Isabella I of Jerusalem tried to play Isabella and her husband off against him, but Humphrey did homage to the royal couple. Isabella was the daughter of Amalric, King of Jerusalem, by his second wife, Maria Comnena. Maria Comnena (who was a grandniece of the Byzantine Emperor, Manuel I Komnenos) married Amalric on 29 August 1171. Isabella was born before September 1172. Amalric died unexpectedly on 11 July 1174. His son by his first marriage, Baldwin IV, was crowned king two weeks later. Before long, it became obvious that Baldwin suffered from lepromatous leprosy. To secure the succession of the ailing king, his sister,
Baldwin I of Jerusalem from his subjects. He appointed his relative, Baldwin of Le Bourcq, his successor in the county and Le Bourcq swore fealty to him. About 200 knights and 300–700 foot-soldiers accompanied Baldwin when he left Edessa on 2October 1100. He spent four days in Antioch, but did not accept the local inhabitants' offer to administer the principality during Bohemond's captivity. Duqaq of Damascus wanted to ambush him on the narrow road near the mouth of the Nahr al-Kaib River. Fakhr al-Mulk, the qadi of Tripoli, secretly warned Baldwin, enabling him to make arrangements to defeat the attack and he routed the