Guglielmo Embriaco

Guglielmo Embriaco (Latin Guillermus Embriacus, Genoese Ghigærmo de ri Embrieghi, English William the Drunkard; born c. 1040), was a Genoese merchant and military leader who came to the assistance of the Crusader States during the First Crusade. At the end of June 1099, his fleet of 2 to 9 galleys, embarking Genoese sailors, soldiers and crossbowmen, entered the port city of Jaffa. Embriaco ordered to disassemble the ships and brought to the siege of Jerusalem the Genoese men and supplies as well as the dismantled material, which he transformed into war machines and siege devices that he used to capture the city. On 15 July 1099, Jerusalem was taken and Embriaco earned the reputation of a liberator of the Holy Sepulchre. Embriaco is considered one of the founders of what would become the Republic of Genoa.