Baldwin II of Jerusalem - Crusader King

This video will profile one of my favorite historical figures, and a main character in my novel, Why Does the Heathen Rage? Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. He was born Baldwin of Rethel, a cousin of Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne. When Godfrey took the cross and set out on the First Crusade in 1096, Baldwin of Rethel joined him. Throughout the Crusade, Baldwin was a prominent member of Godfrey's entourage. In 1098, Baldwin of Boulogne established the first Crusader state, the County of Edessa in Mesopotamia. After the First Crusade, when Baldwin of Boulogne was crowned King of Jerusalem in 1100, he passed the County of Edessa on to his cousin, Baldwin of Rethel, who became Baldwin II, Count of Edessa. In 1101, Baldwin II married Morphea, daughter of the Armenian nobleman, Gabriel of Melitene. Baldwin and Morphea's relationship proved to be particularly close. Together, they had four daughters. When Baldwin I of Jerusalem died in 1118, the crown passed to Baldwin II of Edessa, who was crowned King Baldwin II of Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, 1118. Baldwin II gave the County of Edessa to his cousin, Jocelyn of Courtenay. The first major challenge of Baldwin II's reign came in 1119, when the Prince of Antioch, Roger of Salerno, was defeated and killed in battle by the Ortugan-Turkish Emir Ilgazi. King Baldwin II rushed north with the Army of Jerusalem, where he defeated Ilgazi at the Battle of Hab, thereby saving Antioch. Baldwin took over the Regency of Antioch, and through his tireless campaigning against the Turks in the 1120s, was able to ensure the integrity of the Principality's border fortresses. In 1120, King Baldwin established an early legal code for the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Council of Nablus. Here, he also granted patronage to the newly formed Knights Templar. Baldwin gave a portion of his own royal palace, the former Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, to the Templars for their own use. In 1123, while campaigning against the Turks on the frontier of the County of Edessa, King Baldwin was captured in battle by the Emir Balak. Baldwin would be ransomed the following year in 1124, through negotiations conducted by Queen Morphea, Jocelyn of Edessa, and the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1125, a coalition Turkish army led by Il-Bursuki of Mosul and the Emir Toktekin of Damascus invaded the County of Edessa. King Baldwin assembled a coalition army from all four Crusader states, and marched north to meet the enemy. The two forces clashed at the Battle of Azzaz, and despite being outnumbered, King Baldwin led the Crusaders to a smashing victory, in which immense booty was captured. Crusader supremacy re-established in northern Syria. Baldwin set out the following year on his next major project, the Conquest of Damascus. Baldwin and his army defeated the Emir of Damascus at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar, though Baldwin wasn't able to take the city. In 1129, Baldwin II, who was not a young man when he'd been crowned, set about securing the succession of the throne. Having no son, he recognized his eldest daughter, Melasson, as his heir, and arranged for her to marry a powerful Latin nobleman from the west, Fulk, the Count of Anjou. Two years later, Baldwin fell ill and died. His reign had been a time of prosperity, strength, and expansion for the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. By all accounts, he had been a great king, loved by his people, feared and respected by his enemies. My novel, Why Does the Heathen Rage?, follows Baldwin through the pivotal years of 1123-1125, in which he was captured by a Turkish Emir, escaped from a remote castle, and campaigned brilliantly against the Muslims at Azzaz. To experience these adventures, click on the link in the description below the video to pick up a copy of my book, and thanks for watching. Real Crusades History is the best source on the web for the history of the Crusades. Please subscribe to this channel and click on the links to our Facebook and Twitter pages to like and follow us there. If you would like to support our work, click on the donate link in the about box of this video to make a PayPal donation, or go to realcrusadeshistory.com and click on donate.