THE PRIMACY OF JERUSALEM

• when godfrey died 1100 and baldwin became king he inherited a fragmented collection of territories

• extremely mixed religious community

• the franks were supported by urban and rural settlers, not as a replacement

• in order to achieve control throughout the kingdom of jerusalem, it was divided into palatinats ruled by lords who, despite their royal vassals, could act without royal assent to defend their territory

• the kingdom of jerusalem depended on a system of marcher lords who, in return for power, protected the border regions and provided military service when called upon by the king

• however, the level of power given to the lords of jerusalem was also a threat to the kings power e.g. by 1175, 10 families controlled 24 of the most important lordships in jerusalem, they had enough control to overpower the king

• the king tried to limit this by keeping some of the fiefs for royal demense (an area of land controlled directly by the monarch) e.g. jerusalem and acre

religious reasons for the primacy of jerusalem

• it was home to an array of holy sites and relics, such as the church of the nativity of bethlehem and the relic of the true cross - main destination for pilgrims

• many new religious foundations in the other crusader states were attatched to churches in jerusalem such as the church of the holy selpuchre

• jerusalem had the most powerful patriarchate, these were in both jerusalem and antioch