page_title: Baldwin I of Jerusalem
section_title: First Crusade
hierarchical_section_title: Baldwin I of Jerusalem / First Crusade
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration from page 342 of The outline of history; being a plain history of life and mankind, the definitive edition revised and rearranged by the author, by H.G. Wells, illustrated by J. F. Horrabin, "Map to illustrate the First Crusade"
context_page_description: Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne, was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and the first king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death. Being the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine, he was destined for a church career, but he abandoned it and married a Norman noblewoman, Godehilde of Tosny. He received the County of Verdun in 1096, but he soon joined the crusader army of his brother Godfrey of Bouillon and became one of the most successful commanders of the First Crusade.
  While the main crusader army was marching across Asia Minor in 1097, Baldwin and the Norman Tancred launched a separate expedition against Cilicia. Tancred tried to capture Tarsus in September, but Baldwin forced him to leave it, which gave rise to an enduring conflict between them. Baldwin seized important fortresses in the lands to the west of the Euphrates with the assistance of local Armenians. Thoros of Edessa invited him to come to Edessa to fight against the Seljuqs. Taking advantage of a riot against Thoros, Baldwin seized the town and established the first crusader state on 10 March 1098.
context_section_description: Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont on 27 November 1095. Godfrey of Bouillon decided to join the military campaign and sold or mortgaged his inherited domains to raise funds. One of his domains, the County of Verdun, was seized by Richer, Bishop of Verdun, who soon granted it to Baldwin. The dissolution of Godfrey's allodial lands deprived all future dukes of the basis of their authority in Lower Lotharingia, which facilitated Baldwin's decision to take the Cross. Eustace III of Boulogne also joined the crusade. According to a letter from Pope Urban, only the army that Peter the Hermit had mustered for the People's Crusade outnumbered the three brothers' force.
  Baldwin departed for the crusade with Godfrey's army on 15 August 1096. His wife and children accompanied him, suggesting that he had decided not to return to his homeland. The crusaders stopped at Tulln an der Donau before reaching the frontier of Hungary in September. Godfrey left Baldwin in charge of his troops during his conference with Coloman, King of Hungary, to discuss the conditions of the crusaders' march across the country. He agreed to hand over Baldwin, along with Baldwin's wife and retainers, as hostages, to ensure their troops' good conduct. Baldwin and Godehilde were released soon after the crusaders left Hungary. They entered the Byzantine Empire near Belgrade in late November.
  The crusaders reached Constantinople on 23 December 1096. The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos demanded an oath of allegiance from their leaders and imposed a blockade on their camp to enforce it. Baldwin made raids against the districts outside the walls of Constantinople, compelling Alexios to lift the blockade. The Emperor also agreed to hand over his son and heir, John, as a hostage, who was entrusted to Baldwin's care.
  Since the crusaders continued to resist the emperor's demand, the Byzantines reduced the fodder and food supplied to them. Baldwin again attacked the suburbs and killed or captured dozens of Pecheneg guards. The crusaders realised that they could not defeat the imperial army and so yielded to the emperor's demand. Their commanders (including Godfrey and Baldwin) swore fealty to Alexios and pledged that they would cede all conquered lands that the Seljuq Turks had seized from the Byzantines to the Emperor's representatives. The crusaders were transferred to a camp established on the road between Chalcedon and Nicomedia in Asia Minor, but Godfrey and Baldwin soon returned to Constantinople to be present when the commanders of a new crusader army did homage to Alexios. When a knight sat on the emperor's throne during the ceremony, Baldwin "took him by the hand and made him rise" and severely reprimanded him.
  After the crusaders defeated Kilij Arslan I, the Seljuq Sultan of Rum, in the Battle of Dorylaeum on 1 July 1097, Baldwin and the Italo-Norman leader Tancred broke away from the main body of the army. They marched as far as Heraclea, where they again joined their fellows around 15 August. The crusaders became exhausted during their long march across Asia Minor and most of their horses died. To secure a supply of food and forage, Baldwin and Tancred were sent to the fertile plains of Cilicia. There they could count on the support of the local Armenians, especially as Baldwin had already been befriended by an Armenian nobleman, Bagrat.
  Baldwin and Tancred led two separate contingents. Tancred was the first to leave Heraclea, accompanied by 100–200 troops; Baldwin and his 300 knights departed around 15 September. Tancred arrived at Tarsus—an important center of commerce in Cilicia—on 21 September. He persuaded the Seljuq garrison of Tarsus to raise his flag on the citadel, even before his troops were granted access to the town. Baldwin reached Tarsus on the following day. The Turks replaced Tancred's banner with Baldwin's flag and allowed Baldwin to take possession of two towers. Heavily outnumbered by Baldwin's troops, Tancred decided not to fight for the town and rode off. Shortly thereafter, about 300 Norman knights
caption: The crusaders' route in Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine (from H. G. Wells' The Outline of History)
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