| Embriaco | |
|---|---|
| Parent family | Spinola |
| Country | Gibelletto, Crusader states |
| Place of origin |  Republic of Genoa |
| Founded | XI century |
| Founder | Guglielmo Embriaco |
| Titles | Lord of Gibelletto |
| Estate(s) | Embriaci Tower Byblos Castle |
| Dissolution | XV century |
The Embriaco were a prominent Genoese family, who played an important role in the history of the Crusader states. It also gave consuls, admirals and ambassadors to the Republic of Genoa.[1]
The family ruled the city of Byblos (in present-day Lebanon), styling themselves "Lord (Signore) of Gib(e)let" or "Gibelletto", the name which the city was called at the time. Their rule lasted for almost 200 years, from 1100 to the late 13th century.[2]
They arrived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem as early as 1099, with Guglielmo Embriaco and his brother Primo di Castello.[3] They had Byblos, given to Ugo I Embriaco by Bertrand of Toulouse, from about 1110, thanks to Embriaco's military assistance in the creation of the Crusader states, on behalf of the Republic of Genoa.
Guglielmo Embriaco's son, Ugo I, was the first administrator of "Gibelletto" in the name of the Genoese republic, he then obtained the city as a hereditary fief, undertaking to pay an annual fee to Genoa and to the church of San Lorenzo.[1]
The family always protected the Genoese traders in the Levant, exempting them from all duties.[1] Their power in Byblos lasted, apart from occupation by Saladin 1187–1197, to the end to the thirteenth century, when they were defeated by Bohemond VII of Tripoli, and finally pushed out by Muslim advances.
The Embriacos were Lords of lands in Liguria and in Lunigiana. And had properties and a square in Genoa. The male line of the family died out in the middle of the 15th century.[1]
