Baldwin I of Jerusalem

Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblewoman, Godehilde of Tosny. He received the County of Verdun in 1096, but he soon joined the crusader army of his brother Godfrey of Bouillon and became one of the most successful commanders of the First Crusade.

While the main crusader army was marching across Asia Minor in 1097, Baldwin and the Norman Tancred launched a separate expedition against Cilicia. Tancred tried to capture Tarsus in September, but Baldwin forced him to leave it, which gave rise to an enduring conflict between them. Baldwin seized important fortresses in the lands to the west of the Euphrates with the assistance of local Armenians. Thoros of Edessa invited him to come to Edessa to fight against the Seljuks. Taking advantage of a riot against Thoros, Baldwin seized the town and established the first Crusader state on 10March 1098. To strengthen his rule, the widowed Baldwin married an Armenian ruler's daughter (who is now known as Arda). He supplied the main crusader army with food during the siege of Antioch. He defended Edessa against Kerbogha, the governor of Mosul, for three weeks, preventing him from reaching Antioch before the crusaders captured it.

Godfrey of Bouillon, whom the crusaders had elected their first ruler in Jerusalem, died in 1100. Daimbert, the Latin patriarch, and Tancred offered Jerusalem to Tancred's uncle, Bohemond I of Antioch. Godfrey's retainers took possession of the town and urged Baldwin to claim Godfrey's inheritance. Since a Muslim ruler had captured Bohemond, Baldwin marched to Jerusalem meeting little resistance. The Patriarch crowned him king in Bethlehem on 25December. He captured Arsuf and Caesarea in 1101, Acre in 1104, Beirut in 1110, and Sidon in 1111, with the assistance of Genoese and Venetian fleets and of several smaller crusader groups, but all his attempts to capture Ascalon and Tyre failed. After his victory at the third battle of Ramla in 1105, the Egyptians launched no further major campaigns against the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Baldwin helped Bertrand, Count of Toulouse, to capture Tripoli in 1109. Being the only crowned monarch in the Latin East, Baldwin claimed suzerainty over other crusader rulers. Baldwin II of Edessa and Bertrand swore fealty to him. Tancred, who ruled the Principality of Antioch, also obeyed his summons. Baldwin supported Baldwin II and Tancred against Kerbogha's successor, Mawdud, who launched a series of campaigns against Edessa and Antioch in the early 1110s. He erected fortresses in Oultrejordainthe territory to the east of the Jordan Riverto control the caravan routes between Syria and Egypt. He died during a campaign against Egypt.

Early life

Born some time after 1060, Baldwin was the third son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine. Being his parents' youngest son, he was intended for a career in the Church. He studied the liberal arts and held prebends in the cathedrals of Cambrai, Rheims and Liège. For reasons that are unknown, and at an unspecified time, he abandoned his church career and became a knight. The historian John France says that Baldwin most probably realised that the Gregorian Reform had diminished his chance to seize rich benefices. Historian Susan B. Edgington, on the other hand, proposes that Baldwin preferred a secular career because his childless brother, Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lotharingia, had taken ill suddenly, giving Baldwin a chance to inherit his duchy.

Baldwin married a Norman noblewoman, Godehilde of Tosny, whose family owned land and property in both Normandy and England. Baldwin and his wife most probably settled in the court of his eldest brother, Eustace III of Boulogne. Eustace and Baldwin jointly fought for their brother, Godfrey, against Albert III, Count of Namur, and Theoderic, Bishop of Verdun, at Stenay in 1086. Godfrey mentioned Baldwin in most of his charters of grant, indicating that Baldwin was regarded as his designated heir. Baldwin regularly visited the fortress of his wife's family at Conches-en-Ouche.

First Crusade

Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont on 27November 1095. Godfrey of Bouillon decided to join the military campaign and sold or mortgaged his inherited domains to raise funds. One of his domains, the County of Verdun, was seized by Richer, Bishop of Verdun, who soon granted it to Baldwin. The dissolution of Godfrey's allodial lands deprived all future dukes of the basis of their authority in Lower Lotharingia, which facilitated Baldwin's decision to take the Cross. Eustace III of Boulogne also joined the crusade. According to a letter from Pope Urban, only the army that Peter the Hermit had mustered for the People's Crusade outnumbered the three brothers' force.

Baldwin departed for the crusade with Godfrey's army on 15August 1096. His wife and children accompanied him, suggesting that he had decided not to return to his homeland. The crusaders stopped at Tulln an der Donau before reaching the frontier of Hungary in September. Godfrey left Baldwin in charge of his troops during his conference with Coloman of Hungary, to discuss the conditions of the crusaders' march across the country. He agreed to hand over Baldwin, along with Baldwin's wife and retainers, as hostages, to ensure their troops' good conduct. Baldwin and Godehilde were released soon after the crusaders left Hungary. They entered the Byzantine Empire near Belgrade in late November.

The crusaders reached Constantinople on 23December 1096. The Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos demanded an oath of allegiance from their leaders and imposed a blockade on their camp to enforce it. Baldwin made raids against the districts outside the walls of Constantinople, compelling Alexios to lift the blockade. The Emperor also agreed to hand over his son and heir, John II Comnenus, as a hostage, who was entrusted to Baldwin's care.

Since the crusaders continued to resist the emperor's demand, the Byzantines reduced the fodder and food supplied to them. Baldwin again attacked the suburbs and killed or captured dozens of Pecheneg guards. The crusaders realised that they could not defeat the imperial army and so yielded to the emperor's demand. Their commanders (including Godfrey and Baldwin) swore fealty to Alexios and pledged that they would cede all conquered lands that the Seljuk Turks had seized from the Byzantines to the emperor's representatives. The crusaders were transferred to a camp established on the road between Chalcedon and Nicomedia in Asia Minor, but Godfrey and Baldwin soon returned to Constantinople to be present when the commanders of a new crusader army did homage to Alexios. When a knight sat on the emperor's throne during the ceremony, Baldwin "took him by the hand and made him rise" and severely reprimanded him.

After the crusaders defeated Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm, in the Battle of Dorylaeum on 1July 1097, Baldwin and the Italo-Norman leader Tancred broke away from the main body of the army. They marched as far as Heraclea, where they again joined their fellows around 15 August. The crusaders became exhausted during their long march across Asia Minor and most of their horses died. To secure a supply of food and forage, Baldwin and Tancred were sent to the fertile plains of Cilicia. There they could count on the support of the local Armenians, especially as Baldwin had already been befriended by an Armenian nobleman, Bagrat.

Baldwin and Tancred led two separate contingents. Tancred was the first to leave Heraclea, accompanied by 100–200 troops; Baldwin and his 300 knights departed around 15September. Tancred arrived at Tarsusan important center of commerce in Ciliciaon 21September. He persuaded the Seljuk garrison of Tarsus to raise his flag on the citadel, even before his troops were granted access to the town. Baldwin reached Tarsus on the following day. The Turks replaced Tancred's banner with Baldwin's flag and allowed Baldwin to take possession of two towers. Heavily outnumbered by Baldwin's troops, Tancred decided not to fight for the town and rode off. Shortly thereafter, about 300 Norman knights arrived, but Baldwin denied entry to them, which enabled the Turks to attack and murder the Normans during the night. Baldwin's own men blamed him for their fate and massacred the remnants of the Seljuk garrison. Fearful of vengeance, Baldwin took shelter in a tower, but finally convinced his soldiers of his innocence. A pirate captain, Guynemer of Boulogne, sailed up the Berdan River to Tarsus and swore fealty to Baldwin. He hired Guynemer's men to garrison Tarsus and continued his campaign.

Tancred had meanwhile seized the prosperous town of Mamistra. Baldwin reached the town on around 30September. One of the most prominent Italian Norman crusaders, Richard of Salerno, wanted to take revenge for the Normans who had perished at Tarsus, which caused a skirmish between the soldiers of Baldwin and Tancred. This was the first occasion when crusaders fought against each other. After one or two men were killed and many more were injured or captured on both sides, Baldwin and Tancred made peace and Baldwin left Mamistra. He joined the main army at Marash, but Bagrat persuaded him to launch a campaign towards the River Euphrates across a region densely populated by Armenians. About 80–100 knights accompanied him when he again left the main army on 17October.

Count of Edessa

Establishment

The Armenians regarded Baldwin as a liberator. Two Armenian chiefs, Fer and Nicusus, joined him soon after he started his campaign. The local population massacred the Seljuk garrisons and officials, or forced them to flee. The Seljuks' fear of the crusaders contributed to Baldwin's success. He seized two important fortresses, Ravendel and Turbessel, without a fight before the end of 1097. He made Bagrat the governor of Ravendel, and appointed Fer to administer Turbessel.

The Armenian lord of Edessa, Thoros, sent envoysthe Armenian bishop of Edessa and twelve leading citizensto Baldwin in early 1098, seeking his assistance against the nearby Seljuk rulers. Being the first town to convert to Christianity, Edessa had played an important role in Christian history. Before departing for Edessa, Baldwin ordered the arrest of Bagrat, whom Fer had accused of secret correspondence with the Seljuks. Bagrat was tortured and forced to surrender Ravendel. Baldwin left for Edessa in early February, but troops sent by Balduk, the emir of Samosata

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