Baldwin II of Jerusalem

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty

Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (Template:Langx; Template:Circa – 21Template:NbsAugust 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the Holy Land during the First Crusade. He succeeded Baldwin of Boulogne as the second count of Edessa when he left the county for Jerusalem following his brother's death. He was captured at the Battle of Harran in 1104. He was held first by Sökmen of Mardin, then by Jikirmish of Mosul, and finally by Jawali Saqawa. During his captivity, Tancred, the ruler of the Principality of Antioch, and Tancred's cousin, Richard of Salerno, governed Edessa as Baldwin's regents.

Baldwin was ransomed by his cousin, Joscelin of Courtenay, lord of Turbessel, in the summer of 1108. Tancred attempted to retain Edessa, but Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch, persuaded him to restore the county to Baldwin. Baldwin allied with Jawali, but Tancred and his ally, Radwan of Aleppo, defeated them at Turbessel. Baldwin and Tancred were reconciled at an assembly of the crusader leaders near Tripoli in April 1109. Mawdud, the Atabeg of Mosul, and his successor, Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, launched a series of campaigns against Edessa in the early 1110s, devastating the eastern regions of the country. Baldwin accused Joscelin of treason for seizing the prosperous town of Turbessel from him in 1113 and captured the neighboring Armenian lordships in 1116 and 1117.

Baldwin I, the first king of Jerusalem, died on 2Template:NbsApril 1118. He bequeathed Jerusalem to his brother Count Eustace III of Boulogne, stipulating that the throne was to be offered to Baldwin of Bourcq if Eustace failed to come to the Holy Land. Arnulf of Chocques, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Joscelin of Courtenay, who held the largest fief in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, convinced their peers to elect Baldwin king. Baldwin II (as he then became) took possession of most towns in the kingdom and gave Edessa to Joscelin. After the army of the Principality of Antioch was almost annihilated on 28 June 1119, Baldwin was elected regent for the absent Prince Bohemond II of Antioch. The frequent Seljuq invasions of Antioch forced him to spend most of his time in the principality, which caused discontent in Jerusalem. After Belek captured him in April 1123, a group of noblemen offered the throne to Count Charles I of Flanders, but Charles refused. During his absence, the Jerusalemite troops captured Tyre with the assistance of a Venetian fleet. After he was released in August 1124, he tried to capture Aleppo, but al-Bursuqi forced him to abandon the siege in early 1125.

Bohemond II came to Syria in October 1126. Baldwin gave his second daughter, Alice, in marriage to him and also renounced the regency. Baldwin planned to conquer Damascus, but he needed external support to achieve his goal. He married off his eldest daughter, Melisende, to the wealthy Count Fulk V of Anjou in 1129. The new troops who accompanied Fulk to Jerusalem enabled Baldwin to invade Damascene territory, but he could seize only Banias with the support of the Nizari (or Assassins) in late 1129. After Bohemond II was killed in a battle in early 1130, Baldwin forced Alice to leave Antioch and assumed the regency for her daughter, Constance. He fell seriously ill in Antioch and took monastic vows before he died in the Holy Sepulchre. Baldwin had been respected for his military talent, but he was notorious for his "love for money".

Early lifeEdit

Baldwin's birth year is unknown. It is only known that his father, Count Hugh I of Rethel, was born in the 1040s and Baldwin was already an adult by the 1090s. Baldwin was the lord of Bourcq when he joined the army of his kinsman Godfrey of Bouillon at the beginning of the First Crusade.Template:Sfn The army departed for the Holy Land on 15Template:NbsAugust 1096, and reached Constantinople on 23 December.Template:Sfn The Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, urged the crusader leaders to take an oath of fealty to him.Template:Sfn Godfrey of Bouillon appointed Baldwin, Conon of Montaigu and Geoffrey of Esch to represent him at a meeting with Alexios in January 1097.Template:Sfn After Godfrey and his principal commanders swore fealty to the Emperor, the crusader army was shipped to Asia Minor in February.Template:Sfn

Baldwin's cousin Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred of Hauteville broke away from the main army to invade Cilicia around 15Template:NbsSeptember 1097.Template:Sfn Baldwin accompanied them in Boulogne's contingent.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He also participated in Boulogne's military campaigns against the Seljuq rulers of the fortresses on the plains near the River Euphrates.Template:Sfn After seizing Ravendel, Turbessel and Edessa, Boulogne established the first crusader state, the County of Edessa, in early 1098.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Baldwin rejoined the main crusader army, which was marching towards Jerusalem, near Tyre in late May 1099.Template:Sfn He and Tancred seized Bethlehem; there was no resistance as the town was inhabited by local Christians.Template:Sfn The crusaders laid siege to Jerusalem, and shortly afterwards Baldwin and Tancred captured an elderly Muslim nobleman.Template:Sfn After he refused to convert to Christianity, Baldwin's soldiers beheaded him at the Tower of David to frighten the defenders of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Jerusalem fell to the crusaders on 15Template:NbsJuly.Template:Sfn Baldwin left Jerusalem in the retinue of Count Robert II of Flanders in late August.Template:Sfn Robert returned to Europe, but Baldwin remained in Syria.Template:Sfn Godfrey of Bouillon died on 18Template:NbsJuly 1100.Template:Sfn Baldwin of Boulogne decided to return to Jerusalem to take possession of Godfrey’s inheritance.Template:Sfn

Count of EdessaEdit

First yearsEdit

File:Map Crusader states 1135-en.svg

The crusader states around 1135

Baldwin was staying in Antioch when Baldwin of Boulogne decided to leave Edessa.Template:Sfn He was a military commander of the troops of Bohemond I of Antioch who had recently been captured by Danishmend Gazi.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin of Boulogne summoned Baldwin from Antioch and granted him the County of Edessa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin swore fealty to Baldwin of Boulogne,Template:Sfn who left Edessa for Jerusalem on 2Template:NbsOctober 1100.Template:Sfn

Baldwin married Morphia, the daughter of Gabriel, the Armenian lord of Melitene,Template:Sfn which enabled him to consolidate his position among his mainly Armenian subjects.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Sökmen, the Artuqid ruler of Mardin, attacked Saruj in early 1101.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin attempted to relieve the town, but Sökmen routed his army, forcing him to return to Edessa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn When relating these events, the Armenian historian, Matthew of Edessa, described Baldwin as a coward who was "pitiful in body".Template:Sfn Sökmen captured the town, but the fortress resisted his siege.Template:Sfn Baldwin went to Antioch to raise new troops before returning to Saruj.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He forced Sökmen to leave the town and executed all the townspeople who had cooperated with the Artuqids.Template:Sfn

One of his cousins, Joscelin of Courtenay, came to Edessa in 1102.Template:Sfn Baldwin granted him lands to the west of the Euphrates.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn When the Egyptians invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in May, Baldwin of BoulogneTemplate:Mdashwho had been crowned king of JerusalemTemplate:Mdashsent envoys to Tancred (who ruled Antioch) and Baldwin, seeking their assistance.Template:Sfn They assembled their troops and marched to Jerusalem together, but by the time they arrived in late September, the Egyptians had returned to their headquarters at Ascalon.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The three crusader rulers made a raid against Ascalon, but Tancred and Baldwin soon returned to their realms.Template:Sfn

Tancred's ambitions in northern Syria irritated both Baldwin and Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch.Template:Sfn They started negotiations with Danishmend Gazi regarding Bohemond's release.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Kogh Vasil, the Armenian lord of Raban and Kaisun, and Bohemond's Italian kinsmen contributed to his ransom.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Bohemond was set free in May 1103.Template:Sfn Baldwin granted villages to the Armenian prelate, Barsegh Pahlavuni,Template:Sfn because he wanted to strengthen his position among his Armenian subjects.Template:Sfn

First captivityEdit

Baldwin's troops made frequent raids against the fertile plains around Harran.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Sökmen and Jikirmish, the atabeg of Mosul, made an alliance and invaded Edessa in May 1104.Template:Sfn While their troops were assembling at Ras al-Ayn, Baldwin sent envoys to Joscelin and Bohemond and persuaded them to make a joint attack against Harran.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin, Bohemond and Joscelin went together to Harran and entered into negotiations with the Seljuq garrison for a peaceful surrender.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn However, both Baldwin and Bohemond wanted to seize the wealthy town and the crusader army started disintegrating because of their conflict.Template:Sfn

Sökmen and Jikirmish attacked the crusaders' camp at Harran on 7Template:NbsMay.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Applying the tactic of feigned retreat, they drew the crusaders into an ambush, capturing Baldwin and Joscelin.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Bohemond and Tancred rode to Edessa to save the town.Template:Sfn Benedict, Archbishop of Edessa, who was also captured but quickly released, and the Edessene knights elected Tancred regent for the captive Baldwin.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin was first taken to Sökman's tent, but Jikirmish's soldiers broke into it and dragged him away.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Joscelin remained in the custody of Sökmen, passing to Ilghazi upon the latter's death. The citizens of Turbessel paid a ransom for Joscelin in 1107.

Jikirmish laid siege to Edessa, but Tancred routed his troops, forcing him to flee.Template:Sfn Jikirmish then took Baldwin to Mosul.Template:Sfn Tancred captured a Seljuq princess of Jikirmish's household at Edessa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Jikirmish offered to pay 15,000 bezants in ransom, or to release Baldwin in return for her liberty.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Bohemond and Tancred preferred the money and Baldwin remained imprisoned.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Before his departure for Europe in the autumn, Bohemond appointed Tancred to rule Antioch and their kinsman, Richard of Salerno, was entrusted with the administration of Edessa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

A Turkish soldier of fortune, Jawali Saqawa, captured Jikirmish and seized Mosul in 1107.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Joscelin started negotiations with Jawali over the release of Baldwin.Template:Sfn Jawali demanded 60,000 dinars and the release of the Muslim prisoners from Edessa.Template:Sfn The Seljuq Sultan, Muhammad I Tapar, made the Mamluk Mawdud atabeg of Mosul.Template:Sfn When Mawdud expelled Jawali from Mosul, Jawali fled to the fortress of Qalat Jabar, taking Baldwin with him.Template:Sfn Joscelin paid 30,000 dinars to Jawali and offered himself as hostage to guarantee the payment of the balance.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Jawali, who needed allies against Mawdud, accepted the offer and released Baldwin in the summer of 1108.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

ConflictsEdit

File:Coin Baldwin2.jpg

A coin of Baldwin struck in Edessa. 22 mm diameter.

Baldwin went to Edessa after his release, but Tancred demanded his oath of fealty in exchange for the town.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin refused and went to Turbessel.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After Tancred carried out a raid against Turbessel, they started peace negotiations, but could not reach a compromise.Template:Sfn Baldwin made an alliance with Kogh Vasil against Tancred.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Oshin of Lampron also sent troopsTemplate:Mdash300 Pecheneg horsemenTemplate:Mdashto join them.Template:Sfn Their raids against the Principality of Antioch persuaded Tancred to accept the arbitration of the Catholic prelates,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn who decided in favor of Baldwin; he returned to Edessa on 18Template:NbsSeptember 1108.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

In accordance with his treaty with Jawali, Baldwin released most of the Muslim prisoners held in Edessa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He also allowed the Muslim burghers of Saruj to build a mosque, and executed the unpopular rais (or governor) of the town, who was a convert from Islam.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Jawali's alliance with Baldwin alarmed Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, the Seljuq ruler of Aleppo, which brought about a rapprochement between Radwan and Tancred.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn When Jawali launched a military expedition against Aleppo, Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtney joined him, while Tancred came to assist Radwan.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Radwan and Tancred routed Jawali, Baldwin and Joscelin near Turbessel in late September 1108.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Baldwin fled the battlefield to a nearby fortress.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Tancred laid siege to it, but lifted the siege when he learnt of Jawali's approach.Template:Sfn Believing that Baldwin had died, the Armenian burghers of Edessa held an assembly to set up a provisional government.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After his return, Baldwin thought that the Armenians wanted to dethrone him and ordered the blinding of the ringleaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Armenian bishop of the town was obliged to pay a huge fine.Template:Sfn To put an end to the conflicts between the crusader leaders, Baldwin I of Jerusalem summoned them in the name of the "Church of Jerusalem" to Mount Pilgrim near Tripoli in April 1109.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn At the meeting, the king mediated a reconciliation between Baldwin and Tancred, who acknowledged Baldwin's rule in the County of Edessa in exchange for receiving Galilee and other fiefs in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Thereafter Baldwin participated in the siege of Tripoli, which ended with the capture of the town by the crusaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Mawdud's campaignsEdit

The Seljuq sultan instructed Mawdud to unite his troops with the Seljuq ruler of Armenia, Sökmen el-Kutbî, and the Artuqid Ilghazi against the crusaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn They laid siege to Edessa in April 1110.Template:Sfn Baldwin sent envoys to Baldwin I of Jerusalem, who was besieging Beirut, urging him to come to his rescue, but the king did not abandon the siege until Beirut fell on 13Template:NbsMay.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Before departing for Edessa, Baldwin I celebrated Pentecost in Jerusalem.Template:Sfn The King persuaded Bertrand of Tripoli, Joscelin of Courtenay and other crusader leaders to join his campaign, and the Armenian Kogh Vasil and Ablgharib also sent contingents.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn On their arrival, Mawdud and his allies lifted the siege of Edessa and withdrew towards Harran.Template:Sfn

Baldwin and Tancred accused each other of having incited the invasion.Template:Sfn Tancred also claimed sovereignty over the County of Edessa, saying that its territory had been subject to Antioch under the Byzantine Empire.Template:Sfn Baldwin I refuted Tancred's claim, declaring himself the head of the Latin East.Template:Sfn After a short campaign against the neighboring Muslim territories, the rulers of the other crusader states decided to leave the county.Template:Sfn On the King's advice, Baldwin ordered the transfer of the local Christian (predominantly Armenian) peasants to the lands to the west of the Euphrates.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Taking advantage of the gathering of the Christian peasants by the river and their mainly Armenian escort, Mawdud attacked and massacred them.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin, who had already crossed the river along with the other crusader leaders, hastily returned and assaulted Mawdud's troops, although they outnumbered his small retinue.Template:Sfn Baldwin and his men were only saved by Baldwin I and Tancred, who had followed on the other bank of the river.Template:Sfn

In July 1111 Mawdud launched a new invasion against the county and laid siege to Turbessel.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn While Mawdud was besieging Turbessel, Sultan, the Munquidite emir (or ruler) of Shaizar, sent envoys to him, seeking his assistance against Tancred.Template:Sfn Mawdud lifted the siege of Turbessel and moved to help Shaizar.Template:Sfn Toghtekin, the atabeg of Damascus, joined him and they decided to reconquer Tripoli in September.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The concentration of Muslim forces alarmed the crusaders and Baldwin I of Jerusalem summoned all crusader rulers to his camp.Template:Sfn Baldwin complied, accompanied by his two powerful vassals, Joscelin and Pagan of Sajar.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The smaller Muslim rulers had meanwhile left Mawdud's camp and returned to Mesopotamia.Template:Sfn Mawdud did not risk a pitched battle with the united crusader armies and retired first to Shaizar, and later to Mosul.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In April 1112, Mawdud returned and besieged Edessa.Template:Sfn His agents started secret negotiations with some Armenian soldiers in the town, but Joscelin, who was informed of the plot, warned Baldwin.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Mawdud could not capture the town and withdrew to Mosul in June.Template:Sfn Next year, he was murdered by Assassins at Damascus.Template:Sfn

Mawdud's invasions devastated the eastern regions of the county, but Joscelin's fief at Turbessel still flourished.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In 1113 Baldwin persuaded Joscelin to come to Edessa, saying that he was dying and wanted to make his last will.Template:Sfn Stating that Joscelin had not sent enough food to Edessa, Baldwin had him imprisoned and only released him after Joscelin renounced Turbessel.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Joscelin soon left the county for Jerusalem, where Baldwin I granted Galilee to him.Template:Sfn A new reconciliation between the crusader leaders was brought about by marriage alliances: Baldwin's sister, Cecilia, was given in marriage to Roger of Salerno, who had succeeded Tancred in Antioch in late 1112; and Joscelin married Roger's sister, Maria.Template:Sfn

ExpansionEdit

While Baldwin was away from his capital to take possession of Turbessel, the Armenians of Edessa continued to plot against him.Template:Sfn He returned to the town and ordered the transportation of the Armenian townspeople to Samosata.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After the Armenians started to move to Kaisun, Baldwin allowed those who remained in Samosata to return to Edessa in early 1114.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Mawdud's successor, Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, invaded the county in May 1114, but Edessa resisted his siege, forcing him to return to Mosul.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Sultan made Bursuq ibn Bursuq of Hamadan the supreme commander of the Seljuq armies.Template:Sfn Bursuq moved on Edessa in early 1115, but he soon left for Aleppo.Template:Sfn Lulu el-Yaya, the atabeg of Aleppo, sought assistance from Ilghazi and Toghtekin, who also persuaded Roger of Salerno to join their coalition against Bursuq.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn At Roger's request, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Pons of Tripoli and Baldwin also gathered their troops at Apamea in August.Template:Sfn Bursuq chose to retreat and the crusader rulers dispersed.Template:Sfn

Taking advantage of the weakening of the Seljuqs' power after Roger of Salerno's victory at the Battle of Sarmin, Baldwin decided to annex the small Armenian principalities in the valley of the Euphrates.Template:Sfn The Armenian Thoros I of Cilicia captured Kogh Vasil's successor, Vasil Dgha, who had made an alliance with Bursuq.Template:Sfn Thoros sold Vasil Dgha to Baldwin, who forced his prisoner to renounce Raban and Kaisun in 1116.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Next, Baldwin laid siege to Abu'l-Garib's fortress of Birejik.Template:Sfn The siege lasted for a year and Ablgharib was forced into surrender in 1117.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin granted the fortress to his cousin, Waleran of Le Puiset.Template:Sfn In the same year, Kogh Vasil's brother, Bagrat, had to abandon Cyrrhus and Baldwin captured Constantine of Gargar.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

King of JerusalemEdit

Accession to the throneEdit

The childless Baldwin I of Jerusalem died on 2Template:NbsApril 1118, during a campaign against Egypt.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn According to the contemporaneous Albert of Aachen he had willed the kingdom to his eldest brother, Eustace III of Boulogne, "if by chance he would come", but also stipulated that Baldwin of Bourcq should be elected king if Eustace were unable to come "because of his age".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin arrived in Jerusalem around the day when the late king's body was carried into the town.Template:Sfn Albert of Aachen stated that Baldwin had come to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem without having any knowledge of the King's death.Template:Sfn Decades later, William of Tyre recorded that Baldwin had been informed of his kinsman's death during his journey to Jerusalem.Template:Sfn

File:Balduin2 korunovace.jpg

Baldwin's coronation

The question of Baldwin I's succession divided the barons and the prelates, according to William of Tyre.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The highest-ranking prelate, Arnulf of Chocques, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Joscelin of Courtenay, who held the largest fief in the kingdom, argued that Baldwin should be elected without delay to avoid an interregnum.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Others maintained that the crown should first be offered to Eustace in accordance with Baldwin I's last will.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Some "great nobles", whom William of Tyre did not name, were appointed to inform Eustace of his brother's death.Template:Sfn However, shortly after their departure, on Easter Day (14 April), Baldwin was anointed.Template:Sfn His coronation was delayed for unknown reasons.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Historian Malcolm Barber believes that Baldwin wished to be crowned along with his wife, who was not in the kingdom at the time.Template:Sfn

Baldwin promised the County of Edessa to Joscelin, but Joscelin remained in the kingdom to secure the defence of Galilee.Template:Sfn Baldwin convoked the noblemen to an assembly "on an appointed day" to receive "fealty and an oath of allegiance from them", according to Albert of Aachen.Template:Sfn He also secured the direct royal control of eight important towns, including Nablus, Jaffa, Acre, Sidon and Tiberias.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The modern historian Alan Murray argues that Albert of Aachen's words are evidence that Baldwin "carried out a major distribution of fiefs, granting out some lordships but retaining other towns and territories as domain lands" in 1118.Template:Sfn Baldwin also reorganized the royal household, making Hugh Caulis constable, Pagan butler, and John the chamberlain.Template:Sfn

Eustace accepted the barons' invitation and left Boulogne for Jerusalem.Template:Sfn He had travelled as far as Apulia when he was informed of Baldwin's accession to the throne.Template:Sfn The delegates tried to convince him to continue his journey, saying that Baldwin's election was illegal, but Eustace preferred to return home.Template:Sfn

Muslim threatEdit

His predecessor's last campaign against Egypt brought about a rapprochement between Egypt and Damascus.Template:Sfn Baldwin sent envoys to Toghtekin in Damascus to argue against his making an alliance with the Egyptian vizier, Al-Afdal Shahanshah, but Toghtekin demanded Oultrejourdain in return for his neutrality.Template:Sfn Toghtekin launched an incursion against Galilee and Al-Afdal gathered his troops near Ascalon in May or June 1118.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin hurried to the southern frontier and urged Roger and Pons to send reinforcements from Antioch and Tripoli.Template:Sfn Neither the Egyptians nor the crusaders risked a pitched battle and both armies were dissolved three months later.Template:Sfn Baldwin and Joscelin made a raid against Damascene territory in the autumn and defeated Toghtekin's son, Taj al-Muluk Buri near Daraa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Ilghazi, Toghtekin and the Munquidites of Shaizar made an alliance and their troops started raiding Antioch and Edessa in May 1119.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Roger sent envoys to Baldwin, urging him to come to the north to fight against the invaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The envoys met with Baldwin in Tiberias, because he had just concluded a short campaign against a Bedouin tribe in Oultrejourdain.Template:Sfn He gathered troops and departed for Antioch, taking a portion of the True Cross with him.Template:Sfn Roger did not wait until Baldwin's arrival and marched from Antioch. On the plains of Sarmada Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ilghazi's army encircled the crusaders' camp and on 28Template:NbsJune inflicted a major defeat in the Battle of the "Field of Blood".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Roger and hundreds of his soldiers died fighting and most who survived the battle were taken prisoner. Antioch was left almost undefended, but Ilghazi did not attack the city.Template:Sfn

Baldwin and Pons of Tripoli reached Antioch in late July or early August.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The leaders of the city acknowledged Baldwin as regent for the lawful prince, the ten-year old Bohemond II, who was living in southern Italy.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin distributed the estates of the noblemen who had perished in the Field of Blood among his retainers, mainly through giving the widows of the deceased lords to them in marriage.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Meanwhile, Ilghazi and Toghtekin joined their forces and started to capture the Antiochene fortresses to the east of the Orontes River.Template:Sfn Baldwin gathered almost all available crusader troops and marched against the Muslims as far as Tell Danith near Zardana.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The crusaders and the united armies of Toghtekin and Ilghazi clashed in the Battle of Hab on 14Template:NbsAugust.Template:Sfn According to Walter the Chancellor, the crusaders routed the Muslims, but Matthew of Edessa stated that "neither side was defeated nor was victorious".Template:Sfn Baldwin returned to Antioch two days later, where the townspeople and the patriarch gave him a "victor's welcome".Template:Sfn Before leaving Antioch, he granted the County of Edessa to Joscelin of Courtenay.Template:Sfn

File:Baldwin II of Jerusalem.jpg

Baldwin presiding at a council

Baldwin and his wife were crowned king and queen in Bethlehem on Christmas Day.Template:Sfn He and the Patriarch held a general assembly at the Council of Nablus on 16Template:NbsJanuary 1120.Template:Sfn The prelates and noblemen who attended the meeting confirmed the clergy's right to collect the tithe and to bear arms "in the cause of defense".Template:Sfn The council also ordered the punishment of adulterers, pimps, sodomites and bigamists, and prohibited sexual relations between Christians and Muslims.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Other decrees established penalties against thieves and those who falsely accused others of crimes.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The decisions of the council were the first examples of law making in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn

A confraternity of knights established by Hugh of Payns and Godfrey de Saint-Omer to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land most probably received official recognition at the council, according to historians Malcolm Barber and Christopher Tyerman.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin temporarily lodged the knights in the royal palace on the Temple Mount and they became known as the Knights Templar.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He offered Nabi Samwil to the Cistercians, but Bernard of Clairvaux ceded the place to the Premonstratensians who built a monastery.Template:Sfn Shortly after the council, Baldwin and Patriarch Warmund also sent letters to Pope Calixtus II and the Venetians, urging them to support the defense of the Holy Land.Template:Sfn The crusaders especially needed the Venetians' ships against the Egyptians.Template:Sfn

Ilghazi and his nephew, Belek Ghazi, invaded Edessa and Antioch in May 1120.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Being responsible for the defense of the northern crusader states, Baldwin decided to again lead his troops to Antioch, but a significant group of the Jerusalemite noblemen and clergy opposed the expedition.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Patriarch Warmund refused to accompany the royal army and allowed Baldwin to take the True Cross with him only after lengthy negotiations.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin and his army reached Antioch in June.Template:Sfn Ilghazi agreed to sign a one-year truce, which secured the possession of Kafartab and two other fortresses for the crusaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Baldwin returned to Jerusalem only in early 1121, after Toghtekin made a raid against Galilee.Template:Sfn In July, he invaded Damascene territory and destroyed a fortress that Toghtekin had recently erected near Jerash.Template:Sfn David IV of Georgia routed the united armies of Ilghazi and the Seljuq prince Toghrul Arslan in August.Template:Sfn Taking advantage of Ilghazi's weakness, Baldwin launched a military campaign across the Orontes. In November this forced Ilghazi's son to hand over to the crusaders Zardana, Atarib and other forts that Ilghazi had captured the previous year.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

In early 1122 Pons of Tripoli refused to pledge allegiance to Baldwin for unknown reasons.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After Baldwin mustered his troops and marched against Tripoli, Pons paid homage to him without resistance.Template:Sfn Ilghazi and Belek laid siege to Zardana in June, but Baldwin and Joscelin of Edessa's arrival forced them to lift the siege in July.Template:Sfn Belek ambushed and captured Joscelin near Saruj on 13Template:NbsSeptember.Template:Sfn Ilghazi reoccupied Atarib,Template:Sfn but he died on 3Template:NbsNovember 1122.Template:Sfn His lands were divided among his sons and nephews.Template:Sfn Baldwin, who was still in Antioch, persuaded Badr ad-Daulah Suleiman, the new ruler of Aleppo, to restore Atarib to the crusaders on 2Template:NbsApril 1123.Template:Sfn Baldwin recaptured Birejik and made Geoffrey, Lord of Marash, regent of Edessa.Template:Sfn

Second captivityEdit

File:Baldwin II of Jerusalem pris.jpg

Baldwin is captured

Baldwin made a raid towards Kharput where Belek held Joscelin and other knights' captive, but he stopped near Gargar.Template:Sfn While Baldwin was preparing to practice falconry on the morning of 18Template:NbsApril 1123, Belek attacked his camp and captured him.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin was taken to the fortress of Kharput.Template:Sfn While Belek was away in Aleppo in June, Joscelin's fifty Armenian supporters came to Kharput, disguising themselves as monks, and expelled the Seljuq garrison from the fortress.Template:Sfn Joscelin left Kharput to gather troops in Turbessel and Antioch, but Baldwin and the Armenian soldiers remained in the fortress to defend it against Belek.Template:Sfn Belek returned to Kharput and forced Baldwin to surrender.Template:Sfn Belek ordered the execution of the Armenians and transferred Baldwin to Harran.Template:Sfn Baldwin was later imprisoned in the Citadel of Aleppo.Template:Sfn

On learning of Baldwin's captivity, Patriarch Warmund convoked the prelates and barons to an assembly which elected Eustace Grenier bailiff (or regent) of Jerusalem.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After Grenier died on 15Template:NbsJune, William of Bures succeeded him as regent.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The bailiffs and the patriarch closely cooperated with each other and other high-ranking officials in administering the kingdom during Baldwin's captivity.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn They made an allianceTemplate:Mdashthe so-called Pactum WarmundiTemplate:Mdashwith Domenico Michiel, the Doge of Venice, offering commercial privileges to the Venetians in return for their military assistance against the Egyptian towns on the coast.Template:Sfn They captured Tyre on 7Template:Nbsor 8Template:NbsJuly 1124.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The contemporaneous Galbert of Bruges recorded that delegates came to Flanders from Jerusalem during Baldwin's captivity.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn They stated that Baldwin "was grasping and penurious and had not governed the people of God well".<ref name=Galbert_of_Bruges>Galbert of Bruges: The Murder of Charles the Good (ch. 5.), p. 93.</ref>Template:Sfn They offered the crown to Charles the Good, the Count of Flanders.Template:Sfn Bruges's report shows that a faction of the Jerusalemite nobility attempted to dethrone the captive Baldwin.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Being the head of the lineage from which the first two rulers of Jerusalem were descended, and also the overlord of their brother, Eustace, Charles the Good was an ideal candidate for the throne. However, he refused the offer.Template:Sfn Murray tentatively associates the leader of the discontented noblemen with the Flemish Eustace Grenier.Template:Sfn

Belek died fighting against one of his rebellious officials on 6Template:NbsMay 1124,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and Baldwin was seized by Ilghazi's son, Timurtash.Template:Sfn Timurtash entrusted Sultan, the emir of Shaizar, with commencing negotiations for Baldwin's release with Joscelin and Morphia.Template:Sfn According to their agreement, Baldwin was to pay 80,000 dinars and to cede Atarib, Zardana, Azaz and other Antiochene fortresses to Timurtash.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin also promised that he would assist Timurtash against the Bedouin warlord, Dubais ibn Sadaqa.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After a quarter of Baldwin's ransom was paid and a dozen hostages (including Baldwin's youngest daughter Ioveta and Joscelin's son Joscelin II) were handed over to Timurtash to secure the payment of the balance, Baldwin was released on 29Template:NbsAugust 1124.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

WarsEdit

Baldwin went to Antioch where Patriarch Bernard reminded him that he had not been authorized to renounce Antiochene territories and on 6Template:NbsSeptember 1124 forbade him to cede fortresses to Timurtash.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn On 6Template:NbsOctober, Baldwin laid siege to Aleppo where the hostages for his ransom were held.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Dubais ibn Sadaqa, and two Seljuq princes, Sultan Shah and Toghrul Arslan, joined him and Timurtash did not support the besieged town.Template:Sfn Al-Bursuqi decided to intervene and gathered his troops.Template:Sfn On learning of al-Bursuqi's approach, Dubais ibn Sadaqa withdrew from Aleppo, which forced Baldwin to lift the siege on 25Template:NbsJanuary 1125.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

After more than two years absence, Baldwin returned to Jerusalem on 3Template:NbsApril.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He renegotiated the Pactum Warmundi with the Venetians, approving most of its terms in the so-called Pactum Balduini, but also stipulating that the Venetians were to provide military assistance to the kingdom.Template:Sfn After al-Bursuqi, Toghtekin and Khirkan of Homs captured Kafartab and laid siege to Zardana, Baldwin again went north.Template:Sfn Few knights accompanied him from the kingdom, which according to Murray and Barber may have been a sign of discontent over his frequent campaigns.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin of Edessa joined him and they defeated the Seljuqs at the Battle of Azaz in late May. The battle has been described by historian Peter Lock as "one of the bloodiest engagements in the history of the crusader states".Template:Sfn Spoils seized enabled Baldwin to pay off his ransom before his return to Jerusalem.Template:Sfn

The careers of some influential lords started around the time when Baldwin returned to Jerusalem in 1125.Template:Sfn Walter I Brisebarre witnessed the Pactum Balduini as lord of Beirut on 2Template:NbsMay 1125; Pagan the Butler was first mentioned as lord of Oultrejordain in 1126.Template:Sfn According to William of Tyre, Pagan seized Oultrejordain after Roman of Le Puy and his son, Ralph, had been deprived of the territory.Template:Sfn Murray argues that Baldwin must have confiscated Oultrejordain from Roman because Roman had been one of his opponents during his captivity.Template:Sfn Murray also says that Baldwin allegedly adopted an expansionist policy against Damascus in the late 1120s to assuage the Jerusalemite noblemen's discontent.Template:Sfn He made a raid against Damascene territory across the Jordan in early 1126.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Accompanied by almost the whole army, Baldwin routed Toghtekin on 25Template:NbsJanuary and returned to the kingdom laden with booty.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Shortly thereafter he supported Pons of Tripoli in capturing Rafniye and in raiding Homs.Template:Sfn Al-Bursuqi laid siege to Atarib in July 1126.Template:Sfn Baldwin again marched north and Joscelin of Edessa joined him at Artah.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Both sides wanted to avoid a pitched battle, and al-Bursuqi retired to Aleppo.Template:Sfn

SuccessionEdit

After reaching the age of majority, Bohemond II of Antioch came to Syria to claim his inheritance in October 1126.Template:Sfn His arrival put an end to Baldwin's rule in Antioch, but Bohemond married Baldwin's second daughter, Alice.Template:Sfn Baldwin, who had no sons, made his eldest daughter, Melisende, his heir in 1126 or 1127.Template:Sfn

Baldwin had already realized that the Franks were unable to conquer Damascus without further reinforcements from Europe.Template:Sfn After consulting with his nobles, he sent William I of Bures and Guy I Brisebarre to France to offer Melisende's hand to the powerful count of Anjou, Fulk V, in the autumn of 1127.Template:Sfn Hugh of Payns and his five fellows accompanied the envoys.Template:Sfn The embassy first visited Louis VI of France, who gave consent to the marriage.Template:Sfn The negotiations between Fulk and Baldwin's envoys lasted for months.Template:Sfn In August or September 1127, Baldwin launched a new military campaign against Damascene territory.Template:Sfn Historian Steven Tibble proposes that the royal fortress at Wadi Musa was built shortly after this.Template:Sfn

Baldwin dispatched William I, Archbishop of Tyre, and Robert, Bishop of Lydda and Ramla, to the Holy See.Template:Sfn Pope Honorius II stated that Baldwin was the lawful ruler of Jerusalem in a letter of 29Template:NbsMay 1129.Template:Sfn Christopher Tyerman and Hans Eberhard Mayer agree that the pope wrote his letter to remove any doubts about the legitimacy of Baldwin's rule.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn On the other hand, Stephen of La Ferté, who had succeeded Warmund of Picquigny as patriarch in July 1128, turned against Baldwin and demanded Jerusalem for the patriarchate.Template:Sfn

Fulk of Anjou arrived to the Holy Land in the spring of 1129.Template:Sfn He married Melisende and Baldwin granted them the two wealthiest towns of the kingdom, Tyre and Acre.Template:Sfn Hugh of Payns, who had achieved the adoption of the statutes of the Knights Templar at the Council of Troyes, returned to the kingdom accompanied by new crusaders.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

File:Balduin2 pocta.jpg

Baldwin's funeral

Toghtekin's successor, Taj al-Muluk Buri, ordered the massacre of the Nizari in Damascus in September 1129.Template:Sfn The Nizari's local leader, Ismail al-Ajami, sent envoys to Baldwin and offered the fortress of Banias to the crusaders in return for receiving asylum in the kingdom.Template:Sfn Baldwin accepted the offer and his troops seized Banyas.Template:Sfn Taking advantage of the presence of the new crusaders, he also decided to launch an attack on Damascus.Template:Sfn He gathered all available troops and marched as far as the Wooden Bridge, about Template:Convert south-west of the town, in November.Template:Sfn After Buri's Turcoman horsemen routed a detachment of the crusader army and a heavy storm turned the plains around Damascus into a large marshland, Baldwin had to return to Jerusalem in early December.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

After the Danishmend Gazi Gümüshtigin ambushed and killed Bohemond II in February 1130, Baldwin travelled to Antioch to make arrangements for the administration of the principality.Template:Sfn Alice, however, wanted to establish herself as regent during the minority of her and Bohemond's infant daughter, Constance, and did not allow Baldwin to enter Antioch.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn She even sent envoys to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul, to seek his assistance against her father, according to the contemporaneous Ibn al-Qalanisi.Template:Sfn The Antiochene noblemen were strongly opposed to her plan and opened two gates of the town, which enabled Baldwin to enter.Template:Sfn He forgave his daughter but forbade her to stay in Antioch during Constance's minority.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn After the Antiochene noblemen swore fealty to him and Constance, Baldwin appointed Joscelin of Edessa to administer the principality.Template:Sfn

According to William of Tyre, Baldwin fell seriously ill after his return from Antioch.Template:Sfn He was already dying when he made arrangements for his succession in August 1131.Template:Sfn He was transferred to the patriarch's palace near the Holy Sepulchre where he bequeathed the kingdom to Fulk, Melisende and their infant son, Baldwin.Template:Sfn He took monastic vows and entered the collegiate chapter of the Holy Sepulchre, where he died on 21 August.Template:Sfn He was buried in the Holy Sepulchre.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book (His daughter was the abbess Ioveta.)</ref>

AncestryEdit

Baldwin was a younger son of Hugh I, Count of Rethel and Melisende of Montlhéry.Template:Sfn He was closely related to the lords of Courtenay and Le Puiset, and other noble families in the Ile-de-France.Template:Sfn He was also a kinsman of the brothers Eustace III of Boulogne, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Baldwin of Boulogne, but their exact relationship is unknown.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

The main concern are the identities of Baldwin II's paternal grandmother and great-grandmother. The Chronicles of Alberic of Trois-Fontaine<ref>Template:'Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium FontiumTemplate:', ed. Paulus Scheffer-Boichorst, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptorum, vol. 23 (Hanover, 1874), pp. 631–950.</ref> (written in 1119) describes Yvette, sister of Ebles I of Roucy as "mother of Hugh I, Count of Rethel". This is the traditional genealogy given for Baldwin II.Template:Sfn Notwithstanding, considering her family history, such assertion is chronologically impossible. Jean-Nöel Mathieu raises the fundamental objection that Ebles I (who died in 1033), could not have had a sister who was still alive in 1081, instead he argues that she must have been confused with the wife of Manasses II.<ref name="Mathieu 1997">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Mathieu 2000 pp.75–84">Template:Cite book</ref>

Li Estoire de Jerusalem et d'Antioche,<ref>de Chartres, Foucher (1895) [1122]. Li Estoire de Jerusalem et d'Antioche. Volume 5 de Recuil des Croisades, Historiens occidentaux.</ref> written in the 12th century, indicates that Manasses III was married to a daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine. This would also explain the connection between the two Baldwins of Jerusalem, as well as the fact that Godfrey made a donation to Manasses in 1065.<ref name="Cartulaire">'Cartulaire de Saint-Vanne de Verdun' of 1065: Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine and his wife Beatrice confirm a donation made to Count Manasses and his son Renauld. The problem here is that nothing indicates this Manasses is the Count of Rethel or another Count Manasses who lived in the same period.</ref>

Alan V. Murray says that the primary sources suggest that Baldwin II's connection to his predecessors "was not particularly close", and that Baldwin was most probably related to their mother, Ida of Lorraine.Template:Sfn Thomas Asbridge says that Baldwin was their second cousin instead.Template:Sfn

The family tree below is the reconstruction based on the above two records, which makes Baldwin II a first cousin once removed of his predecessors through their mother. Asbridge's view would match the alternate hypothesis that has Godfrey III's wife Doda as Manasses III's sister instead of his mother-in-law. There is also a hypothesis that Judith was Eustace II's sister.<ref name="Mathieu 1997" /> However, Murray objects that there is no allusion of this daughter nor of any other connection between the Rethel and Boulogne families in Genealogica comitum Boloniensium', a compilation of the Boulogne genealogy which was being copied and extended by the mid-twelfth century, when the descendants of Manasses III were ruling the kingdom of Jerusalem. The three women in question are in italics.

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FamilyEdit

Most Armenians adhered to the Armenian Apostolic Church, but Baldwin's wife, Morphia, was born to an Orthodox noble family.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Her father, Gabriel, gave her in marriage to Baldwin, because he needed the crusaders' support against his enemies.Template:Sfn Morphia gave birth to four daughters.Template:Sfn She died on 1Template:NbsOctober 1126 or 1127.Template:Sfn

The eldest daughter of Baldwin and Morphia, Melisende, succeeded Baldwin along with her husband, Fulk.Template:Sfn They were crowned in the Holy Sepulchre on 14Template:NbsSeptember 1131.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Baldwin's second daughter, Alice, made several attempts to administer Antioch after Baldwin's death.Template:Sfn Hodierna was Baldwin and Morphia's third daughter.Template:Sfn She was given in marriage to Raymond II, Count of Tripoli before 1138.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Ioveta was her parents' youngest daughter, and their only child "born into the purple" (that is after her father's coronation).Template:Sfn She entered the Convent of Saint Anne in Jerusalem around 1134.Template:Sfn About 10 years later, she became the second abbess of the convent that Melisende had established at the Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany.Template:Sfn

LegacyEdit

Baldwin's contemporaries often criticized him.Template:Sfn Matthew of Edessa, who recorded the Armenians' grievances during Baldwin's reign in Edessa, described him as a greedy ruler who had "an intolerable love for money".Template:Sfn Bernard of Blois, an ascetic monk who settled in the Amanus Mountains, blamed him for "certain enormities in his way of life".Template:Sfn Fulcher of Chartres hinted that Baldwin's captivity was a punishment for sin, because he had never seen other kings who were imprisoned.Template:Sfn

William of Tyre described Baldwin as "a devout and God-fearing man, notable for his loyalty and for his great experience in military matters," and said that he was nicknamed "the Thorny" (cognominatus est Aculeus).Template:Citation needed Ibn al-Qalanisi, who calls him "Baldwin the Little" (Baghdawin al-ru'aiuis) to distinguish him from Baldwin I, remarked that "after him there was none left amongst them possessed of sound judgment and capacity to govern".Template:Citation needed

ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit

Primary sourcesEdit

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William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.
Galbert of Bruges: The Murder of Charles the Good (Translated by James Bruce Ross) (1959). Columbia University Press. Template:ISBN

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