Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and the second crusader ruler and first king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death. Being a younger son, he was destined for a church career, but he abandoned it and married a Norman noblewoman, Godehilde of Tosny. He received the County of Verdun in 1096, but he soon joined the crusader army of his brother, Godfrey of Bouillon and became one of the most successful commanders of the First Crusade. Baldwin and the
Baldwin I of Jerusalem Christian (mainly Armenian) peasants should be transferred to the lands west of the Euphrates, because the Seljuq rulers had frequently raided the eastern regions. While the peasants were gathering at a ferry on the river, Mawdud made a sudden raid and massacred most of them. Sigurd I of Norwaythe first king to visit the Kingdom of Jerusalemhad meanwhile landed at Acre. Baldwin made an alliance with him and they laid siege to Sidon in October 1110. An Egyptian fleet routed the Norwegians, but the Doge of Venice, Ordelafo Faliero, and his fleet soon joined the crusaders and the town capitulated