Baldwin I | king of Jerusalem | Britannica.com king of Jerusalem Alternative Titles: Baldwin of Boulogne, Baudouin de Boulogne Baldwin I Raymond IV Baldwin I, byname Baldwin of Boulogne, French Baudouin de Boulogne (born 1058?—died April 2, 1118, Al-ʿArīsh , Egypt ), king of the Crusader state of Jerusalem (1100–18) who expanded the kingdom and secured its territory, formulating an administrative apparatus that was to serve for 200 years as the basis for Frankish rule in Syria and Palestine. Son of Eustace II, count of Boulogne, and Ida d’Ardenne, Baldwin was the younger brother of Godfrey of Bouillon , whom he accompanied on the First Crusade (1096–99). While Baldwin was campaigning against the Seljuq Turks in Anatolia, Toros, the Christian prince of Edessa (now Urfa, Turkey), promised to make him his heir in return for military aid. Baldwin forced Toros to abdicate and took possession of Edessa in 1098.

He consolidated his new principality and strengthened its ties with the native Armenians by marrying Arda, the daughter of an Armenian noble. In July 1100 his brother Godfrey died in Jerusalem , and Baldwin was summoned by the nobles to succeed him as Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Defender of the Holy Sepulchre). In December, after leading a campaign in the south to impress the Egyptian Fāṭimids with his strength and after subduing the opposition of the Crusader nobles, he was crowned the first king of Jerusalem. Once he had consolidated his strength at home, Baldwin seized the coastal cities of Arsuf (Tel Arshaf, Israel) and Caesarea (H̱orbat Qesari, Israel) in 1101; by 1112 he had captured all the coastal cities except Ascalon and Tyre. In 1115 he built the castle of Krak de Montréal to protect the kingdom in the south. In 1113 Baldwin forced his wife to enter a convent and married Adelaide of Saona, countess dowager of Sicily.

He died without an heir and was succeeded by Baldwin of Bourcq , a cousin whom he had named count of Edessa in 1100. Learn More in these related articles: in Crusades Baldwin I Baldwin I King of Jerusalem (1100-1118) The coronation of Baldwin I on Christmas Day 1100 [from: William of Tyre: Histoire d'Outremer, French, 13th century, Bibliothï¿½que Nationale, Paris, MS Fr. 9081, f.99v] Count of Boulogne, and youngest brother of Godfrey of Bouillon , he joined the First Crusade in 1096. Founded the County of Edessa - the first crusader state - in 1098. On the death of Godfrey (1100) he was elected king of Jerusalem. He repelled Egyptian attacks, enforced the authority of state over church and extended the boundaries of the kingdom. [from: Hallam, Elizabeth (edt.): Chronicles of the crusades. London 1989] Seal of Baldwin, Crusader King of Jerusalem Baldwin, King of Jerusalem Latin kings of Jerusalem.

Baldwin I, 1058?-1118 (r.1100-18), was a brother of GODFREY OF BOUILLON , whom he accompanied in the First CRUSADE . He gained the chief ports of Palestine and aided other Latin rulers against the Muslims. His cousin and successor, Baldwin II, d. 1131 (r.1118-31), was also in the First Crusade. As king he warred with the Turks in N Syria. During his reign TYRE and Antioch became Jerusalem's dependents. Baldwin III, 1130-62 (r.1143-62), the son of Fulk of Anjou, ruled as Latin power in the East began to decay. Edessa fell (1144) to the Muslims, the Second Crusade failed, and the Turkish sultan Nur ad-Din took (1154) N Syria. His nephew Baldwin IV (the Leper), c.1161-85 (r.1174-85), defended his kingdom constantly against SALADIN .

When his leprosy became worse, he had his child-nephew crowned (1183) Baldwin V (d. 1186). [from: Encyclopedia.com ] Baldwin I, Latin king of Jerusalem (Baldwin of Boulogne), 1058?–1118, Latin king of Jerusalem (1100–1118), brother and successor of Godfrey of Bouillon , whom he accompanied on the First Crusade (see Crusades ). Separating from the main army after the successful siege of Nicaea, Baldwin followed Tancred into Cilicia and seized (1097) Tarsus from him. He wrested (1097) Edessa from the Muslims and as count of Edessa defended the city until elected ruler of Jerusalem. His election marked the triumph of the military faction of the Crusaders over the ecclesiastical faction. Taking the title of king, he consolidated the Latin states of the East. With the help of crusading fleets from the West and, more important, the Genoese and the Venetians, to whom he made large concessions, he gained possession of the chief ports of Palestine.

He helped the Latin rulers of Antioch, Edessa, and Tripoli against the Muslims and fought against the Egyptians. He died on his return from an expedition into Egypt. His cousin, Baldwin II, succeeded him. [from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright ï¿½ 2000 Columbia University Press.] Baldwin I of Jerusalem | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Baldwin I of Jerusalem Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. Baldwin I Adelaide del Vasto Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne (French: Baudouin de Boulogne), 1058? [1] – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade , who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem .

He was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon , who was the first ruler of the crusader state of Jerusalem, although Godfrey refused the title of 'king' which Baldwin accepted. Contents Edit Baldwin was a son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne and Ida of Lorraine (daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine ), and the younger brother of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and Godfrey of Bouillon . As the youngest brother, Baldwin was originally intended for a career in the church, but he had given this up around 1080; according to William of Tyre , who lived later in the 12th century and did not know Baldwin personally: "in his youth, Baldwin was well nurtured in the liberal studies. He became a cleric, it is said, and, because of his illustrious lineage, held benefices commonly called prebends in the churches of Reims, Cambrai, and Liège." Afterwards he lived in Normandy , where he married Godehilde (or Godvera) de Toeni, daughter of Raoul de Conches of a noble Anglo-Norman family (and formerly betrothed wife of Robert de Beaumont ).

He returned to Lower Lorraine in order to take control of the county of Verdun (previously held by Godfrey). First Crusade Edit In 1096 he joined the First Crusade with his brothers Godfrey and Eustace III of Boulogne , selling much of his property to the church in order to pay for his expenses. His wife Godehilde (or Godvera) also accompanied him. This was the second movement of crusaders; the first, the People's Crusade , had been composed of the lower classes as well as knights, like Walter Sansavoir, and had caused much destruction on their march, although no more than other crusading groups, before being destroyed in Asia Minor. When Godfrey passed through Hungary, King Coloman demanded a hostage to ensure their good conduct, and Baldwin was handed over until his companions had left Hungarian territory. After entering Byzantine territory, there were a few skirmishes with the Greeks, who had also suffered from the People's Crusade. Baldwin commanded a detachment of troops which captured a bridge in the vicinity of Constantinople.

After reaching the city, the mass of troops could not be restrained from pillaging the surrounding territory, and Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus was forced to provide a hostage in order to restore peace. The hostage, his son the future emperor John II Comnenus , was entrusted to the care of Baldwin. According to Anna Comnena , Baldwin reprimanded one of his soldiers who dared to sit on Alexius' throne in Constantinople. Baldwin accompanied his brothers as far as Heraclea in Asia Minor, where he broke away from the main body of the crusaders with Tancred to march into Cilicia. Tancred was surely seeking to capture some land and establish himself as a petty ruler in the east, and Baldwin may have had the same goal. During his absence his wife fell ill and died at Marash , which meant that Baldwin could no longer depend on his wife's lands for support. Some historians have suggested that his entire strategy changed from that point, others believe that the change happened earlier. In September 1097 he took Tarsus from Tancred, and installed his own garrison in the city, with help from a fleet of pirates under Guynemer of Boulogne .

Tancred and Baldwin's armies skirmished briefly at Mamistra, but the two never came to open warfare and Tancred marched on towards Antioch. After rejoining the main army at Marash, Baldwin received an invitation from an Armenian named Bagrat, and moved eastwards towards the Euphrates, where he occupied Turbessel . Count of Edessa Baldwin of Boulogne entering Edessa in February 1098. He is shown being welcomed by the Armenian clergy, who welcomed the end of tutelage to Constantinople. [2] Baldwin of Boulogne receiving the hommage of the Armenians in Edessa. Another invitation came from Thoros of Edessa , where Baldwin was adopted as Thoros' son and successor. When Thoros was assassinated in March 1098, Baldwin became the first count of Edessa, although it is unknown if he played any role in the assassination. He ruled the county until 1100, marrying Arda , the daughter of Thoros of Marash , and acting as an ambassador between the crusaders and Armenians.

During these two years he captured Samosata and Suruç ( Sarorgia ) from the Muslims, and defeated a conspiracy by some of his Armenian subjects in 1098. During the Siege of Antioch he sent money and food to his fellow crusaders, although he himself did not participate. Kerbogha , the governor of Mosul, was marching to relieve Antioch but first stopped at Edessa, which he besieged for three weeks, to no avail. Kerbogha was later defeated at Antioch and the crusaders established a principality there. Later that year Baldwin had consolidated his power enough that he was able to march out with his brother Godfrey and besiege Azaz where they defeated the forces of Ridwan of Aleppo . At the end of 1099 he visited Jerusalem along with Bohemund I of Antioch , but he returned to Edessa in January, 1100. After returning to Edessa, Baldwin aided in relieving the siege of Melitene , at which Bohemund was captured by the Danishmends . The Armenian ruler of the city, Gabriel , then recognized Baldwin as overlord of the city.

King of Jerusalem Edit After Godfrey's death in July 1100 he was invited to Jerusalem by the supporters of a secular monarchy, led by his kinsman Warner of Grez . He granted Edessa to a cousin, Baldwin of Bourcq , and on the way to Jerusalem he was ambushed by Duqaq of Damascus near Beirut. Duqaq’s troops were defeated and there was no further trouble on the way to Jerusalem, where he arrived at the beginning of November. In Jerusalem Baldwin was opposed by his old enemy Tancred, as well as the new patriarch , Dagobert of Pisa , who would have preferred to set up a theocratic state while Godfrey was still alive. As soon as he arrived Baldwin set out on an expedition against the Egyptian territory to the south and did not return until the end of December. On 25 December 1100 he was crowned the first king of Jerusalem by the patriarch himself, who had in the meantime given up his opposition to Baldwin, although he refused to crown Baldwin in Jerusalem. The coronation took place instead in Bethlehem.

The struggle between church and state continued into the spring of 1101, when Baldwin had Dagobert suspended by a papal legate, while later in the year the two disagreed on the question of the contribution to be made by the patriarch towards the defence of the Holy Land. The struggle ended in the deposition of Dagobert in 1102. Expansion of the kingdom Edit In 1101 Baldwin captured Arsuf and Caesarea , with assistance from a Genoese fleet. In return the Genoese were granted trading quarters in these towns, and an archbishopric was established in Caesarea. In September of that year Baldwin defeated the Egyptians at the Battle of Ramlah , although it was believed in Jerusalem that the crusader army had been defeated and Baldwin had been killed. Tancred was prepared to take up the regency before it was finally reported that Baldwin had been victorious. In 1102 another battle was fought at Ramlah , with remnants of the Crusade of 1101 , including Stephen, Count of Blois , William IX, Duke of Aquitaine , and Hugh VI of Lusignan .

This time the Egyptians were victorious; Baldwin lost most of his army including Stephen of Blois, but he himself escaped back to Arsuf on his horse (unusual for this period, especially considering the high death rate of horses during the First Crusade and afterwards, the name of the horse has survived: she was called Gazala). He did not want to risk venturing out of the city for fear of being captured by the Egyptians, so he was ferried back to Jaffa by the English pirate Godric of Finchale , and thence secretly to Jerusalem. The Egyptians were still in the field, however, and Baldwin met them again outside Jaffa, and this time was victorious. In 1103 Baldwin besieged Acre, without success as it was relieved by an Egyptian fleet. That year he also paid the ransom for Bohemund of Antioch, who was still in prison following his defeat at Melitene ; Baldwin preferred Bohemund to Tancred, who ruled Antioch as regent, and was also prince of Galilee earlier in Baldwin's reign. In 1104 however Baldwin was assisted by a Genoese fleet and Acre was captured.

In 1105 another battle was fought at Ramlah and Baldwin was victorious here as well. In 1109 he acted as arbitrator of a council of the greatest barons outside the walls of Tripoli, and forced Tancred to give up his claim to the city. Soon after, the city fell to the crusaders, forming the nucleus of the County of Tripoli. In 1110 Beirut was added to the territory of Jerusalem, again with help from the Genoese. Baldwin then travelled north to assist Edessa, under siege from Mawdud of Mosul. On his return, Sidon was captured with aid from Ordelafo Faliero (who brought a Venetian fleet of 100 ships) and Sigurd I of Norway . [3] In 1111 Baldwin assisted Tancred in besieging Shaizar , and then also besieged Tyre, but was pushed back by a Muslim force under Toghtekin of Damascus.

In 1113 Baldwin faced a large invasion by the combined forces of Toghtekin of Damascus and Aksunk-ur of Mosul, and though the kingdom was on the brink of destruction Baldwin was assisted by troops from Antioch and new arrivals of European pilgrims at the Battle of Al-Sannabra . In 1113 he also married Adelaide del Vasto ; he had abandoned his Armenian wife Arda in 1108, on the pretext that she had been unfaithful, or, according to Guibert of Nogent , because she had been raped by pirates on the way to Jerusalem. It is more likely however that she was simply politically useless in Jerusalem, which had no Armenian population. Under the marriage agreement, if Baldwin and Adelaide had no children, the heir to the kingdom would be Roger II of Sicily , Adelaide's son by her first husband Roger I . Technically the marriage to Adelaide was bigamous because Arda was still alive in a monastery in Jerusalem, and it would later cause many problems both for Baldwin and Patriarch Arnulf , who had sanctioned it. In 1115 he led an expedition into Oultrejordain and built the castle of Montreal .

The Syrian Christians who lived in the area were invited to settle in Jerusalem to replenish the population, which had been mostly massacred in 1099. In 1117 he built the castle of Scandalion near Tyre, which was still in Muslim hands. At this point the army in the Kingdom of Jerusalem consisted of only 6,000 men, including 1,000 knights but it was augmented with 5,000 turcopoles . [4] Death Edit In 1117 Baldwin fell ill. He was convinced that the sickness was due to his bigamous marriage to Adelaide, and in response Adelaide was sent back to Sicily, much to her disgust. Baldwin recovered, however, and in 1118 he marched into Egypt and plundered Farama . According to Fulcher of Chartres , "Then one day he went walking along the river which the Greeks call the Nile and the Hebrews the Gihon , near the city, enjoying himself with some of his friends. Some of the knights very skillfully used their lances to spear the fish found there and carried them to their camp near the city and ate them.

Then the king felt within himself the renewed pangs of an old wound and was most seriously weakened." As 17th century historian Thomas Fuller remarked more succinctly, Baldwin "caught many fish, and his death in eating them." Baldwin was carried back to Jerusalem on a litter but died on the way, at the village of Al-Arish on 2 April. Fulcher of Chartres says "The Franks wept, the Syrians, and even the Saracens who saw it grieved also." His cousin Baldwin of Bourcq was chosen as his successor, although the kingdom was also offered to Eustace III, who did not want it. The nearby Lake Bardawil apparently derives its name from Baldwin. Personal life Edit Fulcher described him as another Joshua , "the right arm of his people, the terror and adversary of his enemies." William of Tyre remarked that he was similar to Saul . Although William did not know him personally like Fulcher did, he left a detailed description of him: "He is said to have been very tall and much larger than his brother…He was of rather light complexion, with dark-brown hair and beard. His nose was aquiline and his upper lip somewhat prominent.

The lower jaw slightly receded, although not so much that it could be considered a defect. He was dignified in carriage and serious in dress and speech. He always wore a mantle hanging from his shoulders…[He] was neither stout nor unduly thin, but rather of a medium habit of body. Expert in the use of arms, agile on horseback, he was active and diligent whenever the affairs of the realm called him." Baldwin's personal life was controversial. After abandoning Arda and marrying Adelaide it was suspected that he was homosexual, [5] [6] since he had no children with either, nor any from his first wife Godvera[ citation needed ]. William said that he "struggled in vain against the lustful sins of the flesh." The Historia Hierosolymitana of Fulcher, who had accompanied Baldwin to Edessa as Baldwin's chaplain, and had lived in Jerusalem during his reign, is the primary source for Baldwin's career. Ancestry 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Baldwin I. (king of Jerusalem) - Wikisource, the free online library 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Baldwin I.

(king of Jerusalem) From Wikisource 292653 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 3 — Baldwin I. (king of Jerusalem) BALDWIN I., prince of Edessa (1098-1100), and first king of Jerusalem (1100-1118), was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon (q.v.). He was originally a clerk in orders, and held several prebends; but in 1096 he joined the first crusade, and accompanied his brother Godfrey as far as Heraclea in Asia Minor. When Tancred left the main body of the crusaders at Heraclea, and marched into Cilicia, Baldwin followed, partly in jealousy, partly from the same political motives which animated Tancred. He wrested Tarsus from Tancred's grip (September 1097), and left there a garrison of his own. After rejoining the main army at Marash, he received an invitation from an Armenian named Pakrad, and moved eastwards towards the Euphrates, where he occupied Tell-bashir.

Another invitation followed from Thoros of Edessa; and to Edessa Baldwin came, first as protector, and then, when Thoros was assassinated, as his successor (March 1098). For two years he ruled in Edessa (1098-1100), marrying an Armenian wife, and acting generally as the intermediary between the crusaders and the Armenians. During these two years he was successful in maintaining his ground, both against the Mahommedan powers by which he was surrounded, and from which he won Samosata and Seruj (Sarorgia), and against a conspiracy of his own subjects in 1098. At the end of 1099 he visited Jerusalem along with Bohemund I.; but he returned to Edessa in January 1100. On the death of Godfrey he was summoned by a party in Jerusalem to succeed to his brother. A lay reaction against the theocratic pretensions of Dagobert, who was counting on Norman support, was responsible for the summons; and in the strength of that reaction Baldwin was able to become the first king of Jerusalem.

He was crowned on Christmas Day, 1100, by the patriarch himself; but the struggle of church and state was not yet over, and in the spring of 1101 Baldwin had Dagobert suspended by a papal legate, while later in the year the two disagreed on the question of the contribution to be made by the patriarch towards the defence of the Holy Land. The struggle ended in the deposition of Dagobert and the triumph of Baldwin (1102). As Baldwin had secured the supremacy of the lay power in Jerusalem, so he extended into a compact kingdom the poor and straggling territories to which he had succeeded. This he did by an alliance with the Italian trading towns, especially Genoa, which supplied in return for the concession of a quarter in the conquered towns, the instruments and the skill for a war of sieges, in which the coast towns of Palestine were successively reduced. Arsuf and Caesarea were captured in 1101; Acre in 1104; Beirut and Sidon in 1110 (the latter with the aid of the Venetians and Norwegians).

Meanwhile Baldwin repelled in successive years the attacks of the Egyptians (1102, 1103, 1105), and in the latter years of his reign (1115-1118) he even pushed southward at the expense of Egypt, penetrating as far as the Red Sea, and planting an outpost at Monreal. In the north he had to compose the dissensions of the Christian princes in Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa (1109-1110), and to help them to maintain their ground against the Mahommedan princes of N.E. Syria, especially Maudud and Aksunk-ur, amirs of Mosul. In this way Baldwin was able to make himself into practical suzerain of the three Christian principalities of the north, though the suzerainty was, and always continued to be, somewhat nominal.

In 1118 he died, after an expedition to Egypt, during which he captured Farama, and, as old Fuller says, “caught many fish, and his death in eating them.” Baldwin was one of the “adventurer princes” of the first crusade, and as such he stands alongside of Bohemund, Tancred and Raymund. On the whole he was the most successful of his class. By his defence of the lay power against a nascent theocracy, and by his alliance with the Italian towns, he was the real founder of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. Events worked for him: he might never have come to the throne, unless Bohemund had fallen into the hands of Danishmend; and the dissensions among the Mahommedans alone made possible the subsequent consolidation of his kingdom.

But he had virtù as well as fortuna; and on his tombstone it was written that he was “a second Judas Maccabaeus, whom Kedar and Egypt, Dan and Damascus dreaded.” As king, he still retained something of the clerk in the habit of his dress; but he was at the same time a warrior so impetuous, as to be sometimes foolhardy, and his policy was on the whole anti-clerical. He may be accused of greed: his life was not chaste; and the two defects met in his rejection of his Armenian wife and his marriage to the rich Sicilian widow Adelaide (1113). But “on the holiest soil of history, he gave his people a fatherland”; and Fulcher of Chartres, his chaplain, who paints at the beginning of Baldwin's reign the terrors of the lonely band of Christians in the midst of their foes, can celebrate at the end the formation of a new nation in the East (qui fuimus occidentales, nunc facti sumus orientales)—an achievement which, so far as it was the work of any one man, was the work of Baldwin I.

Literature.—The Historia Hierosolymitana of Fulcher, who had accompanied Baldwin as chaplain to Edessa, and had lived in Jerusalem during his reign, is the primary authority for Baldwin's career. There is a monograph on Baldwin by Wolff (König Baldwin I. von Jerusalem), and his reign is sketched in R. Röhricht's Geschichte des Königreichs Jerusalem (Innsbruck, 1898) C. i.-iv. ( E. Br. ) Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem 1058-1118 (St. Petersburg Collection 6334) Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne, was one of the leaders of the first Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem, He was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, who was the first ruler of the crusader state of Jerusalem, although Godfrey refused the title of 'king' which Baldwin accepted. In 1096 he joined the First Crusade with his brother Godfrey and Eustace III of Boulogne.

On the way through Asia Minor, he separated from his brothers and accompanied Tancred on a march into Cilicia, but later skirmished with Tancred's forces after taking Tarsus away from him in September 1097. Baldwin was invited to Edessa, where he was adopted by Thoros of Edessa, and then succeeded him after Thoros was assassinated in March 1098, becoming the first Count of Edessa, where he ruled until 1100. In the meantime, the crusaders had captured first Antioch and then Jerusalem, with his brother Godfrey as ruler. When Godfrey died in July 1100, Baldwin was invited to Jerusalem by the supporters of a secular monarchy. Although initially opposed by Tancred and the new patriarch, Dagobert of Pisa, he was crowned the first king of Jerusalem at Bethlehem on 25 December 1100. Baldwin fought many battles with the Egyptians and other Muslim neighbors and successfully expanded the kingdom including the capture of Arsuf and Sidon. He died on 2 April 1118, being succeeded by his cousin Baldwin of Bourcq.

Baldwin II King Of Jerusalem (1058 - 1131) - Find A Grave Memorial Baldwin II King Of Jerusalem Yerushalayim (Jerusalem District), Israel Baldwin of Rethel, Baldwin of Bourcq, Count of Edessa, King of Jerusalem Baldwin was the son of Hugh, count of Rethel, and his wife Melisende, daughter of Guy I of Montlhery. He was the youngest of three sons, and the third of seven children. Baldwin married Morphia of Melitene, the daughter of the Armenian prince Gabriel of Melitene. They would marry in 1100 and have four daughters: * Melisende, heir and wife of Fulk V of Anjou * Alice, wife of Bohemund II of Antioch * Hodierna, wife of Raymond II of Tripoli * Ioveta, abbess of the convent in Bethany Baldwin of Bourcq regarded Eustace III of Boulogne, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Baldwin of Boulogne as cousins, and followed them to Jerusalem on the first crusade.

Godfrey of Bouillon became King Baldwin I of Jerusalem while Baldwin of Boulogne became the Count of Edessa, Baldwin of Bourcg was Regent and served Bohemond of Taranto, Prince of Antioch. When Geoffrey died in 1100, Baldwin Boulogne was elected King, and Baldwin of Bourcq was appointed Count of Edessa, Tancred became Regent. Baldwin and Tancred fought with King Baldwin I at Ascalon against the Egyptians, and again at the Battle of Harran against the Seljuk Turks where Baldwin was captured. Tancred acted as Count in his stead, but he remained in captivity in Mosul until ransomed for 60,000 dinars by Joscelin of Courtenay in 1108. Tancred refused to step down until Baldwin gathered support from all the tribes including the Kurds, Arabs, Byzantines and Seljuks. After their reconciliation, Baldwin and Tancred joined in the capture of Tripoli in 1109. Meanwhile, Joscelin of Courtenay fell out of favor, left Jerusalem for Galilee where he was proclaimed the Price of Galilee in 1113.

King Baldwin I died in 1118, and the crown would have deferred to his older Brother, Eustace III had Joscelin not insisted Baldwin should have it, and Baldwin was crowned King Baldwin II of Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1118. Joscelin became Count. The remainder of that year was spent dealing with invasions by Muslim Seljuks from Syria and Fatimids from Egypt. When Antioch was invaded by Seljuks, the Prince, Roger of Salerno, did not wait for Baldwin's reinforcements and the ensuing battle was known as the Field of Blood. The Knights Hospitaller was founded in 1113, evolved to the Knights Templar in 1118 bu Hughes de Payens, and Baldwin II established the first written laws of Jerusalem at the Council of Nablus in 1120.Baldwin allowed Hughes to set up quarters in the royal palace of Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, thusly the name Knights Templar, referring to the building built on an older temple they called Solomon's Temple.

Joscelin and Baldwin were captured by Belek in 1122 and 1123 respectively, Eustace Greiner became acting regent, defeating an invasion of Egyptians in 1124. Joscelin and Baldwin escaped, Baldwin was captured again, ransomed for Joscelin's son and Baldwin's daughter. In 1125, the crusaders battled and won against the larger Seljuk army of at the Battle of Azaz. Baldwin's attempt to tale Damascus in 1126 failed. In 1131 Baldwin became ill and died on the 21st of August, buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Melisende, by law the heir to the kingdom, succeeded her father with Fulk as her co-ruler. The new queen and king were crowned on 14 September.

There are many descriptions of Baldwin, some quite contradictory, including, "a devout and God-fearing man, notable for his loyalty and for his great experience in military matters" and "after him there was none left amongst them possessed of sound judgment and capacity to govern" along with "grasping and penurious" and "had not governed the people of God well." Baldwin II - Count of Edessa and King of Jerusalem Medieval History Expert By Melissa Snell BALDWIN II., count of Edessa (1100-1118), king of Jerusalem (1118-1131), originally known as Baldwin de Burg, was a son of Count Hugh of Rethel, and a nephew of Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin I. He appears on the first crusade at Constantinople as one of Godfrey's men; and he helped Tancred to occupy Bethlehem in June 1099. After the capture of Jerusalem he served for a time with Bohemund at Antioch; but when Baldwin of Edessa became king of Jerusalem, he summoned Baldwin de Burg, and left him as count in Edessa.

From Edessa Baldwin conducted continual forays against the Mahommedan princes; and in the great foray of 1104, in which he was joined by Bohemund, he was defeated and captured at Balich. Tancred became guardian of Edessa during Baldwin's captivity, and did not trouble himself greatly to procure his release. Baldwin, however, recovered his liberty at the beginning of 1108, and at once entered upon a struggle with Tancred for the recovery of Edessa. continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance In September 1108 he regained his principality; but the struggle with Tancred continued, until it was composed by Baldwin in 1109. For the next ten years Baldwin ruled his principality with success, if not without severity. Planted in the farthest Christian outpost in northern Syria, he had to meet many attacks, especially from Mardin and Mosul, in revenge for the provocation offered by his own forays and those of the restless Tancred.

In 1110 he was besieged in Edessa, and relieved by Baldwin I.; in 1114 he repelled an attack by Aksunkur of Mosul; in 1115 he helped to defeat Aksunkur at Danith. At the same time, if Matthew of Edessa may be trusted, he also carried his arms against the Armenians, and plundered in his avarice every Armenian of wealth and position. In 1118 he was on his way to spend Easter at Jerusalem, when he received the news of the death of Baldwin I.; and when he arrived at Jerusalem, he was made king, chiefly by the influence of the patriarch Arnulf. In a reign of thirteen years, Baldwin II. extended the kingdom of Jerusalem to its widest limits. His reign is marked by almost incessant fighting in northern Syria. In 1119, after the defeat and death of Roger of Antioch, he defeated the amirs of Mardin and Damascus at Danith; in subsequent years he extended his sway to the very gates of Aleppo.

In 1123 he was captured by Balak of Mardin, and confined in Kharput with Joscelin, his successor in the county of Edessa, who had been captured in the previous year. During his captivity Eustace Graverius became regent of Jerusalem, and succeeded, with the aid of the Venetians, in repelling an Egyptian attack, and even in capturing Tyre, 1124. In 1124 Baldwin II. succeeded in securing his liberty, under conditions which he instantly broke; and he at once embarked on strenuous and not unsuccessful hostilities against Aleppo and Damascus (1124-1127), exacting tribute from both. During his reign he twice acted as regent in Antioch (1119, 1130), and in 1126 he married his daughter Alice to Bohemund II. In 1128 he offered the hand of his eldest daughter, Melisinda, to Fulk of Anjou, who had been recommended to him by Honorius II.

In 1129 Fulk came and married Melisinda, and in 1131, on the death of Baldwin, he succeeded to the crown. Baldwin II. had much of the churchmanship of Godfrey and Baldwin I.; but he appears most decidedly as an incessant warrior, under whom the Latin domination in the East stretched, as Ibn al-Athir writes, in a long line from Mardin in the North to el-Arish on the Red Sea - a line only broken by the Mahommedan powers of Aleppo, Hamah, Horns and Damascus. The Franks controlled the great routes of trade, and took tolls of the traders; and in 1130 their power may be regarded as having reached its height. This article is from the 1911 edition of an encyclopedia, which is out of copyright here in the U.S. It is in the public domain and you may copy, download, print and distribute this work as you see fit. Every effort has been made to present this text accurately and cleanly, but no guarantees are made against errors.

Neither Melissa Snell nor About may be held liable for any problems you experience with the text version or with any electronic form of this document. Wiki: Baldwin I of Jerusalem - upcScavenger upcScavenger upcScavenger » Roman Catholic Monarchs » Wiki: Baldwin I Of Jerusalem Tag (3) Media Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne (French: Baudouin de Boulogne), 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade , who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem. He was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, who was the first ruler of the crusader state of Jerusalem, although Godfrey refused the title of 'king' which Baldwin accepted. Early life Baldwin was a son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne and Ida of Lorraine (daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine), and the younger brother of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and Godfrey of Bouillon.

As the youngest brother, Baldwin was originally intended for a career in the church, but he had given this up around 1080; according to William of Tyre, who lived in the 12th century and did not know Baldwin personally: "in his youth, Baldwin was well nurtured in the liberal arts . He became a cleric, it is said, and, because of his illustrious lineage, held benefices commonly called prebends in the churches of Reims , Cambrai , and Liège." Afterwards he lived in Normandy , where he married Godehilde (or Godvera) de Toeni, daughter of Raoul de Conches of a noble Anglo-Norman family (and formerly betrothed wife of Robert de Beaumont). He returned to Lower Lorraine in order to take control of the county of Verdun (previously held by Godfrey). First Crusade In 1096 he joined the First Crusade with his brothers Godfrey and Eustace III of Boulogne, selling much of his property to the church in order to pay for his expenses. His wife Godehilde (or Godvera) also accompanied him.

This was the second movement of crusaders; the first, the People's Crusade, had been composed of the lower classes as well as knights, like Walter Sansavoir, and had caused much destruction on their march, although no more than other crusading groups, before being destroyed in Asia Minor . When Godfrey passed through Hungary , King Coloman demanded a hostage to ensure their good conduct, and Baldwin was handed over until his companions had left Hungarian territory. After entering Byzantine Empire territory, there were a few skirmishes with the Greeks, who had also suffered from the People's Crusade. Baldwin commanded a detachment of troops which captured a bridge in the vicinity of Constantinople . After reaching the city, the mass of troops could not be restrained from pillaging the surrounding territory, and Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus was forced to provide a hostage in order to restore peace. The hostage, his son the future emperor John II Comnenus, was entrusted to the care of Baldwin. According to Anna Comnena , Baldwin reprimanded one of his soldiers who dared to sit on Alexius' throne in Constantinople.

Baldwin accompanied his brothers as far as Heraclea in Asia Minor , where he broke away from the main body of the with Tancred to march into Cilicia . Tancred was surely seeking to capture some land and establish himself as a petty ruler in the east, and Baldwin may have had the same goal. During his absence his wife fell ill and died at Marash , which meant that Baldwin could no longer depend on his wife's lands for support. Some historians have suggested that his entire strategy changed from that point, others believe that the change happened earlier. In September 1097 he took Tarsus from Tancred, and installed his own garrison in the city, with help from a fleet of under Guynemer of Boulogne. Tancred and Baldwin's armies skirmished briefly at Mamistra , but the two never came to open warfare and Tancred marched on towards Antioch . After rejoining the main army at Marash , Baldwin received an invitation from an Armenian people named Bagrat, and moved eastwards towards the Euphrates , where he occupied Turbessel . Count of Edessa Another invitation came from Thoros of Edessa, where Baldwin was adopted as Thoros' son and successor.

When Thoros was assassination in March 1098, Baldwin became the first count of Edessa, although it is unknown if he played any role in the assassination. He ruled the county until 1100, marrying Arda, the daughter of Thoros of Marash, and acting as an ambassador between the crusaders and Armenians. During these two years he captured Samosata and Suruç ( Sarorgia ) from the , and defeated a conspiracy by some of his Armenian subjects in 1098. During the Siege of Antioch he sent money and food to his fellow crusaders, although he himself did not participate. Kerbogha , the governor of Mosul , was marching to relieve Antioch but first stopped at Edessa, which he besieged for three weeks, to no avail. Kerbogha was later defeated at Antioch and the crusaders established a principality there. Later that year Baldwin had consolidated his power enough that he was able to march out with his brother Godfrey and besiege Azaz where they defeated the forces of Ridwan of Aleppo.

At the end of 1099 he visited Jerusalem along with Bohemund I of Antioch, but he returned to Edessa in January, 1100. After returning to Edessa, Baldwin aided in relieving the siege of Melitene , at which Bohemund was captured by the Danishmends . The Armenian ruler of the city, Gabriel, then recognized Baldwin as overlord of the city. King of Jerusalem After Godfrey's death in July 1100 Baldwin was invited to Jerusalem by the supporters of a secular monarchy, led by his kinsman Warner of Grez. Baldwin granted Edessa to a cousin, Baldwin of Bourcq. On the way to Jerusalem Baldwin was ambushed by Duqaq of Damascus near Beirut . Duqaq’s troops were defeated and there was no further trouble on the way to Jerusalem. Baldwin arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of November. In Jerusalem Baldwin was opposed by his old enemy Tancred, as well as the new patriarch, Dagobert of Pisa, who would have preferred to set up a theocratic state while Godfrey was still alive.

As soon as he arrived Baldwin set out on an expedition against the territory to the south and did not return until the end of December. On 25 December 1100 he was crowned the first king of Jerusalem by the patriarch himself, who had in the meantime given up his opposition to Baldwin, although he refused to crown Baldwin in Jerusalem. The coronation took place instead in Bethlehem . The struggle between church and state continued into the spring of 1101, when Baldwin had Dagobert suspended by a papal legate, while later in the year the two disagreed on the question of the contribution to be made by the patriarch towards the defence of the Holy Land . The struggle ended in the deposition of Dagobert in 1102. Expansion of the kingdom In 1101 Baldwin captured Arsuf and Caesarea , with assistance from a Genoese fleet. In return the Genoese were granted trading quarters in these towns, and an archbishopric was established in Caesarea. In September of that year Baldwin defeated the Egyptians at the Battle of Ramlah, although it was believed in Jerusalem that the crusader army had been defeated and Baldwin had been killed.

Tancred was prepared to take up the regency before it was finally reported that Baldwin had been victorious. In 1102 another battle was fought at Ramlah, with remnants of the Crusade of 1101, including Stephen, Count of Blois, William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, and Hugh VI of Lusignan. This time the Egyptians were victorious; Baldwin lost most of his army including Stephen of Blois, but he himself escaped back to Arsuf on his horse (unusual for this period, especially considering the high death rate of horses during the First Crusade and afterwards, the name of the horse has survived: she was called Gazala). He did not want to risk venturing out of the city for fear of being captured by the Egyptians, so he was ferried back to Jaffa by the England pirate Godric of Finchale, and thence secretly to Jerusalem. The Egyptians were still in the field, however, and Baldwin met them again outside Jaffa, and this time was victorious. In 1103 Baldwin besieged Acre, without success as it was relieved by an Egyptian fleet.

That year he also paid the ransom for Bohemund of Antioch, who was still in prison following his defeat at Melitene; Baldwin preferred Bohemund to Tancred, who ruled Antioch as regent, and was also prince of Galilee earlier in Baldwin's reign. In 1104 however Baldwin was assisted by a Genoese fleet and Acre was captured. In 1105 another battle was fought at Ramlah and Baldwin was victorious here as well. In 1109 he acted as arbitrator of a council of the greatest barons outside the walls of Tripoli, and forced Tancred to give up his claim to the city. Soon after, the city fell to the crusaders, forming the nucleus of the County of Tripoli. In 1110 Beirut was added to the territory of Jerusalem, again with help from the Genoese. Baldwin then travelled north to assist Edessa, under siege from Mawdud of Mosul . On his return, Sidon was captured with aid from Ordelafo Faliero (who brought a Venetian fleet of 100 ships) and Sigurd I of Norway. J.

Norwich, A History of Venice, 83 In 1111 Baldwin assisted Tancred in besieging Shaizar, and then also besieged Tyre, but was pushed back by a Muslim force under Toghtekin of Damascus. In 1113 Baldwin faced a large invasion by the combined forces of Toghtekin of Damascus and Aksunk-ur of Mosul, and though the kingdom was on the brink of destruction Baldwin was assisted by troops from Antioch and new arrivals of European pilgrims at the Battle of Al-Sannabra. In 1113 he also married Adelaide del Vasto; he had abandoned his Armenian wife Arda in 1108, on the pretext that she had been unfaithful, or, according to Guibert of Nogent, because she had been raped by on the way to Jerusalem . It is more likely however that she was simply politically useless in Jerusalem, which had no Armenian population. Under the marriage agreement, if Baldwin and Adelaide had no children, the heir to the kingdom would be Roger II of Sicily, Adelaide's son by her first husband Roger I.

Technically the marriage to Adelaide was bigamous because Arda was still alive in a monastery in Jerusalem, and it would later cause many problems both for Baldwin and Patriarch Arnulf, who had sanctioned it. In 1115 he led an expedition into Oultrejordain and built the castle of Montreal. The Syrian Christians who lived in the area were invited to settle in Jerusalem to replenish the population, which had been mostly massacred in 1099. In 1117 he built the castle of Scandalion near Tyre, which was still in Muslim hands. At this point the army in the Kingdom of Jerusalem consisted of only 6,000 men, including 1,000 knights but it was augmented with 5,000 turcopoles . A. Konstam, Historical Atlas of the Crusades, 133 Personal life Fulcher described him as another Joshua , "the right arm of his people, the terror and adversary of his enemies." William of Tyre remarked that he was similar to Saul .

Although William did not know him personally as Fulcher did, he left a detailed description of him: "He is said to have been very tall and much larger than his brother…He was of rather light complexion, with dark-brown hair and beard. His nose was aquiline and his upper lip somewhat prominent. The lower jaw slightly receded, although not so much that it could be considered a defect. He was dignified in carriage and serious in dress and speech. He always wore a mantle hanging from his shoulders…He was neither stout nor unduly thin, but rather of a medium habit of body. Expert in the use of arms, agile on horseback, he was active and diligent whenever the affairs of the realm called him." Baldwin's personal life was controversial. After abandoning Arda and marrying Adelaide it was suspected that he was homosexual , The Crusader States by Malcolm Barber, Yale University Press, 2012, p113 Albert of Aachen 274 since he had no children with either, though he had sons with his first wife, Godvere of Tosni, Runciman, pp.

130, 171, 173, of the Italian edition by Einaudi daughter of Ralph of Tosny. Godvere accompanied her husband, along with their butler, seneschal and chamberlain, on his quest in the First Crusade. William said that he "struggled in vain against the lustful sins of the flesh." The Historia Hierosolymitana of Fulcher, who had accompanied Baldwin to Edessa as Baldwin's chaplain, and had lived in Jerusalem during his reign, is the primary source for Baldwin's career. Baldwin, I ( - 1118) - Find A Grave Memorial Death: Feb. 4, 1118 Crusader, first King of Jerusalem. He was the younger brother of Godfrey of Bouillon the Potector of the Holy Sepulchre and was supposed to become a priest. In 1096 he joined the first crusade. He followed Tancred of Hauteville and was there when Tancred took Tarsus. He followed the invitation of Thoros of Edessa who later adopted him. After Thoros death he became the first count of Edessa.

Godfrey died in July 1100 and on Christmas Day of the same year Baldwin was crowned King of Jerusalem. (bio by: Lutetia) Baldwin II | king of Jerusalem | Britannica.com king of Jerusalem Alternative Titles: Baldwin of Bourcq, Baldwin of Le Bourcq, Baudouin du Bourcq Baldwin II Albert of Aix Baldwin II, byname Baldwin of Bourcq, French Baudouin du Bourcq (died August 1131, Jerusalem ), count of Edessa (1100–18), king of Jerusalem (1118–31), and Crusade leader whose support of the religious-military orders founded during his reign enabled him to expand his kingdom and to withstand Muslim attacks. A son of Hugh, count of Réthel, in the Ardennes region of France , he held the castle of Bourcq as a feudal domain and was at first referred to as Baldwin of Bourcq. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne (later King Baldwin I of Jerusalem) to Palestine with the First Crusade (1096).

In 1100 he was named count of Edessa (now Urfa, Turkey) by Baldwin I when the latter became king of Jerusalem. The Seljuq Turks moved against Edessa in 1104, capturing Baldwin on May 7. Ransomed in 1108, he fought his way into Edessa to reclaim his principality from the regent, Tancred , and later recovered most of the lost territory. On April 14, 1118, Baldwin was crowned king of Jerusalem. Though captured by the Turks and held hostage from 1123 until 1124, in subsequent years he succeeded in expanding his territory and directing attacks against Muslim Damascus with the aid of the Hospitallers and the Templars , Crusading religious-military orders. Having had only daughters with his Armenian wife, Morfia, Baldwin gave his daughter Melisende in marriage to Fulk V , count of Anjou and Maine, in 1129 and named them as his successors. Learn More in these related articles:

Question: Baldwin I was crowned first king of where in 1100?
Answer: Jerusalem