3/14/2024 0 Comments Order of saint lazarus mask![]() ![]() Unfortunately, the Count of Flanders, who had arrived from the West with a large contingent of fighting men, thought he should be made King of Egypt if he helped conquer it, and the coalition fell apart. He hoped to capitalize on disaffection among Salah-ad-Din's Shiia, Arab subjects and their resentment of a Kurdish, Sunni usurper by jointly attacking Egypt. Although Salah-ad-Din would need almost ten more years to consolidate his position and eliminate all his rivals, he had effectively united Shiia Egypt and Sunni Syria under his rule by 1177 - and to bolster his own legitimacy he declared jihad against the Christian states in the Holy Land.īaldwin IV sought to counter the rise of Salah-ad-Din by following his father's policy of close cooperation with the Byzantine Empire. The death of the Sultan of Damascus in 1174 opened the way for Salah-ad-Din to seize control in Damascus as well, while Nur-ad-Din's legal heir fled to Aleppo in fear for his life. The Kurdish general Salah-ad-Din had first murdered the Vizier in Cairo and then, on the death of the Fatimid Caliph, declared Egypt Sunni. Meanwhile, the enemies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were getting stronger. Unfortunately, William died in the summer of 1177, leaving Sibylla pregnant at age 17. In fact, Tripoli had already arranged a marriage for her with William de Montferrat, a man from a powerful north Italian family. Given his illness, however, and the certainty that he would not sire a successor, the most pressing business of the Kingdom was the marriage of Baldwin's heir, his older sister Sibylla. Tripoi appears to have been sidelined, but not in anyway humiliated. ![]() He took the reins of government for himself and signaled this by calling his mother back to court and placing his maternal uncle, Joscelyn of Edessa, into the powerful position of Seneschal of Jerusalem. In the summer of 1176, Baldwin turned 15 and so attained his majority. Notably, at this time Baldwin could still move and above all ride without apparent impediment. Lazarus.īecause Baldwin was still a minor (13) at the time of his father's death, the Kingdom was placed in the care of a regent, Raymond of Tripoli, himself a descendent of Baldwin II and one of the most powerful barons in the crusader states. Baldwin was elected King by the High Court of Jerusalem despite the fact that it was customary for barons and knights afflicted with leprosy to be required to join the Knights of St. In 1174, Baldwin's father died unexpectedly of dysentery on his way back from a campaign against Nur ad-Din, the Sultan of Damascus. However, initially, Baldwin retained the use of his other limbs and did not suffer from noticeable disfigurement. According to Tyre, the leprosy first manifested itself as a lack of feeling in Baldwin’s right hand. In 1167, Amalric remarried, this time to the Byzantine Princess Maria Comnena.Īt about this same time, Baldwin was diagnosed with leprosy by his tutor William, Archdeacon and later Archbishop of Tyre. They remained at court with their father. ![]() Agnes was duly disposed of, but Amalric's children of his marriage, two-year-old Baldwin and his year-older sister Sibylla, were explicitly recognized as legitimate. However, the High Court of Jerusalem refused to acknowledge him as king unless he first set aside his wife Agnes de Courtney. What follows is a brief biography.īaldwin was born in 1161, the second child of Prince Amalric of Jerusalem, the Count of Jaffa and younger brother of King Baldwin III. Just two years latter, Baldwin III died childless, and Amalric as his closest male relative was the natural candidate as his successor. Baldwin IV was the sixth King of Jerusalem, and he came to power in a critical point in the history of the crusader states. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem has gone down in history as "the Leper King," but reducing his reign to his illness is a great injustice. ![]()
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