The Crusader States Are Founded
Four Latin lordships, the Kingdom of Jerusalem among them, carve out a permanent Christian foothold in the Levant
Quick facts
- The four states
- County of Edessa (1098), Principality of Antioch (1098), Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099), County of Tripoli (1109)
- First ruler of Jerusalem
- Godfrey of Bouillon
- Capital
- Jerusalem
- Structure
- A weak king dependent on independent-minded barons and, later, the military orders
What happened
In the wake of the First Crusade's conquests, its leaders divided their gains into four Crusader States, collectively called Outremer or the Latin East: the County of Edessa, founded in 1098 by Baldwin of Boulogne; the Principality of Antioch, held by Bohemund of Taranto; the Kingdom of Jerusalem, ruled first by Godfrey of Bouillon; and the County of Tripoli, established last, in 1109. The Kingdom of Jerusalem controlled a narrow coastal strip from Jaffa to Beirut, with major fiefdoms at Acre, Tyre, and Caesarea. Its king commanded a small standing garrison, initially around 300 knights and 2,000 infantry, and depended heavily on barons who held their own fortified lands and could refuse military service if they judged the king had broken faith with them. Trade routes running through these states drew merchants from Venice, Pisa, Genoa, and Marseille, who financed ships in exchange for quarters and trading rights in the new port cities.
Why it matters
The Crusader States were a permanent European settler presence in the Levant, not merely a raiding expedition, and their chronic shortage of manpower and constant internal bickering between independent-minded barons made them dependent on a steady stream of new crusaders from Europe for the rest of their existence.
How we know
The internal politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem are described in detail by contemporary charters and by later chroniclers such as William of Tyre, summarized in the World History Encyclopedia's dedicated articles on the kingdom and the wider crusader movement.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Kingdom of Jerusalem · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Crusades · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Part of a timelineThe Crusades27 events · Two centuries of holy war for Jerusalem, fought and remembered very differently by Christians and MuslimsView all →