Baldwin I of Jerusalem death, thought that "al-Bardawil" had started the First Crusade. Presenting a fictional correspondence between Baldwin and Roger I of Sicily, Al-Athir claimed that Baldwin had initially wanted to conquer Ifriqiya, but Roger, who wanted to secure the territory for himself, talked into him into attacking Jerusalem. Among modern historians, Thomas Asbridge states that Baldwin was one of the commanders of the First Crusade "whose skill, ambition and devotion drove the enterprise, and by turns threatened to rip it apart". Christopher Tyerman emphasises that Baldwin was a talented military commander and a clever politician, who "established a stable kingdom with defined
Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders Baldwin II ( 865 – 10 September 918) was the second margrave (or count) of Flanders, ruling from 879 to 918. He was nicknamed the Bald ("Calvus") after his maternal grandfather, King Charles the Bald. Baldwin II was born around 865 to Baldwin I of Flanders and Judith of Flanders, the great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. The early years of Baldwin's rule were marked by a series of devastating Viking raids into Flanders. By 883 CE, he was forced to move north to Pagus Flandransis, which became the territory most closely associated with the Counts of Flanders.