| Baldwin III | |
|---|---|
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| King of Jerusalem | |
| Reign | 25 December 1143 – 10 February 1163 |
| Coronation | 25 December 1143 |
| Predecessor | Fulk andMelisende |
| Successor | Amalric I |
| Co-sovereign | Melisende (until 1152) |
| Born | 1130 |
| Died | 10 February 1163(1163-02-10) (aged 33) Beirut,Kingdom of Jerusalem |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| House | Anjou |
| Father | Fulk V of Anjou |
| Mother | Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem |
Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163[1]) was theking of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son ofQueen Melisende andKing Fulk. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventually defeated in a civil war. During his reign Jerusalem became more closely allied with theByzantine Empire, and theSecond Crusade tried and failed to conquer Damascus. Baldwin captured the important Egyptian fortress ofAscalon, but also had to deal with the increasing power ofNur ad-Din in Syria. He died childless and was succeeded by his brotherAmalric.
Baldwin III was born in 1130, during the reign of his maternal grandfatherBaldwin II, one of theoriginal crusaders. This made him the third generation to rule Jerusalem. Baldwin's mother Princess Melisende was heiress to her fatherBaldwin II, King of Jerusalem. Baldwin III's father was Fulk of Anjou, the former Count of Anjou. King Baldwin II died at the age of 60 when his grandson was a year old, which led to a power struggle between Melisende and Fulk. Melisende asserted her right to rule as successor to her father. She and Fulk reconciled and conceived a second child, Baldwin III's brotherAmalric. Baldwin III was 13 years old when his father Fulk died in a hunting accident in 1143, and Baldwin III was crowned as co-ruler alongside his mother, echoing Melisende's own crowning alongside her father as his heir. Yet Baldwin showed little interest in the intricacies of governance.[2]
With a woman and a child ruling Jerusalem, the political situation was somewhat tense; the northern crusader states ofTripoli,Antioch, andEdessa increasingly asserted their independence, and there was no king to impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem as Baldwin II or Fulk had done. In the Muslim world,Zengi ruled northernSyria from the cities ofMosul andAleppo, and desired to addDamascus in the south to his control. In 1144, Zengicaptured Edessa, which shocked the Western world and led to theSecond Crusade.[2]
This crusade did not reach Jerusalem until 1148, and in the meantime Zengi wasassassinated in 1146. He was succeeded by his sonNur ad-Din, who was just as eager to bring Damascus under his control. To counter this, Jerusalem and Damascus had made an alliance for their mutual protection. However, in 1147 Nur ad-Din andMu'in ad-Din Unur, the governor of Damascus, made an alliance against Jerusalem, as the kingdom had already broken the treaty by allying with one of Unur's rebellious vassals. Baldwin marched out from Jerusalem and attempted to capture the Muslim fortressBosra, but Nur ad-Din arrived with his army and forced the Crusaders to withdraw. As the Crusaders marched back toward their own territory they were attacked by Nur ad-Din's cavalry, but Baldwin III's generalship combined with the martial prowess of his knights managed to throw off the Muslim assault. Later, Jerusalem's truce with Damascus was restored.[3]
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In 1148 the crusade finally arrived in Jerusalem, led byLouis VII of France, his wifeEleanor of Aquitaine, andConrad III of Germany. Baldwin held acouncil at Acre in 1148 to decide on a target; control of Aleppo in the north would allow the crusaders to restore Edessa to Christian control, but capturing Damascus in the south would limit the power of the Zengids and add to Jerusalem's power and influence. Damascus was also considered more important in the history of Christianity than Aleppo and Edessa. Baldwin agreed to the plan to attack Damascus, but theensuing siege ended in defeat after only four days. The city fell under Nur ad-Din's control in 1154, and the loss of a Muslim counterweight to Nur ad-Din was a diplomatic disaster.[4]
By 1149 the crusaders had returned to Europe, leaving behind a weakened Jerusalem. Nur ad-Din took advantage of the crusader defeat to invade Antioch, andPrince Raymond was killed in the subsequentBattle of Inab. Baldwin III hurried north to take up the regency of the principality. Raymond's wife,Constance, was Baldwin's cousin through his mother and heiress of Antioch by right of her father. Baldwin unsuccessfully tried to marry her to an ally. Also in the north, Baldwin was unable to help defendTurbessel, the last remnant of theCounty of Edessa, and was forced to cede it toByzantine emperorManuel I Comnenus in August 1150. He evacuated Turbessel's Latin Christian residents despite being attacked by Nur ad-Din in theBattle of Aintab. In 1152 Baldwin and his mother were called to intervene in a dispute between Baldwin's auntHodierna of Tripoli and her husbandCount Raymond II. When the matter was settled, Hodierna was about to return to Jerusalem with them, when Raymond was suddenly murdered by theHashshashin. Baldwin remained behind to settle the affairs of Tripoli, while Hodierna took up the regency for her young sonRaymond III.[4]
By 1152 Baldwin had been of age to rule by himself for seven years, and he began to assert himself in political affairs. Though he had not previously expressed an interest in the administration of the country, he now demanded more authority. He and his mother had become increasingly estranged since 1150, and Baldwin blamed the constable Manasses for interfering with his legal succession. In early 1152 Baldwin demanded a second coronation fromPatriarch Fulcher, separate from his mother. The patriarch refused and as a kind of self-coronation Baldwin paraded through the city streets with laurel wreaths on his head.[3]
Baldwin and Melisende agreed to put the matter before theHaute Cour, or royal council. TheHaute Cour returned a decision that would divide the kingdom into two administrative districts. Baldwin would retainGalilee in the north, including the cities ofAcre andTyre, while Melisende held the richerJudea andSamaria, includingNablus and Jerusalem itself. Supporting Melisende in the south wereManasses of Hierges, and Baldwin's younger brotherAmalric, who held theCounty of Jaffa within Melisende's jurisdiction. Neither Baldwin nor Melisende were pleased with the decision, as Baldwin wanted to rule the entire kingdom and realized it would divide the country's resources, but in order to prevent a civil war Melisende agreed to the compromise.[2]
Within weeks of the division Baldwin launched an invasion of the south. Manasses was defeated at the castle ofMirabel and exiled, and Nablus fell quickly as well. To prevent further violence, Jerusalem opened its gates to Baldwin. Melisende and Amalric sought refuge in theTower of David. Throughout the siege the church negotiated with Baldwin. The peace that was settled allowed for Melisende to hold Nablus for life, with a solemn oath by Baldwin not to disturb her peace. Baldwin named his supporterHumphrey II of Toron as the new constable.[2]
By 1154 mother and son were reconciled, as Baldwin was astute enough to realize his mother's expertise in statecraft. At the same time, he asserted his authority over the kingdom's nobles.[5] Though she was "retired", she maintained great influence in court and government affairs, acting as regent for Baldwin while he was on campaign.
During the civil war, Nur ad-Din had been busy consolidating his control of Damascus following the death of Mu'in ad-Din. With Syria united under one ruler, Jerusalem could only expand its influence to the south, towardsEgypt. Egypt was weakened by civil wars as well, after the succession of a series of youngFatimidcaliphs. Around 1150 Baldwin refortifiedGaza to place some pressure on the nearby Egyptian outpost ofAscalon, and in 1153 Baldwin successfullybesieged and captured Ascalon itself.[6] This secured the border with Egypt, although it would later lead to aggressive campaigns against Jerusalem's southern border. Ascalon was added to Amalric's fief of Jaffa, creating the double County of Jaffa and Ascalon. In 1152 Baldwin also defeated anOrtoqid invasion of the kingdom from northern Syria.[2]
In 1156 Baldwin was forced to sign a treaty with Nur ad-Din. However, in the winter of 1157–1158 Baldwin led an expedition into Syria, where he besiegedShaizar. The expedition was forced to withdraw when a dispute arose betweenThierry, Count of Flanders andRaynald of Châtillon, the new husband of Constance of Antioch, both of whom wanted Shaizar for themselves. Baldwin was, however, able to captureHarim, a former territory ofAntioch, and in 1158 he defeated Nur ad-Din himself.[7]
Baldwin's modest recovery garnered him enough prestige to seek a wife from theByzantine Empire. In 1157 he sent Humphrey of Toron to negotiate with Emperor Manuel, and it was decided that Baldwin should marryTheodora, Manuel's niece. The alliance was more favourable to Byzantium than Jerusalem, as Baldwin was forced to recognize Byzantine suzerainty over Antioch, and if Theodora were to be widowed she would be provided the city ofAcre. Though Theodora personified the Byzantine-Jerusalem alliance, she was not to exercise any authority outside of Acre. The marriage took place in September 1158, when Baldwin was 28 years old and Theodora only 13.[2]
Relations between Jerusalem and Byzantium improved and in 1159 Baldwin met with Manuel in Antioch. The two became friends, with Manuel adopting western clothes and customs and participating in atournament against Baldwin. Manuel personally attended to Baldwin when the king was thrown from his horse during the tournament. Later in 1159 Baldwin became regent of Antioch once more, after Raynald of Châtillon had been captured in battle. This offended Manuel, who considered Antioch imperial territory, and the emperor strengthened his ties to the principality in 1160 by marryingPrincess Maria, Baldwin's cousin. Baldwin himself suggested Manuel marry another cousin,Melisende of Tripoli, preferring not to see such a close relationship between Byzantium and Antioch.[2]
Queen Melisende died in 1161, and Baldwin died inBeirut on 10 February 1163. It was rumoured that he had been poisoned in Antioch by pills given to him by hisSyrian Orthodox doctor. "As soon as the king had taken the pills," says William of Tyre, "he was seized with a fever anddysentery which developed intoconsumption from which he was never able to obtain relief or help." On the way home Baldwin remained inTripoli for a few months, and then continued to Beirut where he finally succumbed to his illness. As William says, "For eight successive days, while the funeral procession moved from Beirut to Jerusalem, lamentation was unrestrained and grief was renewed almost hourly." Theodora, now queen-dowager, retired to Acre. She was still only 18 years old; their marriage was childless. Baldwin was succeeded by his brother, Amalric I.[3]
A marble screen panel in theTerra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem, is from his[the caption statesBaldwin II] orFulk's tomb, formerly in theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.[8]
Portion of a Transenna Panel […] CTS-SB-09460
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| Preceded by | King of Jerusalem 1143–1163 (withMelisende, 1143–1152) | Succeeded by |
Monarchs of theKingdom of Jerusalem | ||
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