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Booklet 3: The Crusader States 1100-1149 Overview - Coggle Diagram
Booklet 3: The Crusader States 1100-1149 Overview
The Kingdom of Jerusalem
Only Godfrey de Boullion and Tancred de Hauteville remained in Jerusalem with approximately 300 knights and 2000 foot soldiers
There initial priority was to secure their defences against the hostile Muslim population, which surrounded them and to capture the coastal cities in order to maintain contact with the west and control trade; most important source of income
Godfrey and Tancred extended their influence: Godfrey over Judea and Samaria and Tancred further north to Tiberius, Nazareth and Beisan
On Godfrey's death in 1100, Baldwin of Boulogne was crowned King of Jerusalem: he conquered the coast, gaining Acre in 1104 with its safe harbour becoming the economic centre of the kingdom
He halted Egyptian and Seljuk attacks, added to his territories in the south and established an agreement with Damascus; established himself as the overlord of the Frankish princes in Outremer
Baldwin II succeeded him after his death: he maintained pressure on the Muslim areas of Tyre and Aleppo and Tyre in 1124 with aid from the Venetians, but failed to take Aleppo in 1125
He was captured by the Seljuks in 1123 but his powers of organisation meant that no crisis broke out in the kingdom in his absence
He oversaw the Council of Nabulus in 1120 installing church law in the east and married Morphia; his reign saw the foundation of the military orders protecting pilgrims and monks
Melisende and Fulk's reign saw continuing problems in Antioch; internal revolt in Jerusalem between 1133-34 and the need to confront the growing of Zengi
Fulk was instrumental in the construction of fortresses to defend Jerusalem and established an agreement with Damascus in 1137
The Principality of Antioch
Bohemond never really profited from his ruthlessness in seizing Antioch, which had driven a huge wedge between Franks and Byzantines
He was captured by the Damishmends in 1100 and released in 1103, suffering defeat near Harran in 1104
Tancred d' Hauteville kept Antioch safe in Bohemond's absence and expanded its territory against both the Byzantines and the Turks and also when Baldwin II was captured he looked after Edessa as well
Bohemond I left for Italy to recruit forces to attack the Byzantines and organised a mini crusade; his failure forced him to sign the Treaty of Devol 1108, which allowed him to hold Antioch as a fief under Byzantine overlordship
The Battle of the Field of Blood in 1119, under the regency of Roger of Salerno devastated the Antiochene nobility, leading Baldwin II to become its regent
Disagreement over the leadership of Antioch continued to plague the kings of Jerusalem and caused tension with the Byzantines; Alice (wife of Bohemond II) tried to rule Antioch in her own right after Bohemond's death in 1130
The issue was partially solved by the arrival of Raymond of Poitiers in 1136, who married Alice's daughter Constance
Between 1137-38 and 1142-43, John Comnenus, the Byzantine emperor, led expeditions to Antioch, which resulted in Raymond acknowledging Byzantine overlordship once again
The County of Tripoli
Raymond (St Gilles) count of Toulouse founded the County of Tripoli, but Tripoli itself was only taken in 1109 by his son Bertrand of Toulouse
Succession to the ruling house of Tripoli was reasonably trouble free; Bertrand was succeeded by Pons of Tripoli and then Raymond II
The County of Edessa
Baldwin of Boulogne had made huge progress in carving out the principality of Edessa, even before Jerusalem had fallen to the crusaders
On becoming king of Jerusalem, leadership of Edessa transferred to Baldwin of Bourcq, Baldwin I's cousin
Joseclin of Courtney became Count of Edessa on Baldwin II's succession to the throne of Jerusalem, followed by his son Joseclin II
Its remote location, constant harassment by hostile Muslim enemies, which affected its economic stability due to frequent Turkish raids and inadequate defences, as well as internal difficulties in the kingdom of Jerusalem led to its seizure by Zengi in 1144
The first crusader state to be created was also the first to fall to Muslim counter crusade