The County of Tripoli (1109 – 1289) was the last of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant, that is, the modern day region of Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria which supported an indigenous population of Christians, Druses and Muslims. When the Crusaders, (Christian, mostly Frankish forces), captured the region in 1109, Bertrand of Toulouse became the first Count of Tripoli. He was a vassal of Baldwin I of Jerusalem. From that time, rule of the county was decided not strictly by inheritance but by factors such as military force (external and civil war), favour and negotiation. In 1289, the County of Tripoli fell to Sultan Qalawun of the Muslim Mamluks of Cairo. The county was absorbed into the Islamic Empire.
Raymond III of Tripoli (1140 – September/October 1187) was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva. Raymond was a great-great-grandson of Raymond IV of Toulouse (Raymond I of Tripoli). He succeeded his father Raymond II, who had been killed by the Hashshashin, in 1152, when he was twelve. His mother, princess Hodierna of Jerusalem, daughter of King Baldwin II, ruled as regent until Raymond came of age three years later. He was also known as Raymond the Younger to distinguish him from his father.