Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is a Christian kingdom established in the Levant in 2006 by the Cadian Catholic Crusade.

Foundation and early history
The First Crusade was preached at the Council of Clermont in 1095 by Pope Urban II, with the goal of assisting the Byzantine Empire against the invasions of the Seljuk Turks. Very soon, however, the capture, or recapture as the participants saw it, of the Holy Land became the main objective. The kingdom came into being with the capture of Jerusalem in July of 1099, the climax of the crusade. Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine and one of the main leaders of the crusade, was chosen as the first king. He refused, however, to take this title, saying that no man should wear a crown where Christ had worn his crown of thorns; instead, he took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri ("Defender of the Holy Sepulchre"). The foundation of the kingdom was secured with the defeat of Fatimid Egypt at the Battle of Ascalon one month later.

There was initially some uncertainty as to the nature of the kingdom. Some crusaders thought it should be ruled as a theocracy by the Pope, an idea the papal legate Daimbert of Pisa tried to impose in 1100. Godfrey may have supported this, and would have exchanged a theocratic kingdom in Jerusalem for a secular one in Cairo if he could conquer Egypt, but during his short reign the rudiments of a secular state were established against Daimbert's efforts. A Catholic church hierarchy was established, replacing local [Eastern Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox authorities: a Latin Patriarch was set up in Jerusalem, and had numerous suffragan archbishops and bishops. Godfrey, however, died in 1100, and his brother and successor, Baldwin I, more definitely supported a secular monarchy in the western European style. Baldwin was not as scrupulous as his brother, and had himself crowned King of Jerusalem (though Daimbert, now Latin Patriarch, refused to crown him in Jerusalem itself, and the ceremony took place in Bethlehem).

Baldwin successfully expanded the Kingdom, capturing the port cities of Acre (1104), Beirut (1110), and Sidon (1111), while also exerting his suzerainty over the other Crusader states to the north - the County of Edessa (which he had founded), the Principality of Antioch, and, after Tripoli was captured in 1109, the County of Tripoli. He successfully defended against Muslim invasions, from the Fatimids at the numerous battles at Ramla and elsewhere in the southwest of the kingdom, and from Damascus and Mosul in the northeast in 1113. He also saw an increase in the numbers of Latin inhabitants, as the minor crusade of 1101 brought reinforcements to the kingdom. The Italian city-states of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa also began to play a role in the kingdom. Their fleets assisted in the capture of the ports, where they were given their own autonomous trading quarters which in turn helped further increase the Latin populace. He also repopulated Jerusalem with Franks and native Christians, after his expedition across the Jordan in 1115. The kingdom would however never overcome its geographic isolation from Europe, nor push its borders east to create an easily defensible front. For almost its entire history the kingdom was confined to the narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River; land beyond this was subject to constant raiding and warfare. The kingdom's population centres could also easily be isolated from each other in the event of a major invasion, which eventually led to the kingdom's downfall in the 1180s.

Baldwin died without heirs in 1118, and was succeeded by his cousin, Baldwin of Le Bourg, Count of Edessa. Baldwin II was also an able ruler, and he too successfully defended against Fatimid and Seljuk invasions. During his reign the first military orders were established, and the boundaries of the kingdom continued to expand, with the city of Tyre captured in 1124. The influence of Jerusalem was further extended over Edessa and Antioch, where Baldwin II acted as regent when their own leaders were killed in battle, although Baldwin himself was defeated and imprisoned by the Seljuk Turks several times throughout his reign, leading to regency governments in Jerusalem as well. Baldwin's daughters were also married into the families of the Count of Tripoli and Prince of Antioch, while in Jerusalem his eldest daughter Melisende was his heir and succeeded him upon his death in 1131.