Morphia of Melitene
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Morphia of Melitene was queen consort of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1118 until her death. She was an Armenian by ethnicity and a Melkite Greek Orthodox Christian. Her father, Gabriel, was a warlord
Queen Morphia sent Armenian soldiers disguised as monks to liberate her husband from Harpoot Castle.
The staircase of the Jehosaphat church. Queens Morphia and Melisende were buried in the niches on the right and the left, respectively.
Melisende of Jerusalem
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Melisende was the queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1152. She was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the first woman to hold a public office in the crusader kingdom. Her fame grew in
Morphia of Melitene
…leaders who were carving out states in the Levant, and eventually chose Count Baldwin II of Edessa. They married around 1100 and had four daughters: Melisende, Alice, Hodierna, and Ioveta. In 1118, Baldwin was elected king of Jerusalem; the next year, Morphia became the first woman to be crowned as the queen…
Coronation of Melisende
Melisende's father spent 18 months in captivity, but neither Melisende nor her mother governed in his stead.
Fulk, depicted here on his seal as count of Anjou, was already an experienced ruler when he was selected to marry Melisende.
The coronation of Fulk and Melisende was the first to be held at the Holy Sepulchre.