Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat the independent city communes of the Lombard League. Boniface's eldest brother, William, had died in 1177, soon after marrying Sibylla, the heiress presumptive to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1179, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus offered his daughter Maria Porphyrogenita as a bride to one of the sons of William V. Since Boniface, like his older brother Conrad, was already married, and Frederick was a priest, the youngest brother, Renier, married her instead, only to be murdered along with her during the usurpation of Andronicus. In 1183, Boniface's nephew Baldwin V was crowned co-king of Jerusalem. William V went
Baldwin I, Latin Emperor of this land. After Philip II of France took Baldwin's brother, Philippe of Namur, prisoner, Baldwin was forced to agree to a truce to ensure his safety. The Treaty of Péronne was signed in January 1200 on the condition that Baldwin receive the territories he had won during the war. Baldwin was made the vassal of Philip II, and the king returned portions of Artois to Baldwin. In this fight against the French king, Baldwin allied with others who had quarrels with Philip, including kings Richard I and John of England, and the German King Otto IV. A month after