Taking advantage of the presence of Thierry, Count of Flanders, and his army in the Holy Land and an earthquake that destroyed most towns of Northern Syria, BaldwinIII of Jerusalem invaded the Muslim territories in the valley of the Orontes River in the autumn of 1157. Raynald joined the royal army, and they laid siege to Shaizar. Shaizar was held by a band of Assassins, but it had been ruled by the Munqidhites who paid an annual tribute to Raynald. Before the capitulation of the garrison, Baldwin decided to grant the fortress to Thierry of Flanders, but Raynald demanded that the count should pay homage to him for the town. After Thierry sharply refused to swear fealty to an upstart, the crusaders abandoned the siege. They marched on Harenc (present-day Harem, Syria), which had been an Antiochene fortress before Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo, captured it in 1150. After the crusaders captured Harenc in February 1158, Raynald granted it to the Flemish Raynald of Saint-Valery.