Outremer
Marriages and Deaths
Baldwin won another victory the following year, this time against Damascus. The victory was hard-won, however, and although he captured much booty he was unable to press on to the city itself.
In November 1126, il-Bursuqi was stabbed to death by an Assassin. After his death, there were no strong Islamic leaders who were interested in attacking the Latins, and the later 1120s were remarkably peaceful. Baldwin was able to see to the question of succession, for he had four daughters but no sons. One of his daughters, Alice, was married to Bohemond II, prince of Antioch. The King now sent an emissary to France to ask Louis VI to select a suitable husband from among the French nobility for Melisende, who was to be Baldwin's heir. The king chose Fulk V, Count of Anjou. The emissaries accepted the recommendation, and Fulk departed France in 1129.
The House of Anjou was superb catch. Fulk's son Geoffrey was recently married to Matilda, the widowed Empress and now heir to both Normandy and England. Their son would grow up to become King Henry II. Anjou itself was one of the most powerful and richest counties in France. Fulk traded this away to be called king in his own right; there were few titles more glorious than King of Jerusalem. He was about forty years old and a proven warrior.
Fulk and Melisende were married in late May, 1129. Later that summer, events in Damascus offered Baldwin the opportunity he had long awaited: the chance to conquer the city. He asked for recruits from the West, which arrived at the end of autumn. He also had the soldiers Fulk had brought with him. With a substantial army he set out from Banyas in November 1129.
The vizier Buri brought a Damascene army out to meet them. Neither side moved, but one day the Damascenes attacked a large foraging party and nearly annhilated it. While the Muslims were celebrating their victory, Baldwin decided to attack. Just as the Christian army moved out, however, it began to rain hard, turning the ground to mud. Baldwin realized he could not press the attack in those conditions. After the losses from the foraging party, neither could he afford to remain. Disappointed, he retired to Jerusalem and the army dispersed.
It was his last chance at a great victory. 1130 found him at Antioch, trying to bring order out of a quarrel there among rival factions after the death of Bohemond II (read all about it in the History of Antioch). He succeeded in this without having to resort to bloodshed, and he returned to Jerusalem. In 1131, his health began to fail.
Baldwin II was the first King of Jerusalem to be able to arrange for a smooth succession. As he lay dying he called Fulk and Melisende to him and formally gave them the crown. His act was recognized by the nobility. He died August 21, 1131. Three weeks later, Melisende and Fulk were crowned in a public ceremony.