Death
Queen Melisende died in 1161, and Baldwin died in Beirut on 10 February 1163. It was rumoured that he had been poisoned in Antioch by pills given to him by his Syrian Orthodox doctor. "As soon as the king had taken the pills," says William of Tyre, "he was seized with a fever and dysentery which developed into consumption from which he was never able to obtain relief or help." On the way home Baldwin remained in Tripoli for a few months, and then continued to Beirut where he finally succumbed to his illness. As William says, "For eight successive days, while the funeral procession moved from Beirut to Jerusalem, lamentation was unrestrained and grief was renewed almost hourly." Theodora, now queen-dowager, retired to Acre. She was still only 16 years old; their marriage was childless. Baldwin was succeeded by his brother, Amalric I.
Read more about this topic: Baldwin III Of Jerusalem
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often or how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink rather than the drink to the insanity. I had indeed, nearly abandoned all hope of a permanent cure when I found one in the death of my wife.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)