Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; died 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Baldwin of Boulogne, to the Holy Land during the First Crusade. He succeeded Baldwin of Boulogne as the second count of Edessa when his cousin left the county for Jerusalem. He was captured at the Battle of Harran in 1104. He was held first by Sökmen of Mardin, then by Jikirmish of Mosul, and finally by Jawali
Baldwin I of Jerusalem his adoptive father, but he did nothing when the rioters broke into the citadel on 9March. Thoros and his wife were captured and murdered. On the following day, the townspeople acknowledged Baldwin as their ruler (or "doux"). He assumed the title of count and established the first crusader state. The Seljuqs had captured Edessa from the Byzantines in 1087, but Alexios I Komnenos did not demand that Baldwin hand over the town. MacEvitt argues that the local population did not regard Baldwin's ascension as "a change in regime, but the replacement of one strongman with vague Byzantine ties with another