate is included in the latest publication of these documents by Antonella Rovere,
the editor of the first volume of I Libri lurium vol. 1/1 (1992), see note to doc. 59, p. 97, followed by Hans
E. Mayer, 'Genuesische Fälschungen. Zu einer Studie von Antonella Rovere', Archiv für Diplomatik,
Schriftgeschichte, Siegel- und Wappenkunde, 45 (1999), pp. 21-60; On the assistance of the Genoese to the
kingdom of Jerusalem in that period, see Favreau-Lilie, Die Italiener im Heiligen Land, pp. 96f.
409 For some of the latest articles on Acre see, Benjamin Z. Kedar, 'The Outer Walls of Frankish Acre',
Atiqot 31(1997), pp. 157-179; David Jacoby, 'Crusader Acre in the Thirteenth Century: Urban Layout and
Topography', Studi Medievali (3rd series), 20 (1975), 1-45; Robert Kool, 'The Genoese Quarter in
Thirteenth-Century Acre: A Reinterpretation of Its Layout', Atiqot 31 (1997), pp. 187-200; Meron
Benvenisti, The Crusaders in the Holy Land (Jerusalem, 1970); David Jacoby, 'Montmusard, Suburb of
Crusader Acre: The First Stage of its Development', in Benjamin Z. Kedar, Hans E. Mayer and R. C Smail,
Outremer: Studies in the History of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Presented to Joshua Prawer
(Jerusalem, 1982), pp. 205-217; Benjamin Z. Kedar and Eliezer Stern, 'A Vaulted East-West Street in
Acre's Genoese Quarter?
', At1got 26 (1995), pp. 105-111, I would like to thank Eliezer Stern and Prof
Kedar for a copy of this article; Alex Kesten, Acre, the Old City: Survey and Planning (Jerusalem, 1962).
4101
Libri lurium, vol. U1, no, 165, p. 241.
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