Bohemond VII (1261 – October 19, 1287) was thecount of Tripoli and nominalprince of Antioch from 1275 to his death. The only part left of thePrincipality of Antioch was the port ofLatakia. He spent much of his reign at war with theTemplars (1277–1282).
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Bohemond VII was the son ofBohemond VI of Antioch and his wifeSibylla of Armenia. As Bohemond VII was still underage at his succession, Sibylla acted asregent, although the regency was also unsuccessfully claimed by KingHugh III of Cyprus, the closest adult in the line of succession. Sibylla appointed BishopBartholomew of Tortosa to act asbailli. Bohemond spent his minority under the protection of his uncle KingLeo III of Armenia at his court inCilicia. He returned to Tripoli in 1277 and immediately made peace withQalawun, theMamluk sultan, and recognisedRoger of San Severino as regent atAcre forCharles I of Anjou. He exempted theVenetians from harbour duties, thus distancing theGenoese and their allies.
Upon his return, he made enemies with the powerfulEmbriaco family, which governedByblos throughGuy II. Tripoli was very weak at this time and was divided among various factions: the Roman faction led byPaul of Segni,bishop of Tripoli, and the Armenian faction led by Sibylla and Bartholomew. Paul made friends withWilliam of Beaujeu, the newgrand master of the Knights Templar, and then with the normally anti-Templar Embriacos. This precipitated the first of a series of wars between Bohemond and the Templars. First, he burned their building in Tripoli. Then, the Templars responded by razing the comital castle ofBotron and attackingNephin. Bohemond marched on Byblos but was defeated and forced to sign a truce.
In 1278, Guy of Byblos and the Templars assaulted Tripoli, but were met outside the walls by Bohemond. Bohemond was defeated, but the Templar fleet of twelve galleys was scattered by a storm and Bohemond's fleet of fifteen attacked and damaged TemplarSidon. This time a truce was mediated byNicolas Lorgne,grand master of the Hospital. The last conflict began in January 1282, when the Embriacos tried to take Tripoli by surprise. They found the Templar master away and so took refuge with theHospitallers, who handed them over to Bohemond on condition that he would spare their lives. He buried them up to their necks in sand at Nephin and starved them to death. This last act further alienated the Genoese andJohn of Montfort, but Bohemund beat the latter in taking control of Byblos.
In 1287, Latakia was taken by Qalawun, who claimed that as part of Antioch it did not fall under the conditions of their treaty. Bohemond died soon after, leaving no children by his wife Margaret of Beaumont. Tripoli was plunged into a succession crisis until his sisterLucia arrived from Europe to take control of the county.
| Preceded by | Count of Tripoli 1275–1287 | Succeeded by |
