Leper King:A Study Of Baldwin ?

During the first Crusade,Crusader knights has established four Crusader states in Asia Minor and Palestinian:Kingdom of Jerusalem,Tripoli,Antioch and Edessa.Jerusalem is the biggest countries in the four states.Baldwin ? is a king of Jerusalem.When he was young,he got leprosy.He became a king when he was a minor.Internally,he had to reconcile his subjects;and he also had to face Saladin's military.However,Baldwin ? got over every difficulty.He brought peace to his kingdom,and Baldwin ? defeated Saladin in Mont Gisard.The people of Jerusalem thought Baldwin ? was a king with great talent and bold vision.In the last years of his rule,Baldwin ? was tortured by his leprosy.In 1185,Baldwin ? was dead.After he left his kingdom and people,the kingdom of Jerusalem was destroyed quickly.Based on the interpretation to the original text,this thesis is intended to explore the life of Baldwin ?.In this thesis,we analysis the background of Baldwin ? becoming a king and some important events when Baldwin ? was a king.And then we analysis the position of Baldwin ? in the kingdom of Jerusalem.This thesis has four chapters.The first chapter mainly explores the background of Baldwin ? becoming a king of Jerusalem.During the first Crusade,kingdom of Jerusalem rose in the east.Meanwhile,between the Crusaders and the Muslim military's wars,there were some military organization with religious characteristics,such as the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller.In Latin East,Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller were the main resistance to Muslim.In the early years of the kingdom of Jerusalem,Zengi was the principal enemy of Crusaders.Early in the 12^th century,Zengi and Nur al-Din who is the second son of Zengi became the most powerful figures in East.Jerusalem faced the huge pressure because of the rising of Zengi.The second chapter mainly talks about the relationship between the leprosy and the Succession of Baldwin ?.Leprosy is regarded as the punishment from God,the lepers are discriminated by others,and they were disinherited by society.However,in case of leprosy,Baldwin ? still succeeded to the throne.This matter seemed intriguing.On the basis of extant historical materials,I had analyzed the medical technology and political situation in Jerusalem at that time,and I had tried to explain the question of succession of Baldwin ? by the perspective of Social History of Disease.The third chapter is mainly about the later period of Baldwin ?.At first,Agnes and her companies became activities in the kingdom of Jerusalem.Secondly,Baldwin ? had defeated Saladin at Mont Gisard,this help him to improve his station in his kingdom.After the battle of Mont Gisard,the leprosy of Baldwin ?'s was more and more serious.Baldwin ? had to give up some powers of king's.Although Baldwin ? shared his power with his nobles,he still controlled his kingdom hard.Diplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Egypt,Baldwin ? signed a peace agreement with Saladin.The fourth chapter discusses the collapse of the kingdom of Jerusalem.In 1185,Baldwin ? was dead because of his leprosy.He was just only 24.Before he left his kingdom,he asked everyone to be loyalty to his nephew Baldwin V.However,his nephew also died because of leprosy.Guy of Lusignan became the last king of Jerusalem.In 1187,the military of Jerusalem was defeated by Saladin in the Battle of Hattin.Two months later,the kingdom of Jerusalem was destroyed.