Jerusalem was finally back in the hands of Christians after a gap of 462 years, and the moment they entered the holy city in their hearts, all Christians burst into tears. They went through hardships and hardships in order to be able to fulfill their faith, and the crusaders' efforts were not in vain, and they regained the city of Christ.
With the end of the expedition, there is now also a problem, because most of the knights have left their loved ones, gone through all these years of arduous journeys, and are now desperate to return to their homeland. They completed their oaths and set off to return to Europe, leaving behind a Christian outpost that stood in the sea of Muslims.
When for this place attacked by the Crusaders, who can be the leader of the city is a headache for everyone, because there are many wise leaders in the crusader ranks, and these people are also fighting with each other for power, which can be described as "eight immortals crossing the sea and showing their magic"
Godfrey – A brave and stingy knight
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a stable government and ensure communication with Europe. What they needed was a statesman to build a viable kingdom with the fewest knights, and their current candidate was Godfrey of Bouillon.
Godfrey of Bouillon was already at the top of the crusader ranks, and the ideal knight was humble and steady, refusing to be crowned. This rustic spirit dwarfed even the king. He is a perfect expression of chivalry, a protector of pilgrims and a defender of holy places. Throughout the Middle Ages, along with Charlemagne and King Arthur, he was known as the Three Heroes of Christianity, appearing heroically in the works of Dante and Cervantes, among others.
Godfrey
The truth, however, is sometimes hard to believe, and although Godfrey's bravery and agility in the conquest of Jerusalem were beyond doubt, he proved to be a naïve and inefficient leader, and his lack of personal ability magnified the trouble he encountered. The biggest problem of the Crusader states was the chronic shortage of manpower, and the wise leaders would use their help carefully, but Godfrey trusted those who were not talented and neglected the few powerful people of the Eastern nobility.
Raymond was the only great nobleman left in Jerusalem at the time, but Godfrey was too small to accommodate him. Raymond successfully besieged two towns in the east, but Godfrey, fearing raymond's heightened prestige, refused to acknowledge the other's surrender. This unjustified snub chilled almost all the nobles who remained. They all went home, except for Tancred, who was trying to find a place in Palestine to establish his own state.
By the end of 1099, Godfrey had only 300 knights and about 2,000 infantry left to defend the territory against invasion. However, he also made some progress, successfully forcing some nearby Muslim villages to pay tribute. But with the arrival of Archbishop Dembert of Pisa at the end of December, everything began to come to a standstill.
Greedy Archbishop of Pisa, Dembert
The selection of Dembert to fill the vacancy left by Achimar was one of a series of moves taken before Urban II's death, as there would be few more unsuitable candidates. Urban II mistook the Italian's unusual energy for a talented man and sent him to Spain to assist Alfonso VI in retaking Castile from the Muslims.
Although the mission was successful, the man also gained a reputation for arrogance and greed, and doubts about his corruption never stopped. However, Urban may have been too ill-informed to correct his mistakes, but instead appointed Dembert as a papal envoy, which exacerbated his evil deeds. The archbishop traveled to Jerusalem not to boost morale, but to take a group of lawless Pisa sailors and plunder the Greek islands along the way as a pastime.
The Byzantine emperor was overwhelmed and sent the Imperial Navy in pursuit, and in the end they were lucky to escape, but the experience of this escape made Daimber more convinced that his mission was divine. Like many Crusaders, Daimbert believed that Jerusalem should be governed by the church, not by secular power. His main goal was to give the clergy firm control of the city and to ensure that Godfrey knew his place.
Daimbert's first stop was Antioch, and he was surprised to find bohemmond so amiable. Now Known as the "Prince of Antioch", Bohemond was happy to assist Daimbert. Bohemond promised not only to send his men to ensure Dembert's safety, but also to accompany him to Jerusalem. Daimbert was soon flattered, but Bohemond was so generous because he had his own calculations.
Dembert's ambitions, Bohemond's calculations, Godfrey's plans
Bohemond regretted that he had stayed in Antioch and did not complete the crusade, because it damaged his reputation. In addition, he heard rumors that Godfrey was not in good health and had no heirs. Godfrey showed obedience to the church even in his most energetic time, and now that he is ill, how can he resist the self-absorbed Dembert? Even if Godfrey was a bit spineless, the archbishop would naturally have the right to appoint a successor after his death. Since Daimbert was to become the new power broker in Jerusalem, Bohemond certainly wanted a piece of the pie. Of course, the crusaders who had this idea were not only Prince Antiochus.
Before they left Antioch, Godfrey's brother Baldwin of Edessa also joined with a convoy. Now that Daimbert was about to take two of the most powerful Crusader lords to Jerusalem, Godfrey could hardly escape his fate. What they saw and heard in Jerusalem was more ideal than Daimbert had expected. The position of Patriarch of Jerusalem remained vacant, and Daimbert naturally considered himself the most suitable candidate. Through a series of bribes and conspiracies, he was elected, and the obedient Godfrey publicly bowed to him and swore allegiance.
Daimber, before Godfrey could ease up, asked him to immediately transfer control of Jerusalem and the fortress to him. This was tantamount to leaving Godfrey in self-exile, and if Godfrey agreed, it would be tantamount to handing over everything the Crusaders had bought with blood and lives to a cleric with little military experience. Without the consent of the Patriarch, the Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre could not even draw their swords. Once again, however, Godfrey agreed. This made Dembert, who knew him as a man, unwilling to be frightened by the knights under his leadership, and they tried their best to lobby, but Godfrey was unimpressed, and finally agreed to postpone the practice.
On Easter 1100, Godfrey officially handed over the holy city to Dembert, but said he would retain control of the city until he conquered a suitable city as a substitute. Of course, Jerusalem is irreplaceable, and for Christians, it is the center of the world.
However, from a military point of view, the port city of Acre is a close choice. Located on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in the northwest of present-day Israel, Acre was a key hub between the major Crusader states with strong fortifications and strategic importance. It could replace Jerusalem as a central command, developing an overall strategy for implementation. So Godfrey immediately set about preparing for the siege. The entire kingdom's forces were gathered and they left Jerusalem in a mighty way.
By this time, it had been some time since Bohemond and Baldwin had returned to their respective Crusader states, but the rumors that had attracted them were true. During the months, Godfrey's health deteriorated, a journey beyond his reach, and he was sent back to the capital. Eager to assert his leadership of the army, Daimbert, eager to divide the spoils of war, continued to advance with the army. The archbishop thought his coronation moment was coming, but he made a disastrous mistake. Daimbert's speculation was correct that Godfrey was ill and unable to make any major decisions, but he underestimated Godfrey's condition.
On July 18, 1100, while Dembert was marching toward honor, Godfrey fell ill and died. Despite Godfrey's many flaws as leader, people are genuinely saddened by his departure. Due to the grief of the residents, commercial activities in Jerusalem stopped for a full 5 days. While poor governance may have diluted the excitement of victory, Godfrey remained an iconic figure in the Crusaders who occupied Jerusalem.
However, this respect did not extend to his will about the heirs. Godfrey's wish to hand over the city to Daimbart deliberately ignored Godfrey's wishes and failed to inform the army at Acre of his death. They sent troops to occupy the fort and had the messenger rush to his brother Baldwin in Edessa, asking him to hurry back to Jerusalem to inherit the inheritance. As you can imagine, Daimbert was furious when he heard the wind. However, the interim leader of Jerusalem did not yield as easily as Godfrey. Faced with the bishop's furious admonition, the defenders were unmoved and did not see anything evil in their plans.
In desperation, Daimbert wrote a letter to Bohemond of Antioch, saying that if he could reach Jerusalem before Baldwin, he would make him king of Jerusalem. The bishop's intention was to seduce Bohemond, but he could not control himself in the letter. Calling himself "the leader of the Christian church, the ruler of the nations," he solemnly reminded his Savior that the king of Jerusalem would obey the wishes of the Patriarch.
This approach has proved to be not only unsurpassed, but also in vain. When the messenger arrived at Antioch, Bohemond was not in the city. A few weeks earlier, he had traveled north with 300 men to fight on the upper Euphrates River, but had been ambushed. Realizing that he was about to lose everything, Bohemond cut off his blond hair and asked a soldier to take it to Baldwin. The soldiers managed to sneak out of the Turkic lines and reach the kingdom of Edessab, but Baldwin was too late to rescue them.
Today, Daimbert's protector is squatting in the Turks' prison, waiting for a large ransom to be raised. Daimbert knew he had lost. To his chagrin, Baldwin also declared himself regent of Antioch on the way, arriving in Jerusalem as the most powerful lord of the Crusader states.
Baldwin's abilities
On Christmas Day 1100, at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Daimbert reluctantly crowned the nemesis as the first king of the Crusader states, called Baldwin I. Shortly thereafter, he abruptly left the city. Baldwin I's reign has improved tremendously compared to his predecessors. He was composed, tenacious, and far-sighted, both a fierce and warlike general and a gifted politician. Like many great men in history, he was adept at seizing the moment, believing that the past had an inevitability—what had already happened was destined to happen—a great enemy of learning the lessons of history. The First Crusades are an excellent example.
In the eyes of the Christians in Europe, the crusaders faced astonishing difficulties and achieved great victories, no doubt because of fate. The Crusaders were under god's guidance, and with their firm conviction, they would clear all the obstacles in front of them, and David would eventually defeat Goliath.
Baldwin
In fact, Baldwin was well aware that they were only a minority surrounded by a massive array of enemies. Faced with thousands of enemy troops, they could usually only gather a few hundred knights. Those desperate victories always give the impression that they are invincible fighters, but the Muslim crusade against the infidels is destined to be like a tidal wave, and they are extremely vulnerable in their midst. The only hope was to recruit new recruits from the West, and fortunately for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the unprecedented success of the First Crusade was the best advertisement.
Godfrey's reign was too short to see a propaganda effect, but Baldwin I was delighted to learn that the recruits were on their way to reinforcements. Some of the new Crusaders may not have had time to catch up with the main expedition, while others are skeptical and want to see if the crusade can be successful.
The navies of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa had promised to join the First Crusades, but their preparations also included shipbuilding, so they did not depart until 1101. They were joined by a small number of the crusaders, the most famous of whom was Stephen of Blois. He fled home, considered a coward, and his wife and the Pope ordered him to set off at once to return to the army to fulfill his crusade oath. The vanguard of the arrival of Jerusalem by ship gave Godfrey enough strength to hold Jerusalem for the foreseeable future. Most of the reinforcements came by land.
This is somewhat like a repetition of the First Crusade, led by the Archbishop of Milan and Stephen of Blois, who still maintained good relations with the Emperor Alexei and thus easily passed through Byzantine territory. In Nicomedia, they met Raymond, Count of Toulouse, and decided to take a slight detour to save Bohemond. He became a captive of the Turks, and the whole Christian world was disgraced. Both Stephen and Raymond were fiercely opposed to the plan—both for combat experience and personal reasons—but the army was determined, so they advanced all the way to the Anatolian hinterland.
During the First Crusade, the Turkish Sultan Kilij Arslan suffered heavy losses because he did not seriously consider uniting with his neighbors to resist the Crusaders. This time, he was determined not to let the trivial quarrels brought about by the alliance spoil the big plan, and fiercely fought back against the Crusaders. He united with the nearby Turkish emir and carefully led the overconfident crusaders to his carefully chosen location.
A few days later, he avenged the one-arrow revenge of nearly 4 years ago, and the Crusaders were slaughtered in a frenzy. Stephen, Raymond, and the Bishop of Milan managed to escape, and they may have tried to inform the follow-up troops, but the news did not reach. All crusade reinforcements were annihilated before they reached Antioch. If they could reach Jerusalem safely, Baldwin would have the strength to expand his territory into natural borders that were more defensive. However, it was now impossible to attack the opponent on a large scale, and Baldwin wisely chose to consolidate the existing territory, which was tedious but crucial.
The most important task was to defend the coastline, there were too many ports on the Mediterranean coast, through which both the Turks and egyptians could invade, so its number had to be gradually reduced. The most important port was Askalon, where the Egyptian army could plunder the neighboring areas. If Baldwin could capture it, the Egyptian army would have to cross the blazing Sinai Desert overland to reach Christian territory.
The northern territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was largely guarded by the Principalities of Antioch and Edessa. This means that the remaining threats come mainly from Aleppo and Damascus, two cities that are the main source of attacks by the Turkish army. Baldwin had to get his vassals to cooperate before he could act, an almost impossible task. Tankred is especially tricky. The self-proclaimed Prince of Galilee was appointed regent of Antioch by Baldwin, but refused to give the king any substantial support. He was too busy expanding the territory of the Principality of Antioch to risk his military for the sake of the big picture.
Bohemond's ambitions
Tankred was obviously hopeless, so Baldwin decided to replace him by paying Bohemond's ransom. The Norman prince, who had been in a Turkish prison for 3 years, was increasingly depressed because no one was interested in rescuing him except the incompetent Crusaders and the Archbishop of Milan. Baldwin hoped that Bohemond would thank him and even work with him, but he was soon disappointed. Bohemond had contributed greatly to the Christian crusade, but now his destructive power was equally great.
At first, he asked the Count of Edessa to raid the nearby Emir, but the allies were killed and the Count was captured, resulting in a greatly weakened and dangerous situation in the Principalities of Antioch and Edessab. Instead of trying to make up for the loss, Bohemond abandoned the Principality of Antioch. He appointed his nephew Tancred as regent and then returned to Europe to recruit new Crusaders. He was pleased to find himself a celebrity now.
The story of the Crusaders, and especially the exploits of Bohemond, has become legendary in word of mouth, and European countries have rushed to welcome him. In Italy, wherever he went, he could see crowds cheering him on. In France, Philip I recruited him as his son-in-law. His popularity was so great that King Henry I of England, fearing that too many nobles would follow him, refused him to set foot on his territory.
Bohemond
This is not an unfounded concern, Bohemond has always been charismatic, and now it is famous, which is completely echoed. He had intended to find reinforcements for Antiochus, but the conscripts came flooding in, and a bolder idea sprouted in his mind. The defeat at Aleppo made Bohemond realize that Antiochus could not realize his dream of establishing a powerful kingdom. If so, why didn't he occupy a ready-made country, such as Byzantium?
It's not hard to do that. In countless heroic stories and recounts, the actors of the wicked gradually changed from Muslims in the Holy Land to Byzantines. Heroes like Bohemond needed an enemy of equal stating, and the vile Alexei allowed the nobles to fend for themselves in Antioch, just in time to meet the conditions for being an opponent. The unbelievers were always more hated than the infidels, and the Byzantine Empire thus became the scapegoat for all misfortunes of the past and present. In just three years, Bohemond's men gathered as many as 35,000 men, almost as many as the first Crusade combined.
Abandoning the pretext of helping the Crusader states, he traveled to the coast of Dalmatian and attacked Durrës, now in Albania, the westernmost city of the Byzantine Empire. Despite Bohemond's boldness, his wisdom could not match Alexei's. The Emperor never trusted the Crusaders, believing that their greed would inevitably eventually lead them to target Byzantium. Bohemond finally revealed this truth, and Alexei was not at all surprised, in fact, he had been preparing for this moment for some time.
As the Norman army attacked the coast, instead of trying to stop them, he bribed the Venetian navy to attack Bohemond's ships. The crusaders thus ran aground on enemy territory. Subsequently, Alexei carefully avoided direct conflict with them, but instead kept procrastinating, allowing the difficulty of supply and unhygienic military life to gradually wear down their morale. This strategy worked perfectly.
A few months later, plague and low morale forced Bohemond to sign a truce with Alexei in disgrace, thus discrediting his name. He was then sent to reclaim Antiochus, but only as a vassal of the emperor. The administrators of the city were to be appointed by Constantinople, and Bohemond had to openly swear allegiance to Alexei. At the swearing-in ceremony, he formally handed over all the territories conquered in the East to the Emperor and swore to be his faithful servant.
Bohemond spent his life as a landless man and became a respected figure in western Europe, and this eventual defeat was too embarrassing for him. Antiochus was the culmination of his glorious victory, and he had no face to enter the city as a loser. So he took a boat to Sicily, where he died 3 years later and never set foot in the East. Bohemond was an unreliable example of the Great Crusade nobility. Skilled and resourceful, he eventually weakened Christianity in the East. Those who did not have his talent but were as stubborn and independent as he was were, nor did Baldwin I much help.
Raymond died in disgrace, and the mechanism was exhausted
Raymond of Toulouse still had great strength, but had not yet acquired a piece of his own territory from the Crusades, and he was now trying to attack Tripoli. Located on the Palestinian coast, between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Crusader states in the north, this port is vital to the security of those countries. Tripoli was not conquered during the First Crusade because of its well-fortified fortifications and the Amir was an astute man. He supplied the Crusaders with supplies and turned a blind eye to their plundering of territory. But now that the Kingdom of Jerusalem is established, the crusaders can no longer ignore the threat of Tripoli.
The hardships of the First Crusade did not exhaust Raymond's energy, and while the soldiers were building fortifications, he had already begun to design a huge castle in the hope of cutting off the city's supply and protecting his future capital. Judging by his past performance, he clearly does not lack self-confidence. By the time the siege began, he had called himself the "Count of Tripoli".
For Baldwin I, Raymond's actions meant that another uncontrollable nobleman was weakening his authority. Despite his vigilance, raymond was given the greatest support. The security of Jerusalem is too important for personal gain and loss to be considered later.
Fortunately, Raymond, who had not made good luck since the Crusade, was unlucky again this time. The breakout troops of the Tripoli garrison set the castle on fire, and part of the roof collapsed, severely wounding Raymond. 6 months later, he died. The foolish Raymond thus left the stage of history, but he still left Baldwin with a generous gift. The king himself took command and on 12 July 1109 he attacked the city and established the Kingdom of Tripoli, the last crusader state to be born. The whole process of the siege showed the authority and strength of Baldwin I. He not only succeeded in ending the war, greatly enhancing the presence of the Crusaders in the East, but also ensuring that tripoli's rulers were his vassals and not rivals.
Baldwin gave the city to Raymond's eldest son, Bertrand, who had arrived from the west, and the newcomer needed to rely on Baldwin's support, and the possibility of causing trouble was much less likely. At this point, Baldwin I could be rightly called the outstanding commander-in-chief of the East, but he had not stopped. After the Battle of Tripoli, he continued north to conquer the rest of the coastline.
Baldwin– The end of the crusaders' last leader
With the help of a fleet sent by the Norwegian king Siged, the "Crusader", Baldwin captured Sidon and Beirut in 1110, seizing most of Lebanon from the Muslims. Subsequently, he marched south to clear the coastline. By the end of the year, the Kingdom of Jerusalem controlled almost all of Palestine's coastal areas, with only Tyre and Askalon untaken.
Baldwin I traveled tirelessly and did a lot of thankless work, which greatly drained his energy. Today, he is nearly sixty years old and the only surviving leader of the Crusaders. The changes in previous years have been particularly dramatic. Bohemond's nephew Tancred fell ill in 1112 and died shortly after, the same year as Raymond's son Bertrand.
Then, in 1118, Urban II's successor Pasgar II and Alexei I Komnin, the prominent man behind the First Crusade, also died. In order to suppress the strength of the Fatimid dynasty, the elderly Baldwin began the last part of his life. When he came to the Nile, he was amazed at the number of swimming fish in the river, and the knights could catch a few with a poke of their spears. Overeating at the dinner table that night made him extremely unwell, and even if he rested, he could not get better. It was too late for the class to return. On 2 April 1118, Baldwin I stopped breathing in the Egyptian town of Arish.
Baldwin oil painting
Baldwin existed to make the previously chaotic kingdom of Jesus Salem a strong and stable state, and he worked hard to establish a centralized monarchy. During his years in power, Baldwin accomplished tasks that others thought were impossible, uniting the aristocrats who were constantly arguing over profit. But after the loss of Baldwin in Jerusalem, the hidden dangers of the newly united kingdom began to emerge.
The First Crusade was a relatively successful one, and the expedition cost many Christians their lives, but their faith never cooled. However, the noble leaders of the Crusaders participated in the expedition more for the sake of power in their hands, and did not dare to be Bohemond or Raymond or Baldwin, and their greed for power was beyond the belief in their hearts.
But history will always remember the stories of these people, and the power, greed and ambition they pursued, as well as their contributions to the First Crusade, will be remembered.