Baldwin IV, Leper King of Jerusalem: The Early Years - DOCUMENTARY

the famous warrior sultan saladin won a victory at hatin that allowed him to conquer the crusader kingdom of jerusalem saladin achieved this spectacular triumph some two years after the death of baldwin iv the leper king of jerusalem had saladin faced baldwin at the battle of hattin would he have gained his famous victory baldwin iv leper and crusader was one of the outstanding commanders of his age and during his life posed a worthy challenge to the valorous sultan in his titanic struggle saladin had considerable advantage he controlled the territory around baldwin's tiny kingdom and he had far larger armies at his disposal what's more the young king also suffered from a great illness leprosy despite his disease and despite the fewness of his men baldwin the leather rode at the head of his knights sword in hand battling saladin's legions on more than one occasion driven by a strong christian faith he was committed to defending jerusalem no matter the cost today we'll delve into the life struggles victories and defeats of this truly remarkable youth who stood against an empire even as he suffered the horrors of leprosy this is real crusades history the life of king baldwin iv the leper king of jerusalem [Music] in the summer of 1161 a baby boy was born to umlrik count of jaffa and his wife agnes of courtney amalric was an important lord in the kingdom of jerusalem a small kingdom established some six decades earlier by frankish knights that is knights from western christian europe as a result of the remarkable victories of the first crusade the purpose of this kingdom was to safeguard those places made holy by the life of christ in particular jerusalem the city where he'd been crucified and risen but the crusader kingdom was surrounded by enemy territory for it existed alongside many powerful muslim states jerusalem 2 was holy to the muslims the location of the night journey of the prophet muhammad thus amul rick's baby was born into a kingdom at war the battleground between christian and muslim in the great struggle known as the crusades amalric's son was christened baldwin named for amalric's older brother who was none other than baldwin iii the king of jerusalem at the baby's baptism the king himself stood as godfather apparently the king joked that for a christening gift he would like to give his little nephew the kingdom of jerusalem at the time this must have seemed unlikely for baldwin iii was young and newly married to a beautiful byzantine princess however two years later king baldwin iii would unexpectedly die childless and his brother amel rick would become the new king as baldwin the third's only brother amul rick was the undisputed heir to the throne of jerusalem and yet the lords and clergy of the high court would not confirm amalric unless he put aside his wife agnes this was not because agnes was unqualified to be queen she was daughter of jocelyn ii of edessa and belonged to one of the kingdom's most prestigious families but her family had lost their ancestral lands in 1144 when the county of odessa was conquered by the powerful turkish ruler zengi of mosul could it be that the high court was concerned that agnes should she become queen might use her influence to expand her family's power at the expense of the traditional noble houses of jerusalem scholars aren't sure but there's no question to become king amalric had to agree to have his marriage with his wife anald [Music] however the high court agreed to recognize the children born previously to amalric and agnes as legitimate this meant the two-year-old baldwin was now in line for the throne as was his older sister princess sevilla baldwin saw little of his mother after her separation from amalric agnes would have only encountered her son on public occasions he saw little of his sister as well for sibila was sent to be educated at the monastery of bethany where her great-aunt jovetta was abbess when prince baldwin was six his father married again the king's new bride was maria comnena a princess from the imperial family of the byzantine empire but there's little evidence of any close relationship between queen maria and her stepson [Music] king amalric wanted to ensure that his son had the best possible education and so he appointed as the boy's tutor william archdeacon of tyre one of the most learned men in the kingdom it was william who first identified illness in young baldwin in his chronicle william recounts with sadness how he came to suspect that baldwin had leprosy [Music] the boy then about nine years old was accordingly committed to my care to be instructed and nurtured in liberal studies while he was under my charge i devoted myself to my royal pupil with vigilant care and watched over him with the solicitude befitting his exalted position he was playing one day with his companions of noble rank when they began as playful boys often do to pinch each other's arms and hands with their nails the other boys gave evidence of pain by their outcries but baldwin although his comrades did not spare him endured it all together too patiently as if he felt nothing at first i suspected that it proceeded from his capacity for endurance and not from lack of sensitivity but when i called him over i discovered that his right arm and hand were partially numb the lad's father was informed of his condition and positions were consulted it is impossible to refrain from tears while speaking of this great misfortune king amalric called on a christian arab physician abu sulaiman dawud to treat his son's illness he employed the physician's brother abu kair to teach the prince to ride war horses this was an essential skill for a frankish ruler who was expected to put on armor and lead his knights into battle in particular a frankish knight had to learn to control his horse with his knees for he would be wielding his shield and his lance as he charged the enemy by all accounts prince baldwin excelled as a horseman at this point he showed no major symptoms of his illness and indeed he would ride alongside his knights for many years to come in the 12th century leprosy was thought to be contagious and curable only by god but the franks believed in a certain holiness in the seriously ill people were frightened of catching the disease but they also sought to care for lepers with charitable works in the 1140s the order of saint lazarus was established in the kingdom of jerusalem to minister to lepers this order contained knights who'd contracted leprosy and who would continue to fight until they became too ill amalric must have worried that disease might hinder his son from performing his future role as king he was keenly aware of the precarities of the royal line his father full had died in a hunting accident and his brother baldwin iii had succumbed to illness at only 33 years of age but then it was amalrick himself who died unexpectedly he was campaigning leading his army against the fortress of banias where he accepted favorable peace terms with the government of damascus as the christian army struck camp the king complained that he didn't feel well by the time they reached tiberius he was suffering from dysentery and once they arrived in jerusalem amalric was seriously ill there the king died on july 11 1174 he was 38. at the death of the king the high court convened bringing together all the important lords and clergymen of the kingdom prince baldwin was endorsed unanimously as the new king of jerusalem this was no mere formality the high court was the most important governing body in the kingdom of jerusalem all members of the high court the king included had to abide by its decisions it was not yet certain that baldwin had leprosy he had early symptoms of the disease but showed no outward manifestations or disabilities associated with the illness baldwin was 13 when he took the throne he was crowned on monday july 15th 1174. this date was chosen intentionally as it marks the 75th anniversary of the crusader conquest of jerusalem in 1099 the crown was placed on the boy's head by the patriarch and he was enthroned in the church of the holy sepulchre as baldwin iv sixth latin king since the founding of the kingdom william of tyre must have beamed with pride at this moment in his chronicle he offers a memorable portrait of the new monarch he was calmly of appearance for his age and far beyond the custom of his forefathers he was an excellent horseman and understood the handling of horses he had a very good memory and loved conversation he was economical but always remembered both favors and injuries in every respect he resembled his father not alone in his face but in his entire meaning even his walk and the tones of his voice were the same his intellect was keen but his speech was somewhat halting like his father he eagerly listened to history and was well disposed to follow good advice baldwin iv's kingdom was considerable and prosperous but also precariously positioned the frankish crusader states included the whole coastal territory of syria and palestine from the amanus mountains to the sinai desert in the north the principality of antioch and the county of tripoli were independent though they cooperated closely with jerusalem the kingdom of jerusalem stretched from trans-jordan in the southeast with its great castle of kerak to gaza and ascalon in the southwest from there it stretched north all along the coast including many important port cities jaffa asaf acre tyre said on and beirut it included the area around the sea of galilee with its principal fortress of tiberias and of course it included the sacred cities of jerusalem and bethlehem to the west of the dead sea however the kingdom was dwarfed by the great empire of saladin who ruled the wealthy lands of egypt as well as important muslim territories in syria such as the emirate of damascus nevertheless at the time of baldwin the fourth's ascension the kingdom of jerusalem was strong and economically prosperous its coastal cities were a crucial trading hub in the mediterranean where muslim christian and jewish merchants all did good business members of all faiths lived well within crusader territory practicing their own rights and governing their own affairs so long as they maintained allegiance to the frankish kings castles along the eastern and southern frontiers protected the territory from invasion but there were vulnerabilities in the kingdom's defenses especially when facing an enemy as powerful as saladin [Applause] recently saladin had emerged as the most substantial antagonist of the crusaders a kurd born in what is today iraq saladin rose from humble origins to become prominent at the zengid court in syria eventually he rebelled against his zinged masters and established his independence as the sultan of egypt here saladin was well positioned to expand his power for egypt was rich and could support enormous armies shrewd and endlessly adaptable saladin proved to be a highly capable ruler as well as a brave and cunning military commander he was also a man of deeply felt faith profoundly inspired by his muslim religion for him the crusader states were an abomination and he vowed to avenge the conquests of the first crusade by driving the franks into the sea at 13 baldwin iv was still considered a minor the high court appointed a regent to govern until the king turned 15 raymond iii count of tripoli a relative of baldwin's raymond was a powerful lord in the kingdom married to the princess of galilee whose lands he held as well as his own county of tripoli william of tyre leaves behind a vivid description of him he was a slight built thin man he was not very tall and he had a dark complexion he had straight hair of a medium color and piercing eyes he carried himself stiffly he had an orderly mind was cautious but acted with vigor he was restrained in his eating and drinking and although he was liberal to strangers he was not so affable toward his own men when raymond became regent baldwin's mother agnes also returned to court while the late amalrick's wife maria retired to her thief at nablus agnes began to wield considerable influence at her son's court having been absent from her son's life agnes tried to build a relationship with baldwin historian bernard hamilton says baldwin no doubt welcomed the presence of his attractive and capable mother who was genuinely concerned about his health and whom he could trust to take charge of his household efficiently given the circumstances of his childhood his relationship with her must have been more like that between nephew and aunt than between son and mother it was during this period that william became archbishop of tyre appointed by raymond in 1174. also agnes gave the archbishopric of caesarea to a clergyman called heracleous the chronicler ernell says that heraclius was her lover and this sensational story has become widely known but it's impossible to verify and originates with one of agnes's political enemies meanwhile saladin continued to expand his power ever since the death of his greatest rival his old master nur adeem of the zenger dynasty saladin chipped away at zengir holdings in syria after seizing damascus saladin went to war with taking who ruled aleppo on behalf of noor adin's son assali he captured homs from the zengits as well as kaphatab and marat anuman at last saladin agreed to a truce with the zengits but aleppo seemed liable to fall eventually into the sultan's power [Music] during this time raymond of tripoli failed to act militarily to check saladin's progress rather than allying with the zengits raymond made a truce with saladin in 1175 which william of tyre describes as not to our advantage william's judgment seems sound for saladin had written to the abbasid caliph in baghdad claiming that his wars against the zengids were only a means to unite all of islam so that he might attack the franks and restore jerusalem to muslim rule [Music] in 1176 baldwin turned 15 and raymond's regency came to an end by now the king was showing signs of his leprosy especially in his face hands and feet william of tyre says that his subjects were distressed whenever they looked at him one of saladin's chroniclers imaad adin made note of this writing the franks were concerned to keep him in office but they took no notice of his leprosy the king's illness made the high court especially eager to contract a marriage for his sister sibila in 1176 the court arranged a match between sebilla and william longsword marquis of montforat as cousin to both the holy roman emperor and the king of france longsword was a politically excellent choice for sybilla's one day consort however within a year william longsword fell ill and died leaving the 17 year old sebilla pregnant with his child this only compounded the problem for longsword's death extinguished the idea that he might step in as the strong leader the kingdom required when baldwin the leper eventually died sibylla's pregnancy meant that her next husband would have to accept that his own children would be unlikely to inherit the kingdom and few of christendom's great noblemen would be eager to enter into such an agreement meanwhile saif ardeen of mosul another of noor ardeen's zengid heirs organised a new coalition against saladin including the emirs of sinjar and mardin this obliged saladin to bring his army again into syria since he was at peace with the crusaders saladin marched unopposed through transjordan he met saif addin of mosul and his allies in battle at tel al-sutan near aleppo in april 1176. the fighting was fierce but saladin emerged the victor and advanced on aleppo the ruler of aleppo gumus taking struck an alliance with the crusader prince of antioch bowman iii as part of the peace gumoshtakin released frankish prisoners held in his dungeon among them a frankish lord who'd been imprisoned for some fifteen years reynald of shattiyan and jocelyn iii of courtney king baldwin's uncle prior to his imprisonment reynold of chattayon had been a force to be reckoned with a fierce warlord who historian bernard hamilton describes as a controversial figure now free at last reynold would once again assume a prominent position in the crusader kingdom and would play a key role in the reign of baldwin iv saladin seemed poised to conquer aleppo he captured the castle of azat and closed the noose around the great zengid city however abruptly he called off his campaign and made a truce with the zengits that included the restoration of bazaars what caused saladin to pull back when he was so close to victory in fact it was events at jerusalem that had snagged saladin's attention for on july 15th 1176 baldwin the leper officially attained his majority and acquired full powers as king of jerusalem one of the young king's first acts as an independent ruler was to refuse to renew raymond of tripoli's peace treaty with saladin a new era was beginning baldwin the leper would not maintain the restrained policies of his regent he wanted to take the fight to the enemy baldwin was about to make a bold move that would surprise even saladin we'll find out what that is next time [Music] we'll continue with the history of king baldwin the leper in the next video click on the video linked on your screen right now to see what happens next [Music]

Channel: Real Crusades History

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Keywords: baldwin iv, king baldwin iv, baldwin iv of jerusalem, king baldwin and saladin, leper king of jerusalem, leper king of Jerusalem documentary, crusades history, crusades documentary, medieval history, amalric of jerusalem, sultan saladin, king baldwin vs saladin, baldwin vs saladin, sibylla of jerusalem, princess sybilla, raynald of chatillon, leper king crusades, leper king of jerusalem baldwin, king baldwin face, king baldwin the leper, king baldwin scene, ayyubids

Id: _ByJavijkKM

Length: 21min 10sec (1270 seconds)

Published: Tue May 03 2022