Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was the chief Crusader State in the middle east. It was established in 1099 by the soldiers of the First Crusade, who conquered the city and massacred its Muslim inhabitants. At first, the Kingdom was a loose conglomeration of conquered territories, but as time progressed these amalgamated into a more-or-less cohesive feudal state, often called Outremer by Europeans. A constant influx of Christian pilgrims and crusaders guaranteed both economic prosperity and an uneasy relationship with the Jerusalem's Muslim neighbors.

Because of this constant connection with their European homeland, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is often held up as the birthplace of chivalry, where the barely-civilized western Europeans learned many of chivalric arts from the Muslim peoples. These cosmopolitan habits were then exported them back to their homelands, to the general enrichment of European culture.

Two great monastic orders of chivalry were founded for the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon and the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, better known as the Templars and the Hospitallers. These two orders, both founded in the aftermath of the First Crusade, held great influence in (and long outlived) the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem endured for more than two centuries, although the city of Jerusalem was lost to the Muslims after a siege in 1187. The remnants of the kingdom itself were then governed from a number of coastal cities, mos notably Acre.

The kingdom of Jerusalem ended in 1291 with the fall of Acre: the titular kingship continued within period, but was never more than an appendage to other titles and claims, by kings of Cyprus and of Naples.

Geographic extents and sub-fiefs

To come

• Antioch -- a principality
• Edessa -- a county
• Tripoli -- a county

• Jaffa -- a county

Captured, from the Arabs, in 1100, after the First Crusade, Jaffa became a County,and a vassal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Patriarch of Jerusalem initially claimed it, but it was not until over five years later that it was severed from the crown, and granted to Hugh of Le Puiset. His son, Hugh II, succeeded him, but his rebellion against Fulk and Melisende led to the subdivision of the County into smaller fiefs, and was designated as appenage to Prince Amalric. Later, in 1153, Ascalon was added to the County, after it capture by Baldwin III. Thereafter it remained a royal appenage, until it was granted to Walter of Brienne in 1221, then to the Ibelin family in 1254. With the capture of Jaffa in 1268, the county became titular only.

with lordships of Ramla and Ibelin

• Galilee -- a principality
• Armenian Cilicia -- a principality
• The city of Acre
• The city of Aleppo
• The city and lordship of Beirut

Monarchs of the Kingdom

1099-1100 > Godfrey/Godefroi of Bouillon

1100-1118 > Baldwin I :: brother of Godfrey

1118-1131 > Baldwin II :: "cousin" of Godfrey & Baldwin

1131-1153 > Melisende :: daughter of Baldwin II.

1131-1143 > Fulk V of Anjou, as consort of Melisende, until his death

1143-1162 > Baldwin III :: son of Melisende & Fulk; co-ruler with his mother until 1152

1162-1174 > Amalric I :: brother of Baldwin

1174-1185 > Baldwin IV :: son of Amalric (known as "Baldwin the Leper")

1185-1186 > Baldwin V :: nephew of Baldwin the Leper

1186-1187 > Sybilla :: daughter of Amalric I
1186-1187 > Guy of Lusignan

Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin, 1187

1192-1205 > Isabella I :: daughter of Amalric I ruled with

1192 > Conrad of Montferrat

1192-1197 > Henry of Champagne

1198-1205 > Amalric II

1205-1212 > Maria of Montferrat :: daughter of Isabella and Conrad

1210-1212 > John of Brienne, who then served as regent for

1212-1228 > Yolande (otherwise Isabella II) :: daughter of Maria and John ruled with

1225-1228 > Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

1228-1254 > Conrad II, of Hohenstaufen :: son of Yolande & Frederick

1254-1268 > Conrad III (also known as Conradin) :: son of Conrad II

1268-1284 > Hugh I (formerly Hugh of Antioch) :: regent to Conradin. His claim was challenged by
1277-1285 > Charles of Anjou

1284-1285 > John II :: son of Hugh, and successor to his claim

1285-1291 > Henry II :: brother of John