Baldwin of Marash (died 1146) was a Crusader baron in Northern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The chronicler

Gregory the Priest Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

says that Baldwin was the brother of Prince Raymond of Antioch and therefore the son of Duke

William IX of Aquitaine William IX ( oc, Guilhèm de Peitieus; ''Guilhem de Poitou'' french: Guillaume de Poitiers) (22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 an ...

. Baldwin was the chief

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

Joscelin II, Count of Edessa Joscelin II of Edessa (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor Joscelin I of Edessa and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. ...

. He controlled the city of Marash (modern Kahramanmaraş) and the strategic fortress of Kaysun. Baldwin’s fiefdom was in the northern border region of the Crusader states where the population was largely Armenian Christians. In 1135, Leo I, Prince of Armenia seized Sarventikar from Baldwin of Marash. Sarventikar was a fortress on the slopes of the

Amanus Mountains The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south ...

. In 1136 Raymond of Antioch attacked Leo I’s Armenian Kingdom in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

. Baldwin of Marash marched with the Antiochenes. However Baldwin’s overlord, Count Joscelin II of Edessa, Leo’s nephew, helped the Armenians defeat the Antiochene army. After the battle, Baldwin convinced Leo to meet him. At the meeting Baldwin seized him and sent him off to Antioch as a prisoner. That same year the Turkic

Danishmends The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...

briefly captured Marash but the city was retaken by Crusader forces the following year. In October 1146, Baldwin accompanied Joscelin on an expedition attempting to recapture the city of

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroe ...

from the Muslims who had conquered the city two years earlier. They entered the city but could not take the citadel before

Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī (; February 1118 – 15 May 1174), commonly known as Nur ad-Din (lit. "Light of the Faith" in Arabic), was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syrian province (''Shām'') of the Seljuk Empire. He reig ...

surrounded Edessa with a large force. In a desperate situation Baldwin and Joscelin undertook a

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining supp ...

at night. The following day Nur ad-Din caught up with them and a battle ensued in which the Christians were defeated. Count Joscelin managed to escape, however Baldwin of Marash died on the field of battle. His body was not recovered.Linda Paterson, "Syria, Poitou and the ''Reconquista'' (or Tales of the Undead): Who Was the Count in Marcabru's ''Vers de lavador''?", in Jonathan Phillips and Martin Hoch, ''The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences'' (Manchester University Press, 2001), pp. 133–149. Baldwin's Armenian confessor, Barsegh, has left us a funeral oration in honour of Baldwin which praises him for his military skill, bravery and charm but criticises him for his “innumerable, endless and merciless injuries and blasphemies”.The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance - Christopher MacEvitt - University of Pennsylvania Press - pages 94-97 The troubadour Marcabru may refer to Baldwin in the final stanza of his ''Vers del lavador'', when he asks God to "conduct the count to His washing-place and lay his soul to rest".

References

{{reflist Christians of the Crusades