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
Henry I, Count of Eu promise of good behaviour and at the request of William de Warenne, they were released. Nevertheless, Henry and Hugh, joining with Stephen of Aumale, led a rebellion in the northeast and provided military support to Baldwin VI. The rebellion ended in September 1118 at the Battle of Bures-en-Brai, where Baldwin was mortally wounded. Henry returned to the side of King Henry I. A few months later, on August 20, 1119, Henry was one several barons who accompanied King Henry I when a meeting of the Norman and French royal armies gave rise to the Battle of Brémule. The French were