Baldwin III of Jerusalem

Uncommon card · No. 134860

Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 until his death. Although he only took up sole rule in 1152 and died young, he was the longest-reigning of the 12th-century kings of Jerusalem. He expanded the borders of the kingdom, paved the way for the later kings' attempts to conquer Egypt, and acted as the defender of the other crusader states in the Levant. Baldwin was the eldest son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk. Melisende's father, King Baldwin II, conferred the Kingdom of Jerusalem on the young Baldwin and his parents in 1131, but Baldwin III was only crowned after the death of his father in 1143. Baldwin initially reigned alongside his mother, who was the true ruler of the kingdom. He attempted to assert himself in warfare even before reaching the age of majority at 15, but after an initial military success in quelling a popular rebellion at Wadi Musa in 1144, he suffered a defeat in the Hauran and participated in the Second Crusade's failed attempt...

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