Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Baldwin IV (; ; 1161 – 16 March 1185), called "the Leper", or The Leper King, reigned as King of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death. He was the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay. Baldwin spent his childhood in his father's court in Jerusalem, having little contact with his mother, Agnes of Courtenay, Countess of Jaffa and Ascalon, and later Lady of Sidon, whom his father had been forced to divorce. Baldwin IV was educated by the historian William of Tyre (later Archbishop of Tyre and Chancellor of
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