King of Jerusalem King of Jerusalem The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Crusader state founded by Christian princes in 1099 when the First Crusade took the city. Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, himself refused the title of king, and instead chose the title "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre". Thus, the title of king was only introduced for his successor, King Baldwin I in 1100. The city of Jerusalem was lost in 1187, but the Kingdom of Jerusalem survived, moving its capital to Acre in 1191. The city of Jerusalem
Baldwin I, Latin Emperor since the 1186 treaty. Baldwin V thereupon ruled as Baldwin VIII of Flanders by right of marriage. When Countess Margaret I died in 1194, Flanders descended to her eldest son Baldwin, who ruled as Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders. In 1186, the younger Baldwin had married Marie, daughter of Henry I, Count of Champagne, and Marie of France. The chronicler Gislebert describes Baldwin as being infatuated with his young bride, who nevertheless preferred prayer to the marital bed. Immediately after this arrangement, the count of Hainaut's son Baldwin, thirteen years old, received as wife Marie, the count of Champagne's sister,