Home > Amalric I of Jerusalem

Amalric was the son of Fulk of Jerusalem, and the brother of Baldwin III. He was married twice, first to Agnes of Edessa, with whom he had two children, Baldwin IV and Sibylla. With his second wife, Maria Comnena, daughter of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, he had a daughter, Isabella, who became Queen of Jerusalem and married Amalric of Lusignan , afterwards Amalric II.

The reign of Amalric I was focused on Egypt. Both Amalric and Nur ad-Din, ruler of MosulMosul ( Arabic: al Mawsil is a city in northern Iraq. It stands on the right bank of the Tigris River, some 220 miles northwest of Baghdad. The population of the area is largely Kurdish, but the majority of the city's inhabitants are Arabs. In 1987 the ci, AleppoAleppo is also the name of two townships in the U. state of Pennsylvania. See: Aleppo Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Aleppo Arabic alab Tiberian Hebrew l (modern or Ivrit Hebrew Xalav : both mean, and DamascusThis is about Damascus, the capital of Syria. There is also a Damascus, Maryland, a Damascus, Oregon, a Damascus, Pennsylvania, and a Damascus, Virginia. Damascus ( Arabic: Dimashq Dimashq al-Sham al-Sham Tiberian Hebrew Dammeseq Dammseq Sephardi Hebrew D, wanted control of FatimidThe Fatimid Empire or Fatimid Caliphate ruled North Africa from A. 909 to 1171. The term "Fatimite" is sometimes used to refer to citizens of the Empire/Caliphate. The name Fatimid is derived from the name of daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima az-Za caliphs of Egypt; the crusadeThis article is about the historical Crusades and the extended term "Crusade". For the artillery system, see XM2001 Crusader; for the fighter jet, see F-8 Crusader; for the television series, see Crusade. Historically, the Crusades were a series of severars had wanted to conquer Egypt since the days of Baldwin IBaldwin of Boulogne (died 1118), count of Edessa ( 1098— 1100), and first king of Jerusalem (1100—1118), was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, son of Eustace II of Boulogne. As the younger brother of Godfrey and Eustace, Baldwin was originally intended, and even Godfrey of BouillonGodfrey of Bouillon (c. 1060- 1100), Godefroy de Bouillon in French) was a leader of the First Crusade. He was the second son of Eustace II, count of Boulogne, and Ida, daughter of Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine. Early Life He was designated by Duke G had promised to cede JerusalemCapitals in Asia For alternate uses see Jerusalem (disambiguation Jerusalem ( Modern Hebrew: Yerushalayim Biblical Hebrew: Arabic: al-Quds see also Names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christ to the Patriarch Dagobert of Pisa if he could capture Cairo. The capture of Ascalon by Baldwin III in 1153 made the conquest of Egypt more feasible, and the Knights Hospitaller began preparing maps of the possibly invasion routes.

On the other hand, Nur ad-Din wanted Egypt, as it was an important source of trade and also because it would allow him to surround the Kingdom of Jerusalem. For five years Amalric and Shirkuh, the lieutenant of Nur ad-Din, fought a war for the possession of Egypt. In 1164, 1167, and 1168, Amalric unsuccessfully invaded Egypt; the third invasion was a joint naval operation with Emperor Manuel I, which was defeated at Damietta. The war ended when Saladin, the nephew of Shirkuh, set himself up as vizier. In 1171, after the death of the Fatimid caliph, Saladin made himself sultan.

Amalric believed his kingdom was on the verge of being destroyed, and envoys were sent to the West to appeal for help in 1169, 1171 and 1173. In 1170 Saladin attacked the kingdom and captured Eilat, on the Red Sea, but he was more occupied with Nur ad-Din, who tried to limit Saladin's power. Both Amalric and Nur ad-Din died in 1174. Saladin was then able to take power for himself in Syria as well as Egypt, and a series of weak rulers in Jerusalem would eventually lead to the destruction of the kingdom.

Amalric I, the second king to be born in Jerusalem rather than in Europe, was, like his brother Baldwin III, more of a scholar than a warrior. Amalric commissioned William of Tyre to write his history of the kingdom, and he often studied the laws of the kingdom in his leisure time. The Catholic Church did not trust him, and William of Tyre was once astonished to find him questioning, during an illness, the resurrection of the body. He also taxed the clergy, which they naturally opposed. However, he helped maintain both the kingdom and church, and is considered the last of the "early" kings of Jerusalem. His son and successor Baldwin IV was young, weak, and a leper, and the series of regencies and alliances over the following decade would eventually lead to the fall of Jerusalem.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica