Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem

Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem feudal state created by leaders of the First Crusade (see Crusades ) in the areas they had wrested from the Muslims in Syria and Palestine. In 1099, after their capture of Jerusalem, the Crusaders chose Godfrey of Bouillon king; he declined the title, preferring that of defender of the Holy Sepulcher, but with his election the kingdom may be said to have begun. His brother and successor, Baldwin I , took the royal title. He and his successors were nominal overlords of the principality of Antioch and the counties of Edessa and Tripoli, which, with the royal domain of Jerusalem, constituted the great fiefs of the kingdom. Jerusalem itself contained the counties of Jaffa and Ashqelon, the lordships of Krak, Montreal, and Sidon, and the principality of Galilee.

Due to its existence during the height of feudalism , the kingdom was based on the purest forms of feudal theory. The kingship was elective, and the Assizes of Jerusalem, the law of the country, reflected the ideal feudal law. In practice, however, irregularities soon appeared, and the kings actually were chosen on dynastic considerations. The great feudal lords rarely felt bound to their overlord in the chronic struggles of the Latins among themselves and with the Mamluks of Egypt, the Seljuk Turks, and the Byzantine emperors. The rise of the great military orders, the Knights Templars , the Knights Hospitalers , and the Teutonic Knights , as well as the intrusion of new Crusaders further undermined the royal authority.

Edessa, captured by the Seljuks in 1144, was the first Latin state to fall to the Muslims. The subsequent Crusades did not halt the Muslim advance, and in 1187, Jerusalem itself fell to Sultan Saladin after his victory at Hattin. The city was partially recaptured in 1229 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, but permanently lost in 1244. The Crusades of Louis IX of France and Edward I of England were failures, and in 1291, Akko, the last Christian stronghold, fell.

The kings of Jerusalem of the house of Bouillon were Baldwin I (reigned 1100-1118) and Baldwin II (reigned 1118-31). The crown then passed to the Angevin dynasty, beginning (1131) with Fulk and ending (1186) with Baldwin V. On Baldwin V's death the title passed to Guy of Lusignan and then to the successive husbands of Isabella, daughter of Amalric I: Conrad, marquis of Montferrat; Henry, count of Champagne; and Amalric II, king of Cyprus. In 1210, John of Brienne received the title; his son-in-law, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, crowned himself King of Jerusalem in 1229. After Frederick's death (1250) the title was held by members of various families that had a claim to it, notably the kings of Cyprus, the Angevins, and the houses of Lorraine and Savoy.

For later history, see Jerusalem .

Bibliography: See studies by M. Benvenisti (1970), J. Riley-Smith (1973), and J. Richard (2 pts., 1978).

Jerusalem A city that derives its unique importance as a holy site for three world religions. For Christians, it is the site of the cruxifixion of Jesus Christ. But since the Middle Ages they have laid no territorial claims over the city, and instead were content to ensure access to their holy sites. After Mecca and Medina, with its Al-Aqsa Mosque it is the third most important holy site for Islam. Since it was made the capital of King David's kingdom around 1,000 bc, it has been at the epicentre of Jewish cultural, social, and religious consciousness. Due to Jewish immigration, a majority of its growing population was Jewish from c.1875. The UN intended it to be an international city in 1947, in order to ensure free access for all three religions. After the Israeli war of independence (1948–9), its larger, western half came under Israeli control, while the eastern half, which included the holiest site for the Jews, the Wailing Wall, came under Jordanian control. The eastern half was occupied by Israel together with the West Bank during the Six Day War of 1967. Since then, the future of the city has been the most contentious issue in negotiations for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Significantly, it was left out of the negotiations that led to the Oslo and Gaza-Jericho Agreements, and failure to reach an agreement on Jerusalem in January 2001 led to the final breakdown of the Wye Agreements. In the meantime, throughout the 1990s, successive Israeli governments promoted the building of new Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas, a move which sparked off a new Intifadah in 2000. By 2002, the city contained a Palestinian minority of around 28 per cent out of a total population of around 600,000.