Defense of Outremer

Baldwin I

He had to fight Duqaq of Damascus on the way to his coronation.
On the coast, only Jaffa and Haifa recognised Jerusalem and neither had a harbour.
He installed a new County of Edessa and centralised territory, keeping the royal demense.
He fought the Turks at Galilee in 1113, Egyptions at the 3 battles of Ramla, and built castles.
Egypt invaded 10 times, and the last battle of Ramla was a Frank-massacre.
Seaports such as Arsulf, Caesurea, Acre, Biereut and Sidon were taken.
Tancred captured Latakia and campaigned constnatly in Northern/Eastern Syria.
B1 protected the northern states in 1115 against Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus.
He also had to protect pilgrims. Tyre and Ascalon did not fall until B1's death.

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Castles defended ports (Latakia in Antioch) and Jerusalem (stop Egpyt).
They were used for consolidation and submission initially from 1100-1115.
After, they were used for administration once Outremer was secure.
Finally they were used to protect from NAD and Saladin in the 1160s.
They could not stop an enemy, though, and they required an army.
Without natural borders, castles were important.
Castles in Tripoli were used for aquisition of new territory.
Fortified towers, enclosed castles, enclosed castles with keeps, concretic castles spur castles and fortified towns were used.

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Greater Muslim threat and more donations received
Established initially to protect pilgrims but they developed a military role.
1172, Henry II of England paid for 200 knights to spend a year in Jerusalem
Order knights were seen as soldiers more than pilgrim escorts and they fought more often.
Previously they had worked in hospital and temple foundations peacefully.
1127, Hugh of Payns gained papal endorsement for the Templars.
This gave it publicity and created donations.
They used volunteers such s Fulk of Anjou then created the first permanent army.
Clairvaux praised the Templars in his book ‘in praise of the knighthood’ - they were endowed by the church and theologically accepted.

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Stationed at castles such as Bethgibelin to garrison, 25 for Hospitallers and 17 for Templars. At Antioch, 200 were sent to stop Nur Al-Din in 1149.
Baldwin II gave the Templars his palace at Jerusalem on the temple of Solomon.
The Hospital of St John and the Order of St Lazarus also developed.
While they started with humble origins, they became more military based and fought more often. The Hospitallers took part in King Amalric’s raids in Egypt.
A letter from the seneschal of the temple suggest there were 120 knights and 1000 soldiers. Battle of Hatin, 230 Hospitallers lost.
Hospitallers became in debt from fighting Egypt with 500 knights and 500 turcopoles.
Raymond of Tripoli trusted them to garrison his castles when he was a regent.
Jacob’s ford castle was given on the condition that it would be garrisoned.

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Donations from the west received from Eleanor of Aquitaine’s port of La Rochelle as a base in 1139 and a base from the Duke of Brittany in 1141 in Nantes.
Kings used taxes to raise money for the orders and sent soldiers.
1184, Henry II and Philip II of France created a tithe
Pope Celestine II published an 1144 bull granting a 1/7 indulgence to donators to the Templars.
Not at their height until the 13^th century, their early impact was negligible.
Sponsors were given spiritual rewards and prayed for by the order.
Orders owned property in Western Europe, with gave 1/3 of its funds to the orders.
Hugh of Payns, who led the templars, brought financial aid from the West and raised the Templar profile.

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Alexius requested Western aid- Constantinople was seen as a base.
They fought together against the Turks in 1138 and Egypt in 1177.
Antioch was claimed by Alexius and John Commnenus.
1137, there was an attack on Antioch over Princess Constance's husband.
They intermarried to avoid a Turkish invasion- B3 married Theodora, Manuel married Maria of Antioch, Amalric married Maria. (Maria and Theodora were realted to Manuel)
When Manuel died, his sucessor Andronicus allied with Saladin.
1110, Antioch was invaded 6 times by Byzantium.
They sold land so they must have co-operated.

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This was critical in establishing the crusader states, since they provided settlers in crusades.
1122-24, Pope Calixtus authorised a crusade to help Baldwin II consolidate Tyre (captured 1124.); BIII offered pilgrims money to attack Ascalon in 1153, captured; 1157-8 Count Thierry of Flanders took knights to the holy land, removing the blockade at Krak des chevaliers and fighting the Damascenes and taking Harenc.
Only 700 knights in Jerusalem, showing chronic lack of manpower.
The aid diminished and key crusader strongholds were taken.
Help requests were often ignored- Reynald of Chatillon appealed to Louis VII for help.
None was sent and Raymond of Antioch died.

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The west was also preoccupied with Becket’s murder and Henry’s family rebelling.
Patriarch Heraclitus of Jerusalem went to Europe in 1184, meeting with General Frederick Barbarossa of Germany and Phillip II of France and Henry II of England to ask for a crusade.
He was ridiculed, ignored and only received a handful of recruits.
The eastern Latins gained a poor reputation for being duplicitous.
Only had 2000 knights compared to 6000 who set off.
1174, Nur al-din took Banyas: 1179, armies were defeated at Banyas forest and Marj Ayun and Saladin took the castle at Jacob’s ford.

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