Maria Komnene 

(Greek: Μαρία Κομνηνή, died in mid-1217), Latinized Comnena, was the queen of

Jerusalem from 1167 until 1174 as the second wife of King Amalric. She occupied a central position
in the Kingdom of Jerusalem for twenty years, earning a reputation for intrigue and ruthlessness.
Maria was a grandniece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Her marriage to Amalric in 1167
served to establish an alliance between the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When
Amalric died in 1174, the crown passed to Maria's stepson, Baldwin IV, and she withdrew with her
daughter, Isabella, to the city of Nablus, which she was to rule as queen dowager. Due to
Baldwin's leprosy, Maria's stepdaughter, Sibylla, and daughter, Isabella, were regarded as potential
successors. Maria married the lord of Ibelin, Balian, in 1177, with whom she had four more children.