Bethlehem the official Christian presence in the region was Greek Orthodox. On Christmas Day 1100, Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town. In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who led the Muslim Ayyubids, captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders. The Latin clerics were forced to leave, allowing the Greek Orthodox clergy to return. Saladin agreed to the return of two Latin priests and two deacons in 1192. However, Bethlehem suffered from the loss of the pilgrim trade, as there was
Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders support the emperor's son, Louis the Stammerer. During his life, Baldwin expanded his territory into one of the major principalities of Western Francia. He died in 879 and was buried in the Abbey of St-Bertin, near Saint-Omer. Baldwin was succeeded by his and Judith's son, Baldwin II (c. 866 – 918). The couple's first son, Charles, named after his maternal grandfather, died at a young age. His third son Raoul ("Rodulf") (c. 869 – murdered 896) became Count of Cambrai around 888, but he and his brother joined king Zwentibold of Lotharingia in 895. In 896, they attacked Vermandois and