Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (; – 21August 1131), was the count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118 and the king of Jerusalem from 1120 until his death. He accompanied his kinsmen, the brothers Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne, to the Holy Land during the First Crusade. He became the second count of Edessa when the first count, Baldwin of Boulogne, left the county for Jerusalem following Godfrey's death. He was captured at the Battle of Harran in 1104. He was held first by Sökmen of Mardin, then by Jikirmish of Mosul, and finally by Jawali Saqawa. During Baldwin's captivity, Prince Tancred of Antioch and Richard of Salerno governed Edessa as his regents.
Baldwin was ransomed by his cousin Joscelin of Courtenay, lord of Turbessel, in the summer of 1108. Tancred attempted to retain Edessa, but Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch, persuaded him to restore the county to Baldwin. Baldwin allied with Jawali, but Tancred and his ally Radwan of Aleppo defeated them at Turbessel. Baldwin and Tancred were reconciled at an assembly of the crusader leaders near Tripoli in April 1109. Mawdud, the Atabeg of Mosul, and his successor, Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, launched a series of campaigns against Edessa in the early 1110s, devastating the eastern regions of the country. Baldwin accused Joscelin of treason for seizing the prosperous town of Turbessel from him in 1113 and captured the neighboring Armenian lordships in 1116 and 1117.
Baldwin I, the first king of Jerusalem, died on 2April 1118. Arnulf of Chocques, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Joscelin of Courtenay, who held the largest fief in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, convinced their peers to elect Baldwin of Bourcq as King Baldwin II. Baldwin took possession of most towns in the kingdom and gave Edessa to Joscelin. After the army of the Principality of Antioch was almost annihilated on 28 June 1119, Baldwin was elected regent for the absent Prince Bohemond II of Antioch. The frequent Seljuq invasions of Antioch forced him to spend most of his time in the principality, which caused discontent in Jerusalem. After Belek captured him in April 1123, a group of noblemen offered the throne to Count Charles I of Flanders, but Charles refused. During his absence, the Jerusalemite troops captured Tyre with the assistance of a Venetian fleet. After he was released in August 1124, he tried to capture Aleppo, but al-Bursuqi forced him to abandon the siege in early 1125.
Bohemond II came to Syria in October 1126. Baldwin gave his second daughter, Alice, in marriage to him and also renounced the regency. Baldwin planned to conquer Damascus, but he needed external support to achieve his goal. He married off his eldest daughter, Melisende, to Count Fulk V of Anjou in 1129. The troops who accompanied Fulk to Jerusalem enabled Baldwin to invade Damascene territory, but he could seize only Banias with the support of the Nizari (or Assassins) in late 1129. After Bohemond II was killed in a battle in early 1130, Baldwin forced Alice to leave Antioch and assumed the regency for her daughter, Constance. He fell seriously ill in Antioch and took monastic vows before he died in the Holy Sepulchre. He had bequeathed the kingdom to Melisende and Fulk. Baldwin had been respected for his military talent, but he was notorious for his "love for money".
Early life
Baldwin's birth year is unknown. It is only known that his father, Count Hugh I of Rethel, was born in the 1040s and Baldwin was already an adult by the 1090s. Baldwin was likely born a younger child of Hugh, possibly being his third son. Baldwin's family spoke the Champenois dialect of Old French, but he was probably illiterate. Baldwin was the lord of Bourcq, a small village to the southeast of Rethel, when he joined the army of his kinsman Godfrey of Bouillon at the beginning of the First Crusade. It is not known why Baldwin took the cross, but the chronicler William of Tyre describes him as very religious; Baldwin had callouses on his hands and knees from frequent prayer.
The army departed for the Holy Land on 15August 1096, and reached Constantinople on 23 December. The Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, urged the crusader leaders to take an oath of fealty to him. Godfrey of Bouillon appointed Baldwin, Conon of Montaigu and Geoffrey of Esch to represent him at a meeting with Alexios in January 1097. After Godfrey and his principal commanders swore fealty to the Emperor, the crusader army was shipped to Asia Minor in February.
Baldwin's cousin Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred of Hauteville broke away from the main army to invade Cilicia around 15September 1097. Baldwin accompanied them in Boulogne's contingent. He also participated in Boulogne's military campaigns against the Seljuq rulers of the fortresses on the plains near the River Euphrates. After seizing Ravendel, Turbessel and Edessa, Boulogne established the first crusader state, the County of Edessa, in early 1098.
Baldwin rejoined the main crusader army, which was marching towards Jerusalem, near Tyre in late May 1099. He and Tancred seized Bethlehem; there was no resistance as the town was inhabited by local Christians. The crusaders laid siege to Jerusalem, and shortly afterwards Baldwin and Tancred captured an elderly Muslim nobleman. After he refused to convert to Christianity, Baldwin's soldiers beheaded him at the Tower of David to frighten the defenders of Jerusalem. Jerusalem fell to the crusaders on 15July. Baldwin left Jerusalem in the retinue of Count Robert II of Flanders in late August. Robert returned to Europe, but Baldwin remained in Syria. Godfrey of Bouillon died on 18July 1100. Baldwin of Boulogne decided to return to Jerusalem to take possession of Godfrey's inheritance.
Count of Edessa
First years
Baldwin was staying in Antioch when Baldwin of Boulogne decided to leave Edessa. He was a military commander of the troops of Bohemond I of Antioch who had recently been captured by Danishmend Gazi. Baldwin of Boulogne summoned Baldwin from Antioch and granted him the County of Edessa. Baldwin swore fealty to Baldwin of Boulogne, who left Edessa for Jerusalem on 2October 1100.
Baldwin married Morphia, the daughter of Gabriel, the Armenian lord of Melitene, which enabled him to consolidate his position among his mainly Armenian subjects. Sökmen, the Artuqid ruler of Mardin, attacked Saruj in early 1101. Baldwin attempted to relieve the town, but Sökmen routed his army, forcing him to return to Edessa. When relating these events, the Armenian historian, Matthew of Edessa, described Baldwin as a coward who was "pitiful in body". Sökmen captured the town, but the fortress resisted his siege. Baldwin went to Antioch to raise new troops before returning to Saruj. He forced Sökmen to leave the town and executed all the townspeople who had cooperated with the Artuqids.
One of his cousins, Joscelin of Courtenay, came to Edessa in 1102. Baldwin granted him lands to the west of the Euphrates. When the Egyptians invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in May, Baldwin of Boulognewho had been crowned king of Jerusalemsent envoys to Tancred (who ruled Antioch) and Baldwin, seeking their assistance. They assembled their troops and marched to Jerusalem together, but by the time they arrived in late September, the Egyptians had returned to their headquarters at Ascalon. The three crusader rulers made a raid against Ascalon, but Tancred and Baldwin soon returned to their realms.
Tancred's ambitions in northern Syria irritated both Baldwin and Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch. They started negotiations with Danishmend Gazi regarding Bohemond's release. Kogh Vasil, the Armenian lord of Raban and Kaisun, and Bohemond's Italian kinsmen contributed to his ransom. Bohemond was set free in May 1103. Baldwin granted villages to the Armenian prelate, Barsegh Pahlavuni, because he wanted to strengthen his position among his Armenian subjects.
First captivity
Baldwin's troops made frequent raids against the fertile plains around Harran. Sökmen and Jikirmish, the atabeg of Mosul, made an alliance and invaded Edessa in May 1104. While their troops were assembling at Ras al-Ayn, Baldwin sent envoys to Joscelin and Bohemond and persuaded them to make a joint attack against Harran. Baldwin, Bohemond and Joscelin went together to Harran and entered into negotiations with the Seljuq garrison for a peaceful surrender. However, both Baldwin and Bohemond wanted to seize the wealthy town and the crusader army started disintegrating because of their conflict.
Sökmen and Jikirmish attacked the crusaders' camp at Harran on 7May. Applying the tactic of feigned retreat, they drew the crusaders into an ambush, capturing Baldwin and Joscelin. Bohemond and Tancred rode to Edessa to save the town. Benedict, Archbishop of Edessa, who was also captured but quickly released, and the Edessene knights elected Tancred regent for the captive Baldwin. Baldwin was first taken to Sökman's tent, but Jikirmish's soldiers broke into it and dragged him away. Joscelin remained in the custody of Sökmen, passing to Ilghazi upon the latter's death. The citizens of Turbessel paid a ransom for Joscelin in 1107.
Jikirmish laid siege to Edessa, but Tancred routed his troops, forcing him to flee. Jikirmish then took Baldwin to Mosul. Tancred captured a Seljuq princess of Jikirmish's household at Edessa. Jikirmish offered to pay 15,000 bezants in ransom, or to release Baldwin in return for her liberty. Bohemond and Tancred preferred the money and Baldwin remained imprisoned. Before his departure for Europe in the autumn, Bohemond appointed Tancred to rule Antioch and their kinsman, Richard of Salerno, was entrusted with the administration of Edessa.
A Turkish soldier of fortune, Jawali Saqawa, captured Jikirmish and seized Mosul in 1107. Joscelin started negotiations with Jawali over the release of Baldwin. Jawali demanded 60,000 dinars and the release of the Muslim prisoners from Edessa. The Seljuq Sultan, Muhammad I Tapar, made the Mamluk Mawdud atabeg of Mosul. When Mawdud laid siege on Mosul, Jawali left his wife in charge and went to the fortress of Qalat Jabar, taking Baldwin with him. Joscelin paid 30,000 dinars to Jawali and offered himself as hostage to guarantee the payment of the balance. Jawali, who needed allies against Mawdud, accepted the offer and released Baldwin in the summer of 1108.
Conflicts
Baldwin went to Edessa after his release, but Tancred demanded his oath of fealty in exchange for the town. Baldwin refused and went to Turbessel. After Tancred carried out a raid against Turbessel, they started peace negotiations, but could not reach a compromise. Baldwin made an alliance with Kogh Vasil against Tancred. Oshin of Lampron also sent troops300 Pecheneg horsemento join them. Their raids against the Principality of Antioch persuaded Tancred to accept the arbitration of the Catholic prelates, who decided in favor of Baldwin; he returned to Edessa on 18September 1108.
In accordance with his treaty with Jawali, Baldwin released most of the Muslim prisoners held in Edessa. He also allowed the Muslim burghers of Saruj to build a mosque, and executed the unpopular rais (or governor) of the town, who was a convert from Islam. Jawali's alliance with Baldwin alarmed Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, the Seljuq ruler of Aleppo, which brought about a rapprochement between Radwan and Tancred. When Jawali launched a military expedition against Aleppo, Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtney joined him, while Tancred came to assist Radwan. Radwan and Tancred routed Jawali, Baldwin and Joscelin near Turbessel in late September 1108.