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He was the son of William IV of Toulouse and Adelaide (the daughter of Pons III of Toulouse ), and the nephew of Raymond IV of Toulouse, Adelaide's brother. Raymond IV had been one of the leaders of the First Crusade and died in the east in 1105, leaving his young son Alfonso-Jordan as lord of Mons Peregrinus and Tortosa and nominal count of Tripoli (which had not yet been captured by the crusaders). Since Alfonso-Jordan was still a child, Raymond's soldiers chose William-Jordan as regent.
Meanwhile in Toulouse, Raymond's elder son Bertrand was ruling in his absence. After Raymond's death the barons of Toulouse chose Alfonso to replace Bertrand, who, now overthrown, travelled to the east, arriving at Mons Peregrinus in 1108 to claim it for himself. There, he quarrelled with William over the inheritance of the Raymond's lordship, and over the regency of still-unconquered Tripoli. William allied himself with Tancred, Prince of Galilee, at the time regent of the Principality of Antioch, while and Bertrand asked Baldwin I of Jerusalem to intervene. Baldwin I, Baldwin of Bourcq, and Joscelin of Courtenay allied with Bertrand and William and Tancred were forced to compromise. Tancred was forced to give up his claim to the County of EdessaThe County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, in a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity (see Edessa). In 1098, Baldwin of Boulogne left the main Crusading army which was travelling south towards An (but was allowed to keep Antioch); William and Bertrand divided Tripoli between them, recognizing Tancred and Baldwin I as their respective overlords.
With the dispute settled, the crusader armies marched on Tripoli and besieged it, with assistance from the GenoeseAlternate uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). Genoa ( Italian Genova (jen'o-vah), Genoese Zena (zay'nah), French Genes is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of Liguria. It has a population of ca. Genua was a city of the ancient Ligurians. fleet. On July 12July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. Events 1690 William of Orange's army wins the Battle of the Boyne as reckoned under Gregorian calendar. 1759 British cannon start firing on Fren, 1109 they captured the city. A short time later William died of an arrow wound sustained during the siege, and the county passed to Bertrand alone.
Crusades