See also: Jerusalem Storyline

Titular Ruler: al-Wāli al-Qudz Jibril abu Salih al-Tayyib; Al-Tayyib rules in the name of Sultan Al Adil. Jibril’s power is entirely contingent upon the favour of his master, to whom he is thought to be unquestioningly loyal.

Cainite Ruler: None; for much of the 12th century, the city was nominally ruled by the Lasombra elder Palurro Rustucci, but his authority failed in the wake of the Muslim reconquest in 1188. At present, Jerusalem exists in a state of near-anarchy. A number of elders are known to quietly work together to ensure the observance of the Traditions, and relative peace between the religious sects, but otherwise complete authority is difficult to maintain. The Ventrue Lucius Trebius Rufus and the Qabilat al Khayal Mahmud ibn Suleiman and the Mushakis Azif have more pull than most, but none of them could claim praxis outright.

Governmental Mix: Strong military governor, ruling in the name of Al-Adil, Sultan of Syria and Egypt. The governor (or wāli) exists at the head of a military hierarchy, and is also advised by a council of imams who also serve as judges. The governor also takes informal advice from community leaders and elders of each of the major communities that exist within the walls of the city. Most of these men are merchants or religious figures of notes.

Military Disposition: Approximately 800 city guards, wearing leather and armed with knives, spears and either club or mace. They are charged with patrolling the quarters, particularly the streets that loosely demarcate the divisions. A good number of them are Armenian, Jewish and Franko-Syriac Christians, with many ties to their own communities. They are bolstered by and nominally under the command of the Ayubbid garrison of the governor. This garrison consists of some 400 light cavalry, 250 heavy cavalry, and some 1600 infantry and archers. The vast majority of these ghazi are veterans of the Third Crusade.

Populaton: Roughly 35 000 locals and 6000 transient pilgrims, merchants and travellers combined. The city is a cultural melting pot. Muslims of various ethnicities and sects predominate, particularly Syrians and Arabs, with smaller numbers of Kurds and Turkmen (particularly among the military) or Egyptians (among the traders). A significant number of Armenian Christians reside in the city, enough to people an entire quarter. Peoples of Frankish descent mix with Maronites, Nestorians and Orthodox Greeks in the Christian quarter. Finally, a large population of Jews resides both within and without the walls.

Economy: Strong. The Holy City has long been a centre of trade among the cities of the East, Fruit and steel from Damascus are exchanged for cereals and linens from Cairo and Alexandria. Silk, sugar and spices from the lands beyond Persia are traded for silver and wool from Europe. The trade profile is not so strong as that of Damascus, Alexandria or Constantinople, but many fortunes are won and lost in the ruck and run of Jerusalem’s markets. Furthermore, as one of the primary destinations of pilgrimage, the Holy City is strongly geared towards tourism.

Cainite Affairs: The largely transient aspect of religious tourists to the regular population means that rather more than the usual number of Cainites can survive in the city, but even so Jerusalem is massively overpopulated with vampires. Quite a few of them lair outside the city and hunt sparingly, while others maintain careful herds to ease the strain. Even more are merely based in the city, and tend to be transient by virtue of their business or political interests. The elders of the city strictly police their own, despite the lack of an actual prince. They act quickly and independently to guard the Silence of the Blood, and meet irregularly and informally to decide the fate of those who transgress against the Traditions. After the expiration of the truce between Salah al-Din and Richard the Lionheart AD 1198, the atmosphere has become one of barely maintained detente between the Muslim and Christian vampires.

As things stand, most of the Christians tend to loosely belong to the Crusader factions that plague the military orders. Most of these vampires have webs of contacts spread throughout the Kingdom of Acre, Cyprus and farther abroad, but they maintain low profiles in the city while the Muslim Cainites are ascendant.

The Ashirra sect is relatively strong and unified in the city and the surrounding region, but no one has amassed sufficient power or conviction to step forward and claim leadership. This is chiefly out of an understanding of the great power of a number of ancient vampires that make their havens in and around the city. Since 1120, the Mushakis elder known as Azif has been the most prominent and influential Ashirra in the city, but he is rapidly losing ground due to the external machinations of Boniface and the internal intrigues of the Qabilat al-Khayal known as Mahmud.

For the best part of a century after the First Crusade, the self-proclaimed prince of Jerusalem was the Lasombra elder, Paliuro Rustucci. He enjoyed the support of the Bashirite Varsik, his own childe Pacifico and a number of Lasombra and Toreador attached to the military orders. The ancient Cappadocian Abraham also gave him tacit approval by attending on Paliurro when his scholastic expertise was required. For the most part, the powerful Nosferatu of Hinnom and the Toreador ancient, Elsh, simply ignored him while the Brujah elders Boniface and Azif (then allies) worked to undermine his influence over the military orders and trade. Paliuro’s claim was actively contested by the Ventrue Lucius Trebius Rufus and his childer, as well as a number of other Crusader Ventrue, but they lacked the influence to dislodge the Lasombra trade and Church connections or the approval of the Brujah, who were doing a better job of it anyway.

With the Muslim reconquest, Paliuro’s influence rapidly declined. The military orders were all but forced from the city and many Christian merchants fled after paying Salah al-Din’s ransom. Rather than seek to regain momentum, the Lasombra has withdrawn from his position to pursue esoteric studies. Lucius Trebius Rufus has quietly mobilised his assets to capitalise on Paliro’s decline, but he is canny enough to know that now is not the time for a Christian to take a tilt at praxis. Instead he waits for another Crusade to appear at the gates to make his move. Meanwhile, he actively courts alliance with the elders of the city, knowing that their tacit approval will be necessary to ensure his rule.

For their part, the ancients of the city tend to quietly agree that they are the only stabilising influence on their embattled home. They are not socially active or even in frequent contact, but Abraham, Kothar, Ephraim, and Elsh know how to get in touch quickly if they must. When they do mobilise their formidable assets towards a cause, they almost always see it done. Of course, the other Cainites of the city haven’t a clue as to this relationship. In the modern era, such a gathering will come to be known as a Primogen Council, but such affectations are centuries away in AD 1205.

The Clans of Jerusalem

Assamites/ Banu Haqim (2 permanent residents, 2 outside the walls, 1-2 transients)
(modified from JbN, p. 62 ) If vampirism is proof that Allah can curse humans, then it is in the holy places – the places that Allah has blessed – that the Banu Haqim can hope to regain Allah’s favour. Now that control of Jerusalem has reverted to Islam, the Assamites are not about to relinquish the chance to extract vengeance.

After the atrocities of the First Crusade’s capture of Jerusalem in 1099 and the Final Deaths of several members of the clan, the Banu Haqim have gathered their spies and recruited locals, honing the focused edge of their hatred. Habiba of the Knife is known to accept assassination contracts, although she tends to avoid targets within Jerusalem. Her progeny, Rashid, is a road warrior who specialises in waylaying and destroying Crusaders and other pilgrims. He lacks her restraint, and has destroyed a number of Christian Cainites within the walls; crimes which have made him fugitive within Al Quds. The Arab vizier Botros is the most visible of the banu Haqim in the area, although even he is adept at not being found when he does not wish to be. It is said that the children of Haqim pass through the city constantly on this errand or that, and they often stay for a week or so, not that the other Cainites of the city would be aware of them. The Christian Cainites are paranoid of Assamite numbers in the city, and they tend to jump at shadows whenever talk of crusade heightens tensions in Jerusalem.

• Habiba al-Sikkeen (7th gen. Warrior, Childe of Qusay ibn Namdur, e. 842 CE); typical of the stereotypes among the clan, this woman is a paid assassin. She discriminates little between contracts, other than a blank refusal to accept them for her fellow muslims. Beneath her business-like demeanour, Habiba is a very passionate, wrathful creature who hates foreigners, particularly Crusaders, with a vengeance.
• Rashid ibn Musafir (8th gen. Warrior, Childe of Habiba al-Sikkeen, e. 1099 CE); A bandit who makes his haven in the wastelands outside the city, Rashid only comes in when his elders require it or he perceives a threat to his people. Most recently, he destroyed a mad Cainite on the streets in 1198 and disappeared before he could be apprehended.
• Botros ibn Diya (9th gen. Vizier, Childe of Diya abu Botros, e. 1144 CE); a soft-spoken, handsome Arab with his fangs sunk into the Abuyyid imperial bureaucracy. Botros answers to his sire in Aleppo, who in turn is an ally of sorts to Mahmud ibn Suleiman. That makes this quiet member of the Ashirra a frequent, if not fervent, confederate of the Qabilat al-Khayal diplomat.
• Nebez Rabani (8th gen. Vizier, Childe of Raban ibn Yūsuf, e. 1018 CE); A secretive Kurd who arrived in the city with the Ayyubid conquest. Nebez retains contacts within the bureaucracy and military garrison, but he does not exercise much interest in either the Cainite or mortal political scenes of the city. He works with Botros often, but he has even less interest in working with Mahmud, or indeed any other Cainites, than his cohort does.
• One or two Assamites, usually warriors, are typically passing through at any given time. Nebez and Botros make a practice of offering their hospitalty to any clanmates.

Brujah/ Bay’t Mushakis (4 permanent residents, 1 in Bethlehem)
(modified from JbN, p. 66) Clan Brujah is, unsurprisingly, divided in Jerusalem. In this case the relatively benign interests of the European clan and the militant character of Muslim Bay’t Mushakis leave them at acrimonious odds. The elder Boniface also stands at odds with the Crusader factions, while his sire Etheria plays the dangerous game of peace through prestation from her haven in Bethlehem, some 30 km to the south. They are opposed by the dangerous Mushakis elder Azif and his brood, all of whom work to undermine the efforts of the Europeans to reestablish the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Infra-clan tension runs high, and the other Cainites of the city keep a weather eye on Boniface and Azif, expecting violence to erupt if relations continue to sour.

• Boniface (7th gen. Childe of Etheria, e. 462 CE); a walker on the via Caeli who sees himself as protector of the non-militant Christian pilgrims of Jerusalem. He interferes with Crusader Ventrue and Lasombra influence over the military orders and seeks to protect the hospitals of the city, and serves as something of a foil for the more combative members of the faction.
• Etheria (6th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. 395 CE); the “Holy Lady of Bethlehem” rules her town as a prince of sorts, her power protected by the enormous web of favours she has accrued over the centuries. She walks the Road of Heaven.
• Azif (6th? gen. Childe of Unknown [d], e. before 100 BCE); a merchant lord who formerly worked with the Crusader factions, Azif revealed his duplicity after the Battle of Hattin – supplying the armies of Salah al-Din as they destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Unsavoury rumours circulate (very quietly) regarding the fates of several Western elders who associated with and trusted Azif before his betrayal. Some claim that the old traitor diablerised these elders rather than let them escape the closing net of Islam. He leads the Bayt Mushakis in the city, and is seen as a leading figure in the local Ashirra.
• Yusuf ibn Azif (7th gen. Childe of Azif, e. 1167 CE); a cheerful trader who ranges between Jerusalem, Tripoli and Damascus, Yusuf oversees many of his sire’s mercantile affairs. He is a proud member of the Ashirra community.
• Brother Jared (7th gen. Childe of Azif, e. 1189 CE); a Hospitaller healer who was Embraced to give his sire some continued influence in the military orders after Azif showed his hand. He is despised by European and Muslim vampires both, belonging to both traditions but truly part of neither. His few friends are among the Nosferatu of the leper colony.
• Not a few of the Bay’t Mushakisin elders, seeing it as their chance to build a strong, united society, are active in the Ashirra intrigues against the remnants of the Crusader states. As such, it is not unusual to find their progeny visiting Jerusalem on intelligence gathering or unrest fostering missions. Azif is almost always their sponsor in the city.

Cappadocians/ Qabilat al-Mawt (6 permanent residents, 1 more in torpor)
(modified from JbN, p. 72) Where but Jerusalem could so much religious lore exist? The Cappadocian who strives to know more, understand more, incorporate more ancient wisdom, must study in the holy city. The Ancient known as Abraham studies an obscure occult text known as the Black Torah, which has elusive prophetic qualities. His frustrated progeny, Adam, seeks to expand his horizons, but has become embroiled in political machinations beyond his understanding. The brooding elder Marcus, who for years quietly associated himself with the Crusader Lasombra, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The other Cappadocian ancillae are embroiled in their own schemes, from protecting the Christian cemetery to shoring up the stability of the Jewish Quarter.

• Abraham (5th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. before 500 BCE); a near-mummified ancient of the clan, this scholar of eschatology, Rabbinical lore and history is a revered, if reclusive, elder of the city. He does not involve himself in sectarian or religious strife.
• Adam (6th gen. Childe of Adam, e. 813 CE); a student of Rabbinical lore and the Kabbalah who has never left the stewardship of his ancient sire. Owing to prestation debt, he has become entangled in the intrigues of the Brujah Etheria and Boniface.
• Marcus of Rome (7th gen. Childe of Theophilus, e. 79 CE); a wanderer, mercenary and occasional theologist who spent some 25 years in the city, Marcus may have met with foul play after associating himself with Paliurro Rustucci. He has not been seen since 1203.
• Aharon ben David (7th gen. Childe of Adam, e. 1151 CE); a gentleman scholar who assists Abraham in his library and Adam with his latest plans of integrating into Jerusalem’s Cainite society. Aharon is the most active of Jerusalem’s Cappadocians, and a frequent touchstone for those seeking to contact his elders.
• Eumathia (9th gen. Childe of Theocratus, e. 1069 CE); one of the self-appointed sentinels and protectors of the Christian cemetery outside the walls. Eumathia unsettles many of the local Cainites, for it has long been said that she can commune with the spirits of the dead. Her company is spurned by most as a result.
• Colbert d’Airelle (10th gen. Childe of Archambault, e. 1091 CE); a Norman physician and scholar who journeyed to the Holy City in hopes of learning from the venerable Abraham, Colbert become fascinated with Eumathia’s “gift”, and stayed on to study with her and help watch over the cemetery.
• 2 Ashirra members of the Qabilat al-Mawt lair somewhere among the many ruined towns and cities of the region, but they seldom come into the city except for the odd mission of resupply.

Gangrel/ Wah’Sheen (2 outside the walls, 1 frequent resident)
(modified from JbN, p. 76) The Gangrel currently in and around Jerusalem are about as individualistic as one might expect. The battles of those who truly care for the city are not their battles; the causes of the Cainites who war here are not their causes. Their services may be hired, but they are no more than mercenaries in the conflicts that steadily erupt. Needless to say, they prefer it that way. The ancient known as Canis keeps her own counsel, but elders far and wide with the means to contact her sometimes call upon her services to conduct a hunt or war party. The needs and services of the Viking, Haakon, are rather more prosaic but no less useful. Few Wah’Sheen have any interest in visiting what they see as a blight on the landscape, so Muslim Gangrel are rare in the city.

• Canis (6th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. before 300 BCE); while she has dwelt in the area since the end of the First Crusade, she has been known to roam the Levant and North Africa since the Punic Wars. No one in the city has ever seen her in human form, and she lairs many miles from the city.
• Haakon (7th gen. Childe of Thorhalla, e. 905 CE); a mercenary who has fought in nearly every major conflict in the Levant and Egypt since the 10th century, including the Crusades and Salah al-Din’s conquest of Jerusalem after the Battle of Hattin. He is a pagan, and finds the religious wars of the Christians and Muslims as useful for his income, and nothing more. In recent years, he and his mercenaries have made noise about packing up and journeying home, but so long as there is battle, blood, gold and women Haakon is unlikely to leave the region. He dwells in a modified long hall outside the walls.
• Jumana bint Hamad (9th gen. Childe of Hamad ibn Murad, e. 1104 CE); as protector and sworn servant of Mahmud ibn Suleiman, Jumana strives to put herself between her Qabilat al-Khayal patron and danger. Since the turn of the 13th century, this duty has been increasingly interrupted by his need for a trusted and speedy messenger with his allies throughout the Sultanate. As a result, Jumana spends far less time in Al Quds than she would like.
• It is common to find 1 or 2 Gangrel travelling through the area on their endless wanderings. Few enjoy the stink of the city or its politics, and they soon move on.

Lasombra/ Qabilat al-Khayal (7 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, p. 79) The Lasombra clan has influenced or controlled Jerusalem’s religious patriarchy through the pilgrims and advisors for hundreds of years, thought the instability of the region has made maintaining this control a frustrating chore. Paliurro Rusticci of Genoa and his retinue have been in permanent residence since the bloody Crusader occupation of 1099. Roman Catholic Father Paliurro all but ruled the Jerusalem Cainites as their prince for much of the 12th century, but his power soon evaporated after the city fell to Salah al-Din in 1187. In the years since, his sanity has begun to slip along with his influence, as treachery from within the Christian factions and enemies from without assail him. His followers now largely pay lip service to him, while seeking their own paths to power through the Crusader Ventrue and the Bashirite Ravnos. A rival in the form of Magdelena of Venice arrived in the city in 1197, seeking to capitalise on Genoese clan’s considerable fall from grace. She has swiftly manoeuvred herself into an influential position within the city.

Since the Muslim reconquest in 1187, members of the Qabilit al-Khayal have made their way into the region and settled in the city. Mahmoud ibn Suleiman is considered to be the first among them, and he has made dedicated inroads into uniting the Ashirra of the city into a peaceful front.

• Father Paliuro Rustucci (7th gen. Childe of Enrico d’Agostino, e.717 CE); once de facto Prince of Jerusalem, Father Paliuro rarely leaves his haven under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Few seek him out there, as other Cainites find the holy aura there painful. A Paragon of the via Caeli himself, Rustucci appears inured to the discomfort.
• Pacifico Grillati (8th gen. Childe of Paliuro Rustucci, e. 980 CE); once de facto Seneschal of Jerusalem, Pacifico’s fall is entirely consequential to to that of his sire. He is now little more than a footnote in the city’s history, and deeply resentful of it. As a result, Pacifico has begun to take Father Paliurro’s place in the intrigues of the city – openly courting allies and favours among the Crusader factions.
• Magdelena Castelucci Borcellino (7th gen. Childe of Narses, e. 933 CE); a favoured childe of Prince Narses of Venice, Archbishop of Nod, Magdelena has served as his envoy and agent for centuries. Currently she seeks to subsume the influence of the Genoese Lasombra, with much progress. She is welcome among the Crusader factions, and her influence grows nightly.
• Mahmud ibn Suleiman (8th gen. Childe of Suleiman, e. 966 CE); a polite, educated and powerful childe and agent of the leader of the Ashirra sect, Mahmud existed in the city sporadically during the Christian occupation, regularly after the Muslim reconquest, and elected to settle permanently in 1199. Within his sect, he works against the disruptive influence of the Mushakis Azif. He seeks to be a voice of peace and reason in the troubled city, though some Christians wonder aloud if he isn’t just trying to keep them “off-balance.”
• Hassan ibn Ibtisam (10th gen. Childe of Ibtisam ibn Ali (d), e. 1018 CE); this ancilla bears the distinction of being the longest residing Qabilat al-Khayal member of Al Qudz. His sire and grandsire were formerly Ashirra of great influence in the city before 1099, but they were both destroyed in the Week of Blood. Hassan was absent at the time, and was allowed to resettle in the city in 1106 as a gesture of good faith to the Ashirra sect. He is thought to resent Mahmud’s rapid rise, and has become an ally of sorts to Aziz.
• Ibrahim Yilmaz (9th gen. Childe of Yusefoglu Iskender (d?), e. 1138 CE); an amiable, devout merchant formerly of Constantinople and Konya. He arrived in Al Quds towards the end of 1203, fleeing the advancing armies of the 4th Crusade at his sire’s behest. Ibrahim’s spiritual mentor is Mahmud, and he is rarely far from the older Lasombra’s side.
• Pons d’Albi (10th gen. Childe of Fra’ Pierre de Tarbes (d), e. 1175 CE); a remnant of the 3rd Crusade, rumour has it that his sire was a critic of Esclarmonde of Toulouse, and that good Fra’ Pierre came to a sad end while Pons was on pilgrimage. Pons has humbly attached himself to the Crusader faction to make a new place for himself, and he courts the good will of both Magdelena and Pacifico.
• Lasombra, whether of the Western or Eastern persuasion, are common visitors to the city. Pilgrimage is the most common motive, but few hesitate to involve themselves in sectarian or regional disputes.

Malkavian/ Bay’t Majnoon (5 permanent residents, up to 8 transients at any one time)
(modified from JbN, p. 84) The Malkavians of Jerusalem, as elsewhere, have no coherent organisation be they of the Western clan or the Eastern Bay’t Majnoon. Al-Hakim the Lizard, who in life was a vicious persecutor of Christian, Jew and Muslim alike, has settled in the city since the Muslim reconquest. Here he seeks to follow his addled path to apotheosis, though most other in the city ignore him. Only the Settites appear to find his company amenable. Brother Bernardus seeks salvation from his murderous Beast and peace from his flaring madness of temper by assisting the hospitals in their missions of mercy and compassion, trading his own gifts of dementia in hopes of finding the peace of lucidity. A dancing soothsayer, cused and blessed with her own brand of madness, has also become important in the struggles between Muslim and Christian both.

Madness tends to be solitary; this is a good thing so far as the Children of Caine are concerned. Malkavians in and around Jerusalem probably have no particular reason for being there – or anywhere else in particular – beyond whatever personal voices drive them individually. Terror and treachery entice; torment and temptation thrill. What is known for truth is that this city of holy fervour attracts the children of Malkav like no other. At any one time a highly fluid population of this clan is passing through the city. Of them all, only the elder Shanazar is of any influence or status within the Holy City.

• Shanazar (6th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. 113 CE); this elder of the Bay’t Majnoon has dwelt in the city longer than many. Before the rise of Islam, he was a leader and a voice of reason and authority, but his station declined afterwards and he slipped into torpor in the mid 8th century. He reappeared after the Muslim reconquest in 1187, and cemented his status by being able to predict the infrequent tremors that have shaken the city since 1195. While not a member of the Ashirra or the Crusader faction, his wisdom and mediation is welcome in both quarters, and he has made his haven on the street that serves as their border.
• Al-Hakim (8th gen. Childe of Hassan abu Khalid [d], e. 1021 CE); believed to be a fool suffering delusions of dubious grandeur (which are actually true, in a manner of speaking, for he is Al-Hakim) this creature is a figure of fun for some in the city and ignored by the rest, save the Settites. He lairs near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
• Brother Bernardus (9th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. Unknown); this monk is a fool in truth, for he has little understanding of his condition, nature or purpose much of the time. He is prone to terrible rages, but great insight into the nature of the city when lucidity finds him [Malkav sometimes channels his desires through Bernardus]. He havens in a stable once used by the Templars.
• Jeanette d’Avignon (9th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. 1147 CE); a flamboyant dancer and soothsayer who arrived in the Holy City in 1198, Jeanette remained when her Ravnos companions moved on. She dances and tells stories for the caravans to gain coin so that her daughter, Lise (actually a split personaluty), can be provided for. Her uncannily accurate predictions have embroiled her in the intrigues of the Brujah and Bayt Mushakis. She havens in the catacombs and caves beneath the Temple Mount
• Dalal bint Hafsa (9th gen. Childe of Hafsa al-Assad, e. 1002 CE); the self-appointed bodyguard and messenger of her ancestor, Shanazar, this fierce ancilla seems more than willing to forcefully contradict anyone who dares to mock her for her name. She is anything but coquettish in her attitude or tastes, though rumour has it that she is quite beautiful under her niqāb.
• Azzah Massound (10th gen. Childe of Dalal bint Hafsa, e. 1121 CE); Dalal’s secretive progeny is a noted scholar and teacher of the Quran. She has perhaps a score of devoted followers in the Muslim Quarter, many of them females who wouldn’t receive instruction otherwise. Even among the Ashirra, Azza does not seek the company of other Cainites except for her sire and the Hajji Mutasharid known as Isra Edris, who appears to share her proclivities for faith and secrecy. Azzah wears a niqāb at all times, protecting her modesty even in private.
• many Malkavian pilgrims of all faiths of the Book find their way to Jerusalem. As many as five other Lunatics are passing through at any one time.

Nosferatu/ Bay’t Mutasharid/ Haj (6 permanent residents, 4 outside the walls, others in torpor)
(modified from JbN, p. 87) Nosferatu in the area of Jerusalem have traditionally been in a very fortunate position. The leper colony they prefer is close to the city, yet avoided by Cainite and mortal alike. Kothar and his followers can gather information from the city’s population and from the thousands of religious pilgrims who travel the nearby roads, yet never have to worry about their own havens being intruded upon. Cainites of other clans are willing to trade information for information, though, and thus the Leper’s reach extends far beyond their valley.

Kothar and a number of his brood, some of whom predate the Christian era by centuries, believe in an eschatological monotheistic fusion of Noddism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam that would be seen as heresy by priests of any of these faiths. Others among his progeny have adopted one of these faiths more or less wholesale, although the “taint” of Kothar’s beliefs never truly leaves them altogether. The brood keep their numbers in the valley small, Embracing only rarely and sending excess childer all over the East to establish networks of their own. While he accepts the existence of the Hajj movement as a reality, Kothar is intolerant of those descended from him who join it – those of the Bay’t Mutasharid who embrace Islam and join the mission of Tarique al-Hajji are no longer welcome to his protection in the Valley of Hinnom.

However, there is more to the Nosferatu in Jerusalem than other Cainites understand. Kothar and his childer are but one piece of the puzzle. Other, more monstrous Mutasharidin of the deserts and the wastes sometimes probe the boundaries of the city, seeking to pleasure their base natures at the expense of the reputation of the Nosferatu of Hinnom. Kothar and his lieutenant, Ephraim, keep a constant watch for these monsters and have made a reputation for dispatching those who disrespect their territory.

Until the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Salah al-Din a number of Christian Nosferatu, attached to the military Order of St. Lazarus, made their homes in Jerusalem. Kothar tolerated them for a score of years, but grew to disapprove of their rampant tendency to Embrace “unnecessarily” and thus upset the balance of clan faith. After the Battle of Hattin, he ordered a pogrom across the Levant to purge the Knights of Lazarus from the region. Many were forced to flee into Byzantine lands, while others made new homes in Cyprus, France or Italy. Occasionally, a Lazarene manages to slip the net on some business or other. They are watched, and dealt with if they cause problems.

Independent Nosferatu of either the Western clan or the Mutasharidin are tolerated, provided that they offer up their information freely when Kothar or one of his agents require it. Such is the price for their admission and maintenance in the city.

The aforementioned Hajj movement grows in strength from year to year, and many Mutasharidin fear that they will soon be outnumbered. For their part, the Nosferatu of Hinnom tolerate the Hajji in the city as a matter of survival, so long as they preach away from the valley.

Lastly, the legendary Ancient known as Kli Kodesh has interfered with Jerusalem from time to time. When he appears, Kli Kodesh invariably appears with a small horde of Nosferatu that appear to be slavishly devoted to him and uncommonly well informed of Jerusalem’s layout. At such times, Kothar and his brood stay well away from the Temple of the Mount, and usually fortify the valley against incursions. The ease with which the old one penetrates their secrets and ignores their strength is a source of great vexation to the Nosferatu of Hinnom, and some speculate that Kothar’s sire is none other than the Mad Ancient himself.

• Kothar (6th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. before 1000 BCE); perhaps one of the oldest and most influential Mutasharidin in the Levant, this ancient Leper is revered as a prophet by most of his descendants. He frequently slips into torpor for short periods, however, leaving the control of Hinnom to his formidable brood.
• Ephraim (7th gen. Childe of Kothar, e. 722 BCE); Kothar’s most accomplished spy and oldest surviving childe, Ephraim is the de facto leader of the Hinnom Mutasharidin when his sire falls to torpor. Currently he dwells in the city, keeping an eye on the unstable political situation.
• Lepers of Hinnom; 3 other childer of Kothar, the youngest of which was Embraced before the rise of Islam. It is common for several of Kothar’s progeny to be in torpor at any one time. 2 other neonate Mutasharidin, Kothar’s grandchilder, dwell in the valley as well.
• Hannah (8th gen. Childe of Ephraim, e. 1180 CE); the youngest of the Leper Mutasharidin of Hinnom, this neonate chooses to haven in the city most of the time. There she watches over the beggars and street waifs, trying to ease their lot. She also spies on the other neonates of Jerusalem, and has an excellent understanding of their doings. Since 1196, she has formed an uneasy coterie with the Bashirite Yasmin and the Malkavian Jeanette.
• Jean de Lyon (10th gen. Childe of Amalric of Acre, e. 1139); a pilgrim who was Embraced before the 3nd Crusade, Jean has existed in the city as an independent. He appears to be very loyal to the leadership of Kothar, but does not share in the faith of the Mutasharidin of Hinnom. Despite his comparatively weak blood, he has amassed a formidable bank of prestation, and is well-respected by all factions.
• Rannulf (11th gen. Childe of Jean de Lyon, e. 1181); every bit the mercenary that his sire is, this neonate is even more active on the information gathering scene. Like his sire he is quite loyal to Kothar, but he otherwise tends to keep to himself and run his own show. [Note: this guy might actually be dead; I need to reread Fountains of Bright Crimson!]
• Isra Edris (9th gen. Childe of Ishaq al-Tabuki (d), e. 1123); a low-key member of the prominent Hajj faction among the Ashirra, Isra has little interest in seeking a leadership role among her co-religionists in Al Quds. Indeed, like her erstwhile ally, Azzah Masound, she tends to keep her business and her religion to herself, and appears to take care in not offending her Matasharidin clanmates who reside in the Valley of Hinnom. Like Azzah, she wears her niqāb at all times, a custom for which her fellows are thankful. Unlike Azzah, she is willing to take a small part in Ashirra activities, if only to keep abreast of news in the city.
• Sawwar ibn Khalaf (9th gen. Childe Khalaf ibn Salim, e. 1089 CE); a fervent member of the Hajji and an active member of the Ashirra, Sawwar took residence in Al Quds in 1199. An ally of Mahmud ibn Suleiman, he often relies on his friend to smooth ruffled feathers as he is a direct, sometimes even combative creature. He does not get along well with Kothar’s brood, who seem to consider him an interloper.
• Nosferatu of the Bay’t Mutasharid, and more specifically the Hajji, are common visitors to Al Quds, especially when a Crusade is called. Tarique and his followers are committed to fighting off the Militi Christi, and Jerusalem is key to that defence. The knights of St. Ladre were once common to the area, but Kothar and his brood drove them off years ago. Now only 1 or 2 visit the city each year, and then only at the ancient one’s sufferance.

Ravnos/ Bay’t Mujrim (3 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, pp. 93-94) The Bay’t Mujrim, as the Ravnos are known in the East, are slightly more common than in the West. In the Levant, those Mujrimin known as the Bashirites enjoy the greatest numbers and the most power. The Bashirite Ravnos have guided and bled the trade city of Damascus nearby for over 500 years – a position of power understood, if not respected, by all Jerusalem Cainites except the very new or the very naïve. Surviving and thriving through the cycles of empires, both Eastern and Western, the Bashirites believe that the downfalls of the great civilisations and the presence of holy armies mark the coming of a dark chaos. Their most ardent members seek to destroy all that is holy, battle against the Methuselah’s and prophesy the imminent rise of the Antediluvians from their age-long slumber. The rest are in it for the profit, to a greater or lesser extent.

Because the Bashirites have a higher calling, they generally care little for the petty infighting of the mortals during the Crusades. Each side requires supplies, and provisions to feed armies are difficult – and expensive – enough to obtain that the merchants of Damascus have considerable leverage. The Ravnos take advantage of Muslim, Jew and Christian equally, with two exceptions: They are vitally interested in holy relics, and work to undermine the activities of the Crusader factions who seek to disrupt Bashirite prophecies.

The battleground of Jerusalem is perhaps the most important location in this struggle. Varsik, an Armenian Bashirite Ravnos of formerly Catholic faith, represents the main interests of the jati in Jerusalem. He plays both sides against the middle, and eagerly takes the newer Cainites of the city into his confidence, assuring them as to what a powerful ally he might be. He is also a worrisome enemy, for no Cainites can afford to have the population of the Holy City reduced to deluded rabble if they incur the antipathy of the entire Bashirite jati.

Jerusalem is full of nobles and nobodies, property and possessions, audiences to thrill and relics to liberate. Rumour has it among the Ventrue that Varsik was among the emissaries who gave information to Salah al-Din at Hattin, leading to the defeat of the Christian armies and the reoccupation of Jerusalem by the Muslims. Others speak of Bashirite whispers influencing the destruction of temples over the centuries. However, in a time when the future of faith is at stake, desperate Cainites deign to make pacts with even the Ravnos, trading bargains and favours in efforts to reestablish their power within the city.

Of the other jati, only the Alexandrites and the Roma are worthy of mention with regards to Jerusalem. Like the Bashirites, the Ravnos of the Alexandrite jati have existed for many centuries in and between the eastern trading centres. Indeed, many of them lead luxurious lives as traders. However, they are wanderers for the most part and their trade is often in illicit goods or services, or else they make a living as caravan merchants or the like. The Roma are relatively recent additions to the Cainite ranks of the region. They are noteworthy in their sometimes violent disdain for the other two jati common to the region, and for their similarity in methods of congress to the Alexandrites. Indeed, while they have always been rare there are conspicuously far fewer Alexandrite caravans on the roads than there used to be.

• Varsik (6th gen. Childe of Bashir, e. 610 CE); a widely (if not deeply) influential merchant, Varsik seeks to maintain open and friendly relations with both Islamic and Christian powers while secretly undermining both to sow chaos and discord. He is very good at what he does, for despite the abilities of Jerusalem’s Cainites no proof of this has ever been discovered. Rumours do circulate of his perfidy, however, and Varsik spares no expense on his own security. He claims much of the Armenian Quarter as his domain.
• Yasmina (7th gen. Childe of Varsik, e. 1143 CE); a little girl who roams the streets of the city, begging for coins and listening to gossip. She looks to be a cute child of not quite 10, but has existed as a Cainite under Varsik’s protection for decades. There is little to her, other than her friendship with the Nosferatu Hannah and the Malkavian Jeanette.
• Andranik Barsamian (8th gen. Childe of Arman Zakarian, e. 1103 CE); Grand-childe to Varsik, Andranik exists as his right hand in the city. Those who wish to meet with his master must go through the younger Bashirite, and he appears to be just as cautious and almost as canny as Varsik himself. Andranik has also established a web of clients and favours that reach into the villas of the most powerful merchants in the Armenian quarter, cornering that sphere while his master controls the political elite.
• grequent Alexandrite visitors, usually a one or two vampires with an extended family unit to use as herd, guards and retainers.
• Infrequent Roma visitors, with much the same structure to their entourage. Most of the Roma Ravnos travel further north, through the Principality of Antioch, Armenia and the Sultanate of Rum to Byzantine lands.

Salubri/ Al-Amin (0 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, p. 97) For centuries, Jerusalem was a stronghold of the Salubri. The powerful Warrior known as Qawiyya el-Ghaduba, based her personal crusade against the Baali bloodline. She and perhaps 5 other Salubri dwelt in the Holy City on a more or less permanent basis, ranging forth for years at a time tracking down this lead or that. The Lioness of Jerusalem departed the city for the last time around 1070, and those of her allies and progeny who remained either fled the city before the First Crusade arrived, or perished in the Week of Blood after it. Visitors were still common enough, and a few took residence for limited periods. The last of these were the prophet known as Achmet the Dreamer and his disciple Aisha bint Wahiba, both of whom dwelt in the city for perhaps 15 years leading up to the diablierie of Saulot.

Now, the few Salubri who visit Jerusalem, still thoroughly shaken and disoriented in the wake of Saulot’s destruction, are little better than targets in these dark nights. Elusive and fearful, they are turning to their own more and more when they seek allies, for they can trust few others. Notes left in obscure places, written in the ancient language of the Second City, are all well and good – but real contact with others, others like yourself, becomes increasingly important as the Salubri become more isolated and cautious. Jerusalem, always a nexus of intrigue, draws Salubri as they pass through their way to … somewhere else.

Although there is always rumour of this Unicorn or that taking refuge in the Holy City, and Al-Amin Warriors have occasionally visited the city on their mysterious business, no Salubri are confirmed to make their permanent havens here. That doesn’t stop anyone from speculating or looking (especially the Tremere), but no evidence has been found.

• infrequent, very secretive refugees and visitors from the Al-Amin who come to bring them to safety.

Settites/Walid Set (2 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, p.99) The Settites of the city find all religions except their own anathema, but cannot resist the temptation of seducing the throngs of pilgrims new to these lands. The Western clans fear and distrust them out of hand, but seem to accept them as part of the “landscape”, so they were relatively free to act relatively openly during the Kingdom of Jerusalem. However, the Ashirra have little tolerance for the Walid Set so with the Muslim reconquest, the Serpents have been forced underground. They still ply their trade in corruption, but do so more with considerably more circumspection than in the past.

A Settite prostitute has allied her gifts of pleasure with the Assamite road assassin, and together they work on converting one another through scenes of their former lives’ passions. Another Setite, a relatively recent arrival from Cairo, is securing himself as the Serpent behind a Madman, luring those who would follow the fallen leader and his delusions of godhood to an even dark servitude.

• Shahara al-Rashwa (10th gen. Childe of Jezebel, e. 980 CE); a discreet prostitute who blackmails her clients for silver, information and influence over matters mercantile and political. Shahara is a Decadent, little interested in the religion of Set and far more interested in her own games of pleasure and conquest. Since the destruction of her contacts in Constantinople, she has gone even further underground than in the past. Not a few worry about what she is now up to…
• Abdullah al-Sathaja (8th gen. Childe of Nagat, e. 930 CE); coterie-mate to the Malkavian Al-Hakim, Abdullah plays the loyal proxy, but few residents of the Holy City are fooled. Rumour has it that he secretly connives to suborn his “master’s” blood-cult to the worship of Set. He is a notorious merchant of vice; selling slaves, drugs and relics although many tend to feel that this is simply to give the impression that that is all he is up to.
• Very infrequent Decadent visitors, most of whom move on after only a night or two. The aura of holiness in Jerusalem leaves a sour taste in their mouths.

Toreador/ Ray’een al-Fen (7 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, p. 102) Builders, artisans, lovers (and preservers) of the exquisite – the Toreador in Jerusalem struggle with the current political and religious upheavals which endanger so much historic beauty. They still seek to build further for the glory of God (and in some cases, themselves), but times and circumstances don’t always permit such noteworthy endeavours. At least there’s always politics for some members of the clan to fall back on. And in Jerusalem, politics can definitely be an art form all their own.

With the exception of the eldest among their number, the Ray’een al-Fen have long been active in Ashirra sectarian politics throughout the entire region. They deeply resented the influence of Western Toreador in their city during the the 12th century, especially the martial meddling of the Knights of the Sable Rose in each of the Crusades. With the surrender of the city to Salah al-Din in 1187, the knights were ejected from the city and none have been suffered to return. Obviously, their pawns among the Hospitaller order remain but for now, the presence of the European Toreador is non-existent.

• Elsh (6th gen. Childe of Unknown, e. before 1000 BCE); this ancient artisan, architect and stonemason has dwelt in the Holy City for over two millennia, though he has left on short stints here and there. He was active in the creation of King Solomon’s Temple, and has served in one capacity or another in the construction of nearly every religious building in Jerusalem. He exists quietly and wishes only for contemplative peace. Elsh is active in neither Christian nor Muslim politics of either the living or unliving kind, but he will offer words of advice to clan-mates who ask.
• Nasawi ibn Hamad (11th gen. Childe of Hamad ibn Rabbih, e. 1041 CE); returned to the city in 1204. He swiftly had a falling out with his childe, Duyal al-Malatya, and the nature of the dispute is still hotly debated and speculated upon in the Elysiums of the city. Duyal immediately left Jerusalem, but Nasawi remained in an attempt to control the damage to his reputation and help restore Ashirra equilibrium in Jerusalem.
• Zaina Nasawi (12th gen. Childe of Nasawi ibn Hamad, e. 1149 CE); a profoundly skilled yet humble silver-smith, noted also for her familial piety and love of wandering. Zaina was released by her sire decades ago but chooses to remain at his side. She is a quiet, but fervent supporter of Jerusalem’s craft guilds and an indifferent member of the Ashirra (at best). Her love of luxury and sensuality are frowned upon by many of the more conservative members of the sect.
• Mattisyahu Banaburis (9th gen. Childe of Harun ibn al-Qasim, e. 1014); a cheerful, mild mannered Persian merchant and patron of the arts with a number of friends and contacts among the mercantile and political elite of the city. His bloodline is Damascene and he is thought to be something of a rival to Varsik and the Bashirite Ravnos that also hail from that city.
• Raimundo Domingo de Alquézar (10th gen. Childe of Miron de Abazanda, e. 1157 CE); this knight of Aragon arrived in the Holy City in 1192, hard on the heels of the end of the 3rd Crusade. He claims to have made the pilgrimage in expiation for the sins that he committed in his natve land, but his detractors are quick to point out that he was quick to offer his services to Lucius Trebius Rufus and LeFreuy. Sir Raimundo often serves as courier and mlitary advisor to them.
• Frequent Ray’een al-Fen visitors, most of whom visit the Holy City seeking inspiration for their works. Infrequent Toreador visitors, making pilgrimage for similar reasons.

Tzimisce (1 permanent resident, 1 outside the walls)
(modified from JbN, p. 109) The venerable Tzimisce are, at best, a cultural oddity in Jerusalem. Even the Christian Obertus sect seems somewhat out of place here. Alexius Simocatta appears to be little more than a respectable dilettante, a gentleman with fingers in as many pies as he can manage, but few Cainites are all that they seem. Phantom-like, the creature known as Mandalay has recently returned – or has it? While the elders have claimed in the past that Mandalay is of the Tzimisce, others are not so sure.

• Mandalay (5th gen? Childe of Unknown, e. before 1000 BCE); a three-eyed, desiccated demon of the desert wastes. Few in the city have any real idea of Mandalay’s history, loyalties or even clan. Some suspect that it is a Salubri, others that it belongs to some obscure eastern bloodline, and a few have expressed doubts that it is even a Cainite. The truly ancient and knowledgeable know it to be a Fiend, though they aren’t talking. Perhaps the oldest of the Cainites that exist in the area, it has existed in the wastes outside the city at various times since the 6th century BC.
• Alexius Simocatta (6th gen. Childe of the Keeper of the Faith, e. 1018 CE); an amiable scholar and gentleman of means who dabbles in the mortal mercantile, political and military spheres of the city. He presents himself as a something of a patron to the Orthodox Christian community, but has little interest, and even less involvement, in Cainite matters.

Ventrue (5 permanent residents)
(modified from JbN, p. 112) The Ventrue have been the clan most active in providing cohesive support to the Crusades and as such, they are frequently seen as an outside, disruptive force in local Cainite politics. Throughout the 12th century, they were unable to gain the upper hand against their Lasombra rivals; their one success was in making Paliurro Rusticci’s claim on the princedom de facto rather than official. Since the turnover to Muslim hands, the Ventrue are biding their time and gathering resources. The 4th Crusade was a failure and a great disappointment for the Crusader Ventrue, but they wait patiently for the next great Crusade, and intend to be in position to benefit. For now, they know that their rivals among the Ahirra have the upper hand within the city, and as such avoid open confrontation in favour of supporting quiet agitation further northwards in the region.

The elder Lucius Trebius Rufus leads the clan in Jerusalem; his influence is felt not just within the city, but wherever Latin Christianity remains strong throughout the Holy Land. His pawns within the Templar and Hospitaller orders have lately been active in the Principality of Antioch, which exists outside the nominal King of Jerusalem’s truce with the Ayyubids. His progeny are an extension of his influence over the military orders, though neither have actually joined them. Lefreuy’s fledgeling is a chaplain in the Knights of St. John, but due to his inexperience is not yet an active force in the order.

The House of Trebius is a lightning rod for tensions with the Ashirra sect, despite the fact that they have dutifully abided the truces within the city. Many among the Muslim Cainites suspect that they exercise their influence to agitate war farther abroad (true, they have pushed 4th crusade arrivals towards Antioch and Tripoli), that they are firm adherents of the Crusader Ventrue movement (true, and obvious), that they are secretly members of the Templar Ventrue (not quite true but they are allied) and that they seek to destroy all Ashirra Cainites in the city (not true; Lucius respects all Peoples of the Book but he does want to be in charge).

• Lucius Trebius Rufus (6th gen. Childe of Gaius Cassius, e. 79 CE); a respected elder who also has holdings in Provence, Lucius is one of the few active survivors of the 1st Crusade’s sack of the city. He and his House did so simply by refusing to take part in such dishonourable and faithless behaviour. He has a measure of respect from all Cainites of the Book for this stand. Generally however, he is underestimated as both a political entity (a not unfair assessment) and a martial one (a dangerously stupid assessment).
• LeFreuy (7th gen. Childe of Lucius Trebius Rufus, e. 570 CE); even more devout than his sire, this elder is much more active in the minutiae of overseeing Christian pilgrim routes and the military orders that seek to secure them. He has proven himself a brave soul and inspiring presence on the battlefield, but is hardly a gifted soldier.
• Vicelin de Marseilles (7th gen. Childe of Lucius Trebius Rufus, e. 1092 CE); this rogue and gallant is everything in a fight that his older brother in blood ought to be. Vicelin is handsome and barrel chested, the very figure of French chivalry, but he lacks LeFreuy’s simple devotion, dedication to duty and flair for organisation. He is frequently sent abroad as his sire’s envoy.
• Huges de Vergy (8th gen. Childe of LeFreuy, e. 1204 CE); a Burgundian nobleman who fought with great fervour but little distinction in the Third Crusade. Unlikely to inherit and with few real prospects, he later joined the Fourth Crusade but, uneasy with the direction of the pilgrimage, he deserted with hundreds of others before the diversion to Constantinople. Eventually, he took service with the Prince of Antioch where he was mortally wounded in battle against the Saracens. LeFreuy Embraced him on his deathbed, and brought him to Jerusalem as his fledgeling and protege.
• With Jerusalem in the hands of the Saracens, few Ventrue feel safe enough to travel here. An occasional zealous or foolhardy pilgrim risks the ire of the Ashirra visits the city. Infrequently, a visit is made by an envoy from one of the other Crusader Warlords allied with Lucius Trebius Rufus, but they always travel under heavy guard and absnet themselves as soon as possible. Mortal servitors are far more common visitors for their kingly masters.

Other clans In Progress

Mortals of Note

In Progress, suggestions welcome

• al-Wāli al-Qudz Jibril abu Salih al-Tayyib: is a man of advancing years, who assisted Salah al-Din and Al-Adil in their campaigns to diminish and destroy the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Once a military man, he now he seeks to keep Jerusalem (which he has administrated as Al-Adil’s second since 1199) peaceful, harmonious and, most importantly, subdued. He chooses to do so by donating, in tandem with local leaders, to charitable works in each of the quarters, thus earning his sobriquet. Deeply loyal to the Ayyibid Sultanate, and Al-Adil in particular, he nonetheless chafes somewhat under the supervision of his master. Al-Adil takes a personal interest in Jerusalem (though not so much as Egypt) and he is the true power in the city; all of al-Tayyib’s power is contingent upon al-Adil’s approval, his only real ambition is to one day to leverage his son, Salih, into the role of Wāli after he retires.

• Marcus II of Nicaea, Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem: the restored head of the Orthodox Patriarchate tends his flock from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Like hs predecessor, Dositheos, he is thought to be a firm (if quiet) friend of al-Tayyib’s regime, for the Ayubbid’s allowed the Orthodox patriarchy to reclaim the seat of their faith whch their Latin cousins had seized. He has considerable influence within the Christian Quarter, which is contested by that of the Latin Archdeacon.

• Rabbi Hai ben Rabbi David Gaon: Is the nominal head of all the Jews in Jerusalem and living in the Holy Land. He is the head of the Jerusalem Beit Din and serves as Jerusalem’s shochet (ritual butcher) as well as Mohel (trained circumciser). While considered a Gaon and a brilliant scholar, with all Jews flocking to hear his wisdom it is known that he attends a nightly learning session with Aharon and shows considerable deference when interacting with him.

• Yochanan ben-Avihud: is a doctor and a member of the Hevra Kadisha of Jerusalem, he is in charge of all burial of the Jewish congregation in Jerusalem as well as their physical well being. In addition to donating his own time and talents to the Jewish community he also runs an extremely small hospital.

• Abdul Baatin: is a the current patriarch of the notorious Baatin crime syndicate and one of the leaders among the mortal underworld of Jerusalem. Abdul is a leader among the thieves of Jerusalem and has many shady and shadowy operations throughout Outremer.

• Hethum of Tarsus: foremost among the elders and judges of the Armenian Quarter, Hethum is a distant cousin to King Levon I. A warrior in his youth, Hethum is fiercely protective of his people and, despite his advancing years, he still leads drills and patrols for the guards there. He is also an enthusiastic advocate for his peoples’ interests on the informal council of al-Tayyib, and a frequent mediator of disputes with neighbouring quarters.

• Archdeacon Lamberto Pessorini: is the chief aide and agent of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Albert Avogadro, who resides in exile at the city of Acre. Lamberto is a subtle and careful man, well aware that he is tolerated to remain at the pleasure of al-Tayyib. Nonetheless, he is a reluctant lightning rod of opposition to Ayubbid rule, as his master is an enthusiastic proponent for crusade.