ABSTRACT
Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen arrived in Acre in September 1228. Since 1215 he had promised to go on crusade, yet time and time again he had postponed the expedition. In 1225 he married Isabella II, heiress to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who died shortly before his departure for the Levant leaving a small son born on April 25, 1228, who inherited the crown. In the Kingdom of Jerusalem fifteen was the age of majority for the fief-holder, and it seems likely that such was also true for the king with regard to the kingdom, although this is nowhere explicitly stated. Tommaso's arrival in Tyre would have especially endangered the barons because he was vested with authority by Conrad, the legal ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In order to forestall the possible consequences of his presence in the Levant, adequate measures had to be rapidly devised.
