Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat the independent city communes of the Lombard League. Boniface's eldest brother, William, had died in 1177, soon after marrying Sibylla, the heiress presumptive to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1179, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus offered his daughter Maria Porphyrogenita as a bride to one of the sons of William V. Since Boniface, like his older brother Conrad, was already married, and Frederick was a priest, the youngest brother, Renier, married her instead, only to be murdered along with her during the usurpation of Andronicus. In 1183, Boniface's nephew Baldwin V was crowned co-king of Jerusalem. William V went
Baldwin I, Latin Emperor who interpreted and observed his crusading vows strictly, and the most popular leader in the host. With Venetian support he was elected on 9 May 1204, and crowned on 16 May in the Hagia Sophia at a ceremony which closely followed Byzantine practices. During his coronation, Baldwin wore a very rich jewel that had been bought by Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos for 62,000 silver marks. Baldwin's wife Marie, unaware of these events, had sailed to Acre. There she learned of her husband's election as emperor, but died in August 1204 before she could join him. The Latin Empire was