Conrad of Montferrat

   Caesar (q.v.) and general who defeated Alexios Branas (q.v.); famous defender of Tyre (q.v.) in 1187-1188 against the forces of Saladin (q.v.). Conrad's arrival in Constantinople (q.v.) in 1187 to marry the sister of Isaac II Angelos (q.v) grew out of Manuel I Komnenos's (q.v.) previous alliance with the Montferrat family (which dominated the region of Piedmont in northwest Italy [q.v.]) against their common enemy in Italy, Frederick I Barbarossa (q.v.). To seal the alliance, Conrad's brother Renier Montferrat married Manuel I's daughter Maria in 1180, and was given the title of caesar. When Isaac II Angelos (q.v.) came to the throne in 1185, he sought military support from all quarters, turning again to the Montferrat family, who suggested Conrad as a suitable general. Conrad's service to the empire was sealed in 1187 when he married Isaac II's sister Theodora. Soon after the wedding Alexios Branos (q.v.) revolted and Conrad's leadership was crucial in crushing the revolt. However, almost immediately after that he abandoned Byzantium (q.v.), sailing to Tyre to organize the defense of that city against Saladin (q.v.). His adventures made him famous in the West, as attested by the lengthy account of them in the work of Robert of Clari (q.v.)