The Leper King | The Defender of Jerusalem | Baldwin IV

In the annals of history, certain figures stand out, not just for their royal lineage, but for their extraordinary courage and resilience in the face of adversity. One such remarkable monarch was Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, famously known as the Leper King. Despite his debilitating illness, Baldwin IV's reign in the 12th century marked a period of unwavering determination, military prowess and unparalleled leadership in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Even though Baldwin was a leper, he was primarily a knight in character and in upbringing, and to contemporaries, his most distinctive traits were his courage and honourableness. With enemies such as Saladin, King Baldwin of Jerusalem would need to fight in ferocious battles in order to protect the Kingdom. This is his story. The First Crusade was sparked by Pope Urban II's call for a holy war to reclaim Jerusalem from Muslim control. Responding to the plea for assistance from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios I, who had lost territory to the Seljuk Turks, in response, armies from various European regions were mobilised to combat the Muslims, leading to the liberation of the Levant. Following this victory, many Europeans returned home triumphant, while others opted to remain. Those who stayed established the four distinct Crusader states, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Edessa, the County of Tripoli, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin IV came into the world in the year 1161, six decades after the establishment of the Latin States. His father King Amalric held the title of namely Jaffa and Ascalon. Not long after Baldwin's birth, in the year 1163, Amalric ascended to the throne as the King of Jerusalem. At the age of nine, Baldwin was entrusted by his father to William of Tyre, the knowledgeable Archbishop who took charge of Baldwin's education. Under William's guidance, Baldwin delved into the realms of warfare, history and theology. William would notice that unlike other children on the playground, Baldwin did not cry when pinched by his peers. After a while, it became apparent to the tutor that Baldwin could not feel pain in his right arm. The King enlisted the expertise of Arabs to tend to Baldwin, teaching him the vital skill of horse riding, essential for any Frankish nobleman. With sensation limited to just one hand, Baldwin had to master the art of controlling the horse in battle using only his knees. Despite this handicap, he persevered and became a master in horse riding, showcasing remarkable determination and skill. Baldwin's tutor William suspected the young prince had leprosy, but there were no visible symptoms yet and physicians hesitated to diagnose because of the stigma the boy would face. Eventually, he was confirmed to have leprosy, an illness he would later become famed for. Upon discovering Baldwin's affliction, King Amalric made considerable efforts to conceal the condition. Leprosy throughout history carried significant stigma due to a lack of understanding regarding its exact causes. Various misconceptions prevailed, some viewed it as a sexually transmitted disease, others perceived it was divine punishment, while a common belief was that it could be transmitted merely by close proximity. While there is some truth to this last notion, individuals suffering from leprosy were often isolated from the rest of society. King Amalric attempted to assert control over Egypt, which had neglected to pay tribute, aiming to weaken the rising power of Muslim kingdoms. He would seek assistance from the Byzantines in this endeavour. Despite his efforts, Egypt remained unconquered, leaving an opening for the Muslim world to retaliate against the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Tragically, during a military campaign against Egypt, King Amalric succumbed to dysentery, marking a significant loss for the kingdom. In the year 1174, at the tender age of 13, Baldwin IV ascended to the throne of Jerusalem after the death of his father. He was crowned on the 75th anniversary of the First Crusade's seizure of Jerusalem. He was entrusted to the guidance of a regent, Raymond III, the Count of Tripoli. As he matured, Baldwin displayed remarkable leadership skills, recognising that he wouldn't have heirs due to condition. He took protective steps to secure the future of his lineage. In the year 1176, upon reaching adulthood, he orchestrated a strategic marriage for his sister, Sibylla, with William of Montferrat, a member of a prominent Italian family. Tragically, William passed away shortly after their union, leaving Sibylla widowed. Despite this loss, she discovered she was carrying his child, and later, gave birth to a son. While under the regency, it became evident that the king had contracted leprosy. The source of his infection remained uncertain, but it likely came from someone he spent considerable time with, someone whose symptoms were not immediately apparent. Puberty might have hastened the progression of the more severe leprotomous form of the disease, which consists of spongy tumour-like swellings to appear on the face and body. Surprisingly, unlike the prevailing custom, and much to the astonishment of Muslim onlookers, Baldwin was never isolated from his subjects. This could be due to the fact that disease progression is extremely slow, and signs of infection may not appear for years. On the second anniversary of Baldwin's coronation, on the 15th of July in the year 1176, Baldwin reached the age of majority, and Raymond's regency lapsed. In this era, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, was deeply engaged in consolidating the Muslim world under a combination of military campaigns and strategic alliances. His ambition was to unify all Muslim territories under a single banner. To achieve this goal, he declared himself the champion of Jihad, a sacred struggle aiming to protect Islam and expel the Christians from the Holy Land through a holy war. Baldwin, although living with a terrible affliction, was still a soldier, and this was evident through his mental fortitude. Saladin had waged his own war against the Order of Assassins. The Assassins were acknowledged and feared by the Crusaders and Saladin even saw their order as too powerful to ignore. Regardless, while Saladin was distracted, the young King Baldwin raided in modern day Lebanon, where they defeated the garrison of Damascus, forcing Saladin to abandon his campaign. Saladin, however, would soon plan his invasion of Jerusalem. Learning of Saladin's plans, Baldwin left Jerusalem with only 375 knights to attempt a defence at Ascalon, but Baldwin was stalled there by a detachment of troops sent by Saladin. Saladin left part of his army to besiege Gaza and a smaller force at Ascalon and marched northward with the rest of his men. Saladin continued his march towards Jerusalem, thinking King Baldwin would not dare follow him with so few warriors. Because Baldwin was supposedly not a danger, he allowed his army to be spread out over a large area, pillaging several cities. However, unknown to Saladin, the forces he had left to subdue the king had been insufficient and now both Baldwin and the Templars were marching to intercept him before he reached Jerusalem. The Christians, led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, pursued the Muslims along the coast, finally catching their enemies. This would culminate in the Battle of Monchizard in the year 1177. King Baldwin would order the relic of the True Cross to be raised in front of his troops. The king, whose teenage body was now ravaged with aggressive leprosy, was helped from his horse and dropped to his knees before the cross. He prayed to God for victory and rose to his feet to cheers from his men, who were moved by what they had just witnessed. King Baldwin's army launched a sudden assault on the hastily assembled Muslim forces, causing significant losses. King Baldwin, despite his debilitating condition, fought bravely with his hands bandaged to conceal his sores and was in the thick of the fighting. Saladin's men were quickly overwhelmed. Baldwin of Jerusalem pursued Saladin until nightfall Saladin himself only avoided capture by escaping on a racing camel, with most of his men being killed. This significant victory would make the teenage Leper King a living legend, having crushed Saladin in battle. During the winter of the year 1177, the king's sister Sibylla, who had been widowed, welcomed a son named Baldwin, in honour of her brother the king. A year of formal mourning for the child's late father William ended in June in the year 1178, signalling the appropriate time to consider a new husband for her. Baldwin arranged for Sibylla to marry a Poitouvan knight, Guy of Louisiane. King Baldwin then proposed a two-year truce with Saladin, who was glad to accept, in order to campaign freely in northern Syria. However, shortly after the peace agreement in the year 1179, Saladin again invaded the Crusader states. He would send horseback raiders forces to ruin crops. The farmers would be impoverished due to the Saracen raiders and were unable to pay their rent to their Frankish overlords. Unless stopped, Saladin's destructive policy would weaken the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. In response, Baldwin would ally himself with the Order of the Knights Templar and would march towards Saladin, who was in the city of Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. From the eastern side of the coastal range, the Crusaders saw Saladin's tent in the distance. This would culminate in the Battle of Marj Ayun. King Baldwin of Jerusalem decided to attack at once. They would easily defeat the Saracen soldiers who were returning from their raids. Believing the battle won, Baldwin and the Templars would let their guard down. The Templars would move to some high ground and would rest from their hurried march earlier in the day. Suddenly, Saladin's army attacked the Crusaders, slaughtering them. The Grandmaster of the Templar Order was captured and King Baldwin, barely escaped, unable to mount a horse because of his crippling disease. He was carried to safety by a knight and his bodyguard cut a bloody path through the Saracens. For the King himself, the battle revealed the deterioration of his physical condition. He could no longer command his armies from horseback. Again, in the year 1180, Saladin arranged a truce between himself and the two Christian leaders, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raymond III of Tripoli, to prevent bloodshed. But two years later, in the year 1182, Lord Renald of Chatillon ruthlessly attacked Muslim caravans passing through his lands on their way for pilgrimage, breaking pacts for the safe passage of pilgrims. Resenting this violation of the truce, Saladin immediately assembled his army and prepared to strike. However, King Baldwin, although extremely sick, was an excellent war general and although his days on the battlefield were over, his instincts when it came to commanding men were excellent and he won the Battle of Le Forvelet. Despite the intense heat and the severity of his illness, Baldwin's troops were unwaveringly loyal to him, conveying the King's brilliance. In the year 1183, Baldwin lost the ability to walk without support and use his hands. His inability to blink led to drying of his cornea, resulting in blindness. Meanwhile, as Saladin's forces advanced, Baldwin's condition worsened, leading to a life-threatening fever. Summoning the High Council to his bedside, Baldwin handed over the reigns of the government to his brother-in-law Guy, who stood next in line to succeed him. Worried about the potential unrest among his barons, Baldwin neglected to provide Guy with any military leadership experience before appointing him as regent. This lack of preparation became evident when the influential lords of the kingdom, along with the autonomous rulers of Antioch and Tripoli, as well as the Grand Masters of the military orders, refused to collaborate with Guy. Unexpectedly, Baldwin's health improved, prompting his return to Jerusalem. Discovering that the coastal climate suited his well-being, Baldwin proposed a trade, offering Jerusalem to Guy in exchange for Tyre. However, Guy bluntly declined, possibly enticed by Tyre's greater economic prospects, leaving Baldwin deeply offended. In the year 1183, Saladin laid siege to the castle of Kerak, a crusader stronghold. The retired king convened a council in Jerusalem to brief him on the kingdom's governance, when news of the siege reached his ears. Swiftly responding to the critical situation, he ousted Guy from his regency and reassumed power. Guy's removal from regency essentially amounted to disinheritance. At the council's insistence, discussions about the succession ensued. The king's mother proposed that Sibylla's five-year-old son, Baldwin, be appointed as co-king, a suggestion that found favour among the assembly. Consequently, on the 20th of November, the young boy was crowned, marking a significant moment in the kingdom's history. In the year 1184, Baldwin again developed a fever. Reluctantly, Baldwin granted regency to Raymond of Tripoli, a man he had never trusted, but for whom he could not identify a more suitable alternative, as he had been the regent before Baldwin turned of age. In his final moments, the king commanded homage to be paid to his nephew as the new ruler and to Raymond as the regent. This directive was to be followed by a grand coronation ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He found his resting place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, near his father King Amalric. Tragically, the following year, the young Baldwin V also passed away. Sibylla, who ascended to the throne after her son, appointed Guy as king. Unfortunately, Baldwin IV's realm met a devastating fate at the hands of Saladin, who secured a decisive victory over Guy at the horns of Hattin in the year 1187, resulting in the destruction of the kingdom. Although just three years after Baldwin's death, the kingdom of Jerusalem fell to Saladin. During the Leper king's reign, the kingdom remained territorially intact, experiencing both economic prosperity and spiritual growth. His significant contribution lay in his unwavering resolve to not relinquish his rule until a suitable heir was identified, even though leprosy made governance an excruciating burden. It became evident, both during his rule and in the dire aftermath that followed, that Baldwin was the sole force preserving unity within the kingdom. I hope you all enjoyed the video. If you did, make sure to like, subscribe and share, and I'll see you all soon for another history profile.