After Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Syria and Egypt, destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 1180s, the Principality of Antioch became the leading Christian power of Northern Syria.
By 1186 Leo II, Lord of Armenian Cilicia, had already acknowledged the suzerainty of Bohemond III of Antioch, but their relationship became tense after Bohemond borrowed money from Leo but failed to repay it.

In 1191 Leo captured and rebuilt Bagras, a strategically important fortress that Saladin had seized from the Knights Templar and then destroyed before abandoning it.
Bohemond ordered Leo to return it to the Templars, but Leo refused, stating that his right of recent conquest was stronger that the claim of the Templars who had lost their property.
After Bohemond failed to include Cilicia in his truce with Saladin in 1192, Leo invited him to Bagras to start negotiations.
Bohemond accepted the offer, but Leo had him captured, forcing him to surrender Antioch.
Although the noblemen (who were closely related to Armenian nobles) were willing to accept Leo's rule, the mainly Greek and Latin townspeople formed a commune and prevented the Armenian soldiers from occupying Antioch.

Peace was restored with the mediation of Henry I of Jerusalem, who persuaded both Leo and Bohemond to renounce their claims to suzerainty over each other.
Leo's occupation of Bagras was confirmed.
Bohemond's eldest son, Raymond, married Leo's niece and heir presumptive, Alice.
Raymond died in early 1197, but his widow give birth to a posthumous son, Raymond-Roupen.
The almost sixty-year-old Bohemond III sent Alice and her son to Armenia, showing that he did not want to acknowledge his infant grandson's right to succeed him in Antioch.

Leo had meanwhile united the Armenian Church in Cilicia with Rome and acknowledged the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI.
The emperor's envoy, Conrad of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Mainz, was present when Leo was crowned the first king of Armenian Cilicia on 6 January 1198.
Before long, Conrad went to Antioch and persuaded Bohemond and his barons to swear an oath to accept Raymund-Roupen's right to inherit Antioch.

Bohemond III's younger son (Raymund-Roupen's uncle), Bohemond, Count of Tripoli, disputed the validity of their oath.
He expelled his father from Antioch with the support of the Templars, the Hospitallers and the commune of the burghers in late 1198.
Three months later Leo invaded the Principality of Antioch, forcing the younger Bohemond to allow his father to return to Antioch.
Pope Innocent III also supported the restoration of Bohemond III in Antioch, but, responding to the Templars' demand, he also began urging Leo to restore Bagras to them.
After Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan of Syria and Egypt, destroyed the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 1180s, the Principality of Antioch became the leading Christian power of Northern Syria. By 1186 Leo II, Lord of Armenian Cilicia, had already acknowledged the suzerainty of Bohemond III of Antioch, but their relationship became tense after Bohemond borrowed money from Leo but failed to repay it.
In 1191 Leo captured and rebuilt Bagras, a strategically important fortress that Saladin had seized from the Knights Templar and then destroyed before abandoning it. Bohemond ordered Leo to return it to the Templars, but Leo refused, stating that his right of recent conquest was stronger that the claim of the Templars who had lost their property. After Bohemond failed to include Cilicia in his truce with Saladin in 1192, Leo invited him to Bagras to start negotiations. Bohemond accepted the offer, but Leo had him captured, forcing him to surrender Antioch. Although the noblemen (who were closely related to Armenian nobles) were willing to accept Leo's rule, the mainly Greek and Latin townspeople formed a commune and prevented the Armenian soldiers from occupying Antioch.
Peace was restored with the mediation of Henry I of Jerusalem, who persuaded both Leo and Bohemond to renounce their claims to suzerainty over each other. Leo's occupation of Bagras was confirmed. Bohemond's eldest son, Raymond, married Leo's niece and heir presumptive, Alice. Raymond died in early 1197, but his widow give birth to a posthumous son, Raymond-Roupen. The almost sixty-year-old Bohemond III sent Alice and her son to Armenia, showing that he did not want to acknowledge his infant grandson's right to succeed him in Antioch.
Leo had meanwhile united the Armenian Church in Cilicia with Rome and acknowledged the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI. The emperor's envoy, Conrad of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Mainz, was present when Leo was crowned the first king of Armenian Cilicia on 6 January 1198. Before long, Conrad went to Antioch and persuaded Bohemond and his barons to swear an oath to accept Raymund-Roupen's right to inherit Antioch.
Bohemond III's younger son (Raymund-Roupen's uncle), Bohemond, Count of Tripoli, disputed the validity of their oath. He expelled his father from Antioch with the support of the Templars, the Hospitallers and the commune of the burghers in late 1198. Three months later Leo invaded the Principality of Antioch, forcing the younger Bohemond to allow his father to return to Antioch. Pope Innocent III also supported the restoration of Bohemond III in Antioch, but, responding to the Templars' demand, he also began urging Leo to restore Bagras to them.
War of the Antiochene Succession