Outremer
King Baldwin II
Baldwin left no children and had not designated an heir. The barons again met and again chose the Count of Edessa, another Baldwin (of Le Bourg). Baldwin II was cousin to Baldwin I and was the last of the greater princes of the First Crusade. He was crowned on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1118.
Baldwin II was a second strong king for Jerusalem, though with rather a different character. He was a good soldier but was also a cunning diplomat. He was also happily married and suffered no embarassment on that front. When he became king, Joscelin of Courtenay became the Count of Edessa. Both Pons of Tripoli and Roger of Antioch recognized Baldwin as their overlord, so on the surface, at least, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was still a united state.
Baldwin II had no sooner taken the crown than he received word that a great Egyptian army was marching against him. Worse, Cairo had allied with Damascus and the army was now both Egyptian and Syrian. Baldwin raised an army and marched out to meet the enemy. Both sides sat encamped for almost the entire summer, but neither ventured a battle. At last, the Egyptians retired without a fight. The new Baldwin had again saved Jerusalem.
That same year we hear of the first formal moves of the military orders. In 1118, Hugh of Payens asked for quarters in the royal palace for himself and a few companions. They were the founders of the Knights Templar. Also in 1118 Gerard of the Hospital died and was succeeded by Raymond of Le Puy, who changed the nature of the Hospitallers from a purely charitable order to one that also had a military mission. Both the great crusading orders, then, were formed under Baldwin II, who gave them wholehearted support.