Hugh Grenier was the lord of Caesarea from 1149/1154 until his death. He was the younger son of Walter I Grenier and his wife, Julianne. His older brother, Eustace (II), was prevented by leprosy from inheriting the lordship and it passed to Hugh.

A series of Crusader invasions of Egypt were undertaken by the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1163 to 1169 to strengthen its position in the Levant by taking advantage of the weakness of the Fatimid Caliphate.