King Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin of Boulogne I, brother to Godfrey of Boullion, Count of Edessa and King of Jerusalem. Baldwin was one of the eight chief lay leaders of the first Crusade (Setton 21). He died in 1118, which marked an end of an era. Baldwin was the last of the original leaders of the firs Crusade (Setton 408). He founded the first Latin state in the east, the county of Edessa. He founded and transformed Jerusalem into a monarchy state. Helped in the capture of Tripoli. Established the county of Tripoli into the fourth and last state of the east. With only small means at his disposal he accomplished many things, like founding the county Edessa with a few knights. Then he took over Jerusalem after his brother Godfrey, who had left it weak torn by factionalism and surrounded by enemies. He left Jerusalem a strong and powerful state. He revived and maintained commerce with the Moslem who he was there to fight in the first place. He never had a naval fleet but still had coastal conquests and protection. He had sea routes protected to the west by obtaining the help of the Italian Naval Fleet. The numbered of troops which Baldwin had can be compared to a modern day battalion, which would consist roughly of about 1,200 troops. Wi
With his success Baldwin grew more popular among the people. He was informed that there was a plot to over through Toros in favor of him. In March of 1098 Toros was over throughed and Baldwin was instituted as head of government. Baldwin became count of Edessa, to strengthen his position he married Arda daughter of an Armenian noble. He had conquered Somosata northwest of him and Suruj southwest of the capital. Having established himself as count he really had no reason to join the main army. After the death of his brother Godfrey, who was head of the state of Jerusalem. Baldwin saw the opportunity of gaining his brothers inheritance. Baldwin decided to head to Jerusalem to claim what was his. Before he did that he named his cousin Baldwin of Le Bourg his successor. In 1109 Baldwin joined the young Count of St. Gilles against Tancred. He saw this opportunity to expand his power northwards. He saw a way to unit the Franks under the leadership of the regime of Jerusalem (Setton 397). On one side it was Baldwin, Bertram, Baldwin of Le Bourg, and Joscelin. On the other side it was Tancred and William of Jordan. Noticing that he was out numbered Tancred agreed to conciliation. King Baldwin was privileged of hearing the complaints of Baldwin of Le Bourg versus Tancred and Bertram against William of Jordan. Many compromises were worked out. But at the end it was King Baldwin who won out because now he knew that Edessa and Tripoli were dependent of him. Baldwin arrived in Jerusalem in the fall of 1100. On December 25 Baldwin was crowned king. He was not crowned king of Jerusalem, but as king of Asia or of Babylon. This was because Daimbert crowned Baldwin in Bethlehem and not in the capital (Setton 352). Daimbert did this so he could hold position of suzerain-lord of Jerusalem. Daimbert wanted to turn Jerusalem into a church-state. In 1096 they arrived in Constantinople, Godfrey was asked to the palace to pledge his alliance to the emperor. Godfrey refused to go and wanted to wait for the rest of the princes to arrive. The Emperor being annoyed did not give the necessary supplies he had promised Godfrey. So Baldwin took it upon himself to raid the
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1476
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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