Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, refused the title of king choosing instead the titleAdvocatus Sancti Sepulchri, that is Advocate or Defender of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1100Baldwin I, Godfrey's successor, was the first ruler crowned as king. The crusaders in Jerusalem wereconquered in 1187, but their Kingdom of Jerusalem survived, moving the capital toAcre in 1191. Crusaders re-captured the city of Jerusalem in theSixth Crusade, during 1229–1239 and 1241–1244.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was finally dissolved with thefall of Acre and the end of the Crusades in theHoly Land in 1291.
Even after the Crusader States ceased to exist, the title of "King of Jerusalem" was claimed by a number of European noble houses descended from thekings of Cyprus or thekings of Naples, and is claimed by the currentking of Spain.[citation needed]
The Kingdom of Jerusalem had its origins in the First Crusade, when proposals to govern the city as anecclesiastical state were rejected. In 1099 Godfrey of Bouillon was elected as the first Latin ruler of Jerusalem and was inaugurated in theChurch of the Nativity inBethlehem. He took the title of prince andAdvocatus Sancti Sepulchri, meaning Advocate of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was probably in response to the opinion that only Christ could wear a crown in Jerusalem.[1]Advocatus was a title with which Godfrey was already familiar as the term was much used in the lands where the Crusaders originated; it referred to a layman who protected and administered Church estates.[2][3] The following year, Godfrey died. His brotherBaldwin I was the first to use the title of king and the first to be crowned king in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem itself.
The kingship of Jerusalem was partiallyelective and partiallyhereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless, the king was elected, or at least recognized, by theHaute Cour. Here the king was considered aprimus inter pares (first among equals), and in his absence his duties were performed by hisseneschal.
The purpose-built royal palace used from the 1160s onwards was located south of Jerusalem'scitadel.[4] The Kingdom of Jerusalem introduced Frenchfeudal structures to theLevant. The king personally held severalfiefs incorporated into the royaldomain, that varied from king to king. He was also responsible for leading the kingdom into battle, although this duty could be passed to a constable.
While several contemporary European states were moving towards centralized monarchies, the king of Jerusalem was continually losing power to the strongest of his barons. This was partially due to the young age of many of the kings, and the frequency of regents from the ranks of the nobles.
After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the capital of the kingdom was moved toAcre, where it remained until 1291, although coronations took place inTyre.
In this period the kingship was often simply a nominal position, held by a European ruler who never actually lived in Acre. When youngConrad III was king and living in Southern Germany, his father's second cousin,Hugh of Brienne, claimed the regency of theKingdom of Jerusalem and, indirectly, his place in the succession. The claim was made in 1264 as senior descendant and rightful heir ofAlice of Champagne, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, Hugh being the son of their eldest daughter. But was passed over by the Haute Cour in favour of his cousin,Hugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem.
After Conrad III's execution byCharles I of Sicily in 1268, the kingship was held by theLusignan family, who were simultaneouslykings of Cyprus. However, Charles I of Sicily purchased the rights of one of the heirs of the kingdom in 1277.
In that year, he sentRoger of Sanseverino to the East as hisbailiff. Roger captured Acre and obtained a forced homage from the barons. Roger was recalled in 1282 due to theSicilian Vespers and leftOdo Poilechien in his place to rule. His resources and authority was minimal, and he was ejected byHenry II of Cyprus when he arrived from Cyprus for his coronation as King of Jerusalem.
Acre was captured by theMamluks in 1291, eliminating the crusader presence on the mainland.
In 1127Fulk V, Count of Anjou, received an embassy from KingBaldwin II of Jerusalem. Baldwin II had no male heirs but had already designated his daughterMelisende to succeed him. Baldwin II wanted to safeguard his daughter's inheritance by marrying her to a powerful lord. Fulk was a wealthy crusader and experienced military commander, and a widower. His experience in the field would prove invaluable in a frontier state always in the grip of war.
However, Fulk held out for better terms than mere consort of the Queen; he wanted to be king alongside Melisende. Baldwin II, reflecting on Fulk's fortune and military exploits, acquiesced. Fulk then resigned his titles to his sonGeoffrey and sailed to become King of Jerusalem, where he marriedMelisende on 2 June 1129. Later Baldwin II bolstered Melisende's position in the kingdom by making her sole guardian of her son by Fulk,Baldwin III, born in 1130.
Fulk and Melisende became joint rulers of Jerusalem in 1131 with Baldwin II's death. From the start Fulk assumed sole control of the government, excluding Melisende altogether. He favored fellow countrymen from Anjou to the native nobility. The other crusader states to the north feared that Fulk would attempt to impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem over them, as Baldwin II had done; but as Fulk was far less powerful than his deceased father-in-law, the northern states rejected his authority.
The death of Fulk, as depicted in MS of William of Tyre'sHistoria andOld French Continuation, painted in Acre, 13C.Bib. Nat. Française.
In Jerusalem as well, Fulk was resented by the second generation of Jerusalem Christians who had grown up there since the First Crusade. These "natives" focused on Melisende's cousin, the popularHugh II of Jaffa, who was devotedly loyal to the Queen. Fulk saw Hugh as a rival, and in 1134, in order to expose Hugh, accused him of infidelity with Melisende. Hugh rebelled in protest and secured himself to Jaffa, allying himself with the Muslims ofAscalon. He was able to defeat the army set against him by Fulk, but this situation could not hold. ThePatriarch interceded in the conflict, perhaps at the behest of Melisende. Fulk agreed to peace and Hugh was exiled from the kingdom for three years, a lenient sentence.
However, an assassination attempt was made against Hugh. Fulk, or his supporters, were commonly believed responsible, though direct proof never surfaced. The scandal was all that was needed for the queen's party to take over the government in what amounted to a palace coup. Author and historian Bernard Hamilton wrote that the Fulk's supporters "went in terror of their lives" in the palace. Contemporary author and historianWilliam of Tyre wrote of Fulk "he never attempted to take the initiative, even in trivial matters, without (Melisende's) consent". The result was that Melisende held direct and unquestioned control over the government from 1136 onwards. Sometime before 1136 Fulk reconciled with his wife, and a second son,Amalric, was born.
In 1143, while the king and queen were on holiday inAcre, Fulk was mortally wounded in a hunting accident. His horse stumbled, fell, and Fulk's skull was crushed by the saddle, "and his brains gushed forth from both ears and nostrils", as William of Tyre describes. He was carried back to Acre, where he lay unconscious for three days before he died. He was buried in theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though their marriage started in conflict, Melisende mourned for him privately as well as publicly. Fulk was survived by his sonGeoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou by his first wife, and Baldwin III and Amalric I by Melisende.
Baldwin III ascended the throne with his mother as co-ruler, in 1143. His early reign was laced with squabbles with his mother over the possession of Jerusalem, till 1152, when he took personal hold of the government. He died in 1163, without heirs, and the kingdom passed to his brother,Amalric I, although there was some opposition among the nobility to Amalric's wife Agnes; they were willing to accept the marriage in 1157 when Baldwin III was still capable of siring an heir, but now theHaute Cour refused to endorse Amalric as king unless his marriage to Agnes was annulled. The hostility to Agnes may have been exaggerated by the chronicler William of Tyre, whom she prevented from becomingLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem decades later, as well as from William's continuators likeErnoul, who hints at a slight on her moral character: "car telle n'est que roine doie iestre di si haute cite comme de Jherusalem" ("there should not be such a queen for so holy a city as Jerusalem").
Nevertheless,consanguinity was enough for the opposition. Amalric agreed and ascended the throne without a wife, although Agnes continued to hold the title Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon and received a pension from that fief's income. The church ruled that Agnes's children were legitimate and preserved their place in the order of succession. Through them Agnes would exert much influence in Jerusalem for almost 20 years. Almaric was succeeded by his son by Agnes,Baldwin IV.
The marriage of Amalric I of Jerusalem and Maria Comnena atTyre
Almaric's first wifeAgnes of Courtenay was now married toReginald of Sidon;Maria Comnena, the dowager Queen, had marriedBalian of Ibelin in 1177. His daughter by Agnes, Sibylla, was already of age, the mother of a son, and was clearly in a strong position to succeed her brother, but Maria's daughterIsabella had the support of her stepfather's family, theIbelins.
In 1179, Baldwin began planning to marry Sibylla toHugh III of Burgundy, but by spring 1180 this was still unresolved.Raymond III of Tripoli attempted a coup, and began to march on Jerusalem with Bohemund III, to force the king to marry his sister to a local candidate of his own choosing, probablyBaldwin of Ibelin, Balian's older brother. To counter this, the king hastily arranged her marriage toGuy of Lusignan, younger brother ofAmalric, theconstable of the kingdom. A foreign match was essential to bring the possibility of external military aid to the kingdom. With the new French kingPhilip II a minor, Guy's status as a vassal of the King and Sibylla's first cousinHenry II of England – who owed the Pope a penitential pilgrimage – was useful.
By 1182, Baldwin IV, increasingly incapacitated by his leprosy, named Guy asbailli. Raymond contested this, but when Guy fell out of favour with Baldwin the following year, he was re-appointedbailli and was given possession ofBeirut. Baldwin came to an agreement with Raymond and theHaute Cour to make Baldwin of Montferrat, Sibylla's son by her first marriage, his heir, before Sibylla and Guy. The child was crowned co-king as Baldwin V in 1183 in a ceremony presided by Raymond. It was agreed that, should the boy die during his minority, the regency would pass to "the most rightful heirs" until his kinsmen – the Kings of England and France andFrederick I, Holy Roman Emperor – and thePope were able to adjudicate between the claims of Sibylla and Isabella. These "most rightful heirs" were not named.
Baldwin IV died in spring 1185, and was succeeded by his nephew. Raymond wasbailli, but he had passed Baldwin V's personal guardianship to Joscelin III of Edessa, his maternal great-uncle, claiming that he did not wish to attract suspicion if the child, who does not seem to have been robust, were to die. Baldwin V died during the summer of 1186, atAcre. Neither side paid any heed to Baldwin IV's will.
After the funeral, Joscelin had Sibylla named as her brother's successor, although she had to agree to divorce Guy, just as her father had divorced her mother, with the guarantee that she would be allowed to choose a new consort. Once crowned, she immediately crowned Guy. Meanwhile, Raymond had gone toNablus, home of Balian and Maria, and summoned all those nobles loyal to Princess Isabella and the Ibelins. Raymond wanted instead to have her and her husbandHumphrey IV of Toron crowned. However, Humphrey, whose stepfatherRaynald of Châtillon was an ally of Guy, deserted him and swore allegiance to Guy and Sibylla.
10 February 1163 Beirut, Kingdom of Jerusalem aged 33
Crowned co-king with his motherMelisende on Christmas Day 1143 shortly after the death of his father Fulk. Just 13 year old when he ascended to the throne, he immediately had to deal with the loss of Edessa in 1144 and the Second Crusade through 1149. He engaged his mother in a civil war from 1152 to 1154, with the two eventually reconciling.[6] He was responsible for the military first success after the Second Crusade, thesiege of Ascalon of 1153, resulting in the capture of a strategic fortress from the Fatimids. In 1156, Baldwin was forced into a treaty with Nūr-ad-Din, and later entered into an alliance with theByzantine Empire. Melisende died on 11 September 1161, and Baldwin succumbed two years later on 10 February 1163. Childless, he was succeeded by his brother, Amalric.
Crowned as King of Jerusalem on 18 February 1163. He marriedAgnes of Courtenay and, after an annulment,Maria Komnene. Three of Amalric's children would assume the throne of Jerusalem. He undertook a series of fourinvasions of Egypt from 1163 to 1169, taking advantage of weaknesses of the Fatimids. The campaign was generally indecisive, but did lay the groundwork for the takeover of Egypt bySaladin in 1171. Amalric died at a young age, on 11 July 1174, and was succeeded by his son Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
Baldwin IVthe Leprous 1174–1185 with Baldwin V from 1183
Became king on 5 July 1174 at the age of 13. As a leper he was not expected to live long, and served with a number of regents, and served as co-ruler with his nephew Baldwin V of Jerusalem beginning in 1183. Baldwin IV's rule began simultaneously with the death of Nūr-ad-Din and the rise ofSaladin. Notably, Baldwin andRaynald of Châtillon defeated Saladin at the celebratedbattle of Montgisard on 25 November 1177, and repelled his attacks at thebattle of Belvoir Castle in 1182 and later in thesiege of Kerak of 1183.[9] He died on 16 March 1185.
Became sole king upon the death of his uncle in 1185 under the regency ofRaymond III of Tripoli.[11] Raymond negotiated a truce with Saladin which went awry when Baldwin V died in the summer of 1186.[12] He was succeeded in the kingdom by his mother Sibylla of Jerusalem—daughter of Amalric—and his stepfather, the French knight Guy of Lusignan.
25 July(probable), 1190 Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem aged about 40
Crowned as queen and king of Jerusalem in the summer of 1186, shortly after the death of Baldwin V. They immediately had to deal with the threat posed by Saladin, and, in particular thebattle of Hattin in 1187. During the battle Guy was captured, and remained in Saladin's custody until 1188. After thefall of Jerusalem, Sibylla fled to Tripoli, later joining Guy in Acre to meet the vanguard of theThird Crusade. She died on 25 July 1190.
Sister to Sibylla, became heiress to the kingdom upon her death, sometime after 25 July 1190. After much political haranguing, she married Conrad of Montferrat on 24 November 1190, with him becomede jure king. In April 1192, Conrad was elected king but on 28 April 1192, he was felled by twoAssassins before he could be crowned. His political rivalRichard I of England was suspected as having supported the murder, a suspicion that remains unproven.[13]
10 September 1197 Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem aged 31
Became king on 5 May 1192 when he married Isabella. Henry was the nephew of bothRichard I of England andPhilip II of France, but did not use the royal title. He died in Acre on 10 September 1197 after a fall from his window at the palace in Acre.
As Isabella's next husband, they were crowned king and queen of in January 1198. A former commander at theBattle of Hattin of 1187 as well asKing of Cyprus since the death of Guy of Lusignan in 1194, his rule was a period of peace and stability in both of his realms. In particular, he signed a truce withal-Adil, now Ayyubidsultan of Egypt in 1198 which secured the Christian possession of the coastline from Acre to Antioch. This truce essentially prevented the remnants of theFourth Crusade from their mission. He died on 1 April 1205. His sonHugh I of Cyprus succeeded him in Cyprus, while Isabella I continued to rule the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Isabella died four days later on 5 April 1205 and was succeeded by her daughter by Conrad,Maria of Montferrat, who served through 1212, with her husbandJohn of Brienne after 1210.
Silver coin: 10 PaoliFrancesco III of Tuscany, 1747. On the front of the coin is the Latin phrase:"FRANCISCVS·D·G·R·I·S·A·G·H·REX·LOT·BAR·M·D·ETR" (François I, By the Grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, Always Augustus, King of Germany and Jerusalem, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, Grand Duke of Tuscany)
Over the years, many European rulers claimed to be the rightful heirs to the kingdom. None of these claimants, however, has actually ruled over any part ofOutremer:
CountHugh of Brienne claimed the regency of theKingdom of Jerusalem, and indirectly, his place in the succession in 1264 as senior heir ofAlice of Jerusalem, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, andHugh I of Cyprus. Hugh, although the son of their eldest daughter, was passed over by theHaute Cour in favour of his cousinHugh of Antioch, the future Hugh III of Cyprus and Hugh I of Jerusalem. The Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem continued, but the family had afterwards next to no part in affairs in Outremer.
After the end of the kingdom, Henry II of Cyprus continued to use the title of King of Jerusalem. After his death the title was claimed by his successors, thekings of Cyprus.
The title was also continuously used by the Angevinkings of Naples, whose founder,Charles I of Anjou, had in 1277 bought a claim to the throne fromMary of Antioch. Thereafter, this claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem was treated as a tributary of the crown of Naples, which often changed hands by testament or conquest rather than direct inheritance. As Naples was a papal fief, the Popes often endorsed the title of King of Jerusalem as well as of Naples, and the history of these claims is that of the Neapolitan Kingdom. At the time of their dethronement, theHabsburgEmperors of Austria used the titleKing of Jerusalem, as did the Savoyardkings of Italy, and the title is among those claimed byFelipe VI of Spain.
^Adrian J. Boas.Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City under Frankish Rule. pp. 79–82. Routledge 2009.ISBN9780415488754.[1]
^Barker, Ernest (1911). "Baldwin III". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.3. (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press. pp. 246–247.
^Dobenecker, Otto (1915).Margarete von Hohenstaufen, die Stammutter der Wettiner. I (1236–1265). Neuenhahn, Jena: Festschrift des Gymnasiums zur Erinnerung an die Erhebung des Herzogtums S.-Weimar zum Großherzogtum (= Beilage zum Jahresberichte des Großh. Gymnasiums in Jena).