Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem

b. 1058; d. 1118

Son of Eustace, Count of Boulogne, and of Ida of Lorraine. He accompanied his two elder brothers, Godfrey and Eustace, on the First Crusade in 1096, but his object seems to have been to establish himself in the East, and he achieved this when he seized Edessa (1098). On the death of Godfrey (1100) he was called to succeed him in Jerusalem. He became protector of the Holy Sepulchre, and was crowned king, a dignity Godfrey had refused, on Christmas Day. He fought continuously against the Turks and Fatimids, conquering Caesarea, Arsuf, and Jaffa (1101), Acre (1103), and Sidon (1111). He was the true creator and consolidator of the kingdom of Jerusalem.

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