Robert II , Count of Flanders Robert II ( c . 1065 – October 5 , 1111 ) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111 . He became known as " Robert of Jerusalem " ( " Robertus Hierosolimitanus " ) or " Robert the Crusader " after his exploits in the First Crusade . History . He was the eldest son of Robert I of Flanders and Gertrude of Saxony . His father , hoping to place the cadet branch ( or " Baldwinite " branch ) of Flanders over the county , began to associate him with his rule around 1086 . From 1085 to 1091 he was regent of the county while his father was away on pilgrimage to the Holy Land . After becoming count in 1093 , he joined the First Crusade , launched by Pope Urban II in 1095 . Robert made his wife Clementia of Burgundy regent in Flanders and followed the retinue Godfrey of Bouillon , Duke of Lower Lorraine . After reaching Constantinople , the crusaders were obliged to swear an oath of fealty to Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus and promise to return to the Byzantine Empire any land they might capture . Robert , whose father had already served Alexius during his pilgrimage in the 1080s , had no problem swearing this oath , but some of the other leaders did and there was some delay in leaving the city . Robert then participated in the Siege of Nicaea , after which the army was split into two groups . Robert marched with Stephen of Blois , Bohemund of Taranto , Robert Curthose , and the Byzantine guides , one day ahead of the rest of the crusaders . This army was surrounded by the Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan I at the Battle of Dorylaeum on June 30 , 1097 . The next day , the second army , led by Raymond IV of Toulouse , Godfrey of Bouillon , and Hugh of Vermandois , arrived and broke the encirclement ; the two armies joined together , with Robert and Raymond forming the centre . The Turks were defeated and the crusaders continued their march . At the end of 1097 the crusaders arrived at Antioch . The Siege of Antioch lasted many months ; in December , Robert and Bohemund briefly left the army to raid the surrounding territory for food , and on December 30 they defeated an army sent to relieve Antioch , led by Dukak of Damascus . Antioch was eventually betrayed to Bohemund by an Armenian guard , and Robert was among the first to enter the city , but only a few days later they were themselves besieged by Kerbogha of Mosul . On June 28 , 1098 , the crusaders marched out to meet him in battle ; Robert and Hugh of Vermandois led the first of six divisions . Kerbogha was defeated and the Muslim - held citadel finally surrendered to the crusaders . Robert , along with Bohemund , Raymond , and Godfrey , occupied the citadel , but Bohemund soon claimed the city for himself . Raymond also claimed it , but Robert supported Bohemund in this dispute . The dispute delayed the crusade even further . Raymond left Antioch to attack Ma ' arrat al - Numan , which was captured ; Robert took part in this siege as well . Raymond then tried to bribe Robert and the other leaders to follow him instead of Bohemund ; Robert was offered six thousand " sou s " , but each attempted bribe was ignored . Raymond continued south to Jerusalem in January , 1099 , but Robert and Godfrey remained behind in Antioch until February . They rejoined Raymond ' s army at the Siege of Arqa . In June , Robert and Gaston IV of Bearn led the vanguard which arrived at Ramla , and with Tancred of Taranto he led an expedition into Samaria to find wood in order to construct siege engine s for the Siege of Jerusalem . When Jerusalem was captured on July 15 , Robert supported Godfrey ' s claim over that of Raymond , and on August 9 marched out with him to meet the Fatimid army under al - Afdal Shahanshah which was coming to relieve Jerusalem . Robert formed part of the centre wing in the ensuing Battle of Ascalon , which resulted in a crusader victory . However , Godfrey and Raymond quarrelled over possession of Ascalon , and even Robert could not support Godfrey in this dispute ; the city remained uncaptured , although the victory allowed for the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . At the end of August , Robert returned home with Robert Curthose and Raymond . On the way back they captured Latakia , which was returned to the Byzantine emperor , as promised years before . Raymond remained there but both Roberts continued home by way of Constantinople , after declining Alexius ' request to stay there in his service . Robert brought back with him a precious relic , the arm of Saint George , a gift from Alexius . The relic was placed in the church of Anchin Abbey in Flanders . After he returned , Robert built the monastery of St . Andrew in Betferkerke , near Bruges . Because of his crusade and the spoils he brought home , he was nicknamed Robert of Jerusalem . During his absence , Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV had tried to seize imperial Flanders . Robert responded by supporting the revolt of the Commune of Cambrai against the emperor and his supporter , Bishop Gaulcher , and seized a number of castle s . Peace was restored in 1102 paid homage to the emperor for imperial Flanders , but after 1105 , the new emperor , Henry V , marched on Flanders , with the aid of Baldwin III , Count of Hainaut and an army from Holland . Robert stopped them outside of Douai and a new peace was signed , in which the emperor recognized Robert ' s claim to Douai and Cambrai . In 1103 he made an alliance with King Henry I of England , offering 1000 cavalry in exchange for an annual tribute , but when Henry refused to pay , Robert allied with his nominal overlord , Louis VI of France , and attacked Normandy . With the king diverted , Theobald IV of Blois led a revolt of the French barons . Robert led an army against Meaux , but near the city he was fatally wounded , fell off his horse , and drowned in the Marne . Family . He married Clementia of Burgundy , sister of Pope Callistus II and daughter of William I , Count of Burgundy . They had three children , but only the oldest survived to adulthood . He succeeded Robert as Baldwin VII of Flanders .