Baldwin III


Baldwin III,

1130–62, Latin king of Jerusalem (1143–62), son and successor of Fulk. Until 1152 he ruled with his mother, Melisende. In his reign began the decay of Latin power in the East. Edessa fell to the Muslims (1144); the Second Crusade (see CrusadesCrusades
, series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. First Crusade
Origins

In the 7th cent., Jerusalem was taken by the caliph Umar.
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) failed; and Sultan Nur ad-DinNur ad-Din
, 1118–74, ruler of Syria. He was the son of the conqueror Zangi, and he succeeded to power in 1145. He defeated the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor and fought with Baldwin III of Jerusalem.
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 seized (1154) Damascus and N Syria. Baldwin in 1153 took Ashkelon and foolishly directed his policy against the Egyptians rather than the Turks. His brother succeeded as Amalric I.