People called Bohemond “the Stammerer” because of a pronounced speech impediment he had. He ascended the throne when Antiochene nobility dethroned his mother.

He is one of my maternal 21 x great-grandfathers.

He was born around 1144, son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers¹. We don’t know where he was born, though it is likely to have been Antioch.

Titles

He succeeded his mother as Bohemond III, Prince of Antioch in 1163 when his mother was exiled².

Family

In or around 1170, he married Orgueilleuse of Harenc and, together, they had two sons³:

• Raymond
• Bohemond IV

After divorcing Orgueilleuse, Bohemond married Theodora, who was a niece of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos⁴

Talk about keeping it in the family! Bohemond married Manuel’s niece but Manuel had previously married Bohemond’s sister Maria. This means Bohemond’s uncle was also his brother-in-law!

Bohemond’s third wife, Sybilla, attracted much jealousy. Society called her a witch and a whore. Together they had two children: Alice and William⁵.

He married his fourth wife Isabella sometime in 1194⁶.

Notable events

His mother was regent while he was underage. She wanted to continue reigning even when Bohemond reached the age of majority. Antiochene nobility united with Thoros II of Armenian Cilicia to dethrone his mother and let him ascend to the throne.

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The ruler of Aleppo captured him in battle in August 1164⁷. Bohemond got funding from Emperor Manuel and paid a ransom to be released⁸. As part of the quid pro quo, Bohemond installed a Greek Orthodox patriarch in Antioch. The Roman Catholic Church placed the city under interdict because of this⁹.

This battle revolved around Bohemond’s wish to relieve Harenc¹⁰, but it cost him dearly. He married his wife from this district shortly after this, and I wonder if this marriage was symbolic or not.

He and his wife donated land by charter¹¹:

• In 1170, they donated land to the Church of Santa Maria and the Archbishop of Pisa.
• In September 1172, they donated property to the Knights Hospitaller.
• On 4 January 1174, they granted land to Peter of Melfia.

Their donation to the Knights Hospitaller was not a charitable act. Bohemond needed an external force to help secure his borders. I’ve written about the tradeoff between his own authority and the security the Knights brought.

Bohemond was in the news in 2024 when a British metal detectorist decided to bury coins minted under Bohemond in the Welsh counryside^{12 13}. There was no trade between Antioch and Wales, so if this had been an authentic find it would have changed the history of Wales.

Death

He died between 20 March and 01 October 1201 in Antioch¹⁴. It is not known what caused his death. It is not known where they buried him.

References

1. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
2. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
3. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
4. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
5. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
6. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
7. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
8. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
9. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]
10. Cawley, C. (n.d.) ‘Antioch’, Medieval Lands. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm (Accessed: 30 April 2026).[↩]
11. Harenc Family; Antioch; 2020-10-11[↩]
12. Article, A.Q.S.T. (2024). A U.K. Metal Detectorist Admits to Planting Coins for ‘Fame’. [online] Artnet News. Available at: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/metal-detectorist-planted-coins-herefordshire-2455537 [Accessed 29 Jul. 2024][↩]
13. Johnson, K. (2024). Attempting to Become Famous, Metal Detectorist Buried Coins He Purchased On eBay, Nearly Altering History. [online] Numismatic News. Available at: https://www.numismaticnews.net/world-coins/attempting-to-become-famous-metal-detectorist-buried-coins-he-purchased-on-ebay-nearly-altering-history [Accessed 29 Jul. 2024][↩]
14. Cawley, C. (2025). ANTIOCH. [online] Available at: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ANTIOCH.htm#_Toc359675203 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025][↩]

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