Baldwin I of Jerusalem to Jaffa, although the Egyptian army had blockaded it from the land. He went to Jerusalem to gather new troops and returned to Jaffa with more than 100 horsemen. However, only the arrival of a fleet filled with hundreds of English, French and German pilgrims forced the Egyptians to lift the siege on 27May. Baldwin urged Alexios I Komnenos not to obstruct their journey in a letter. During the siege of Jaffa, Baldwin had sent envoys to Antioch and Edessa, seeking assistance from Tancred and Baldwin II. They arrived only after the Egyptians' withdrawal. Tancred tried to persuade the new
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