Baldwin V of Jerusalem - Baldwin As Co-king of Jerusalem

Baldwin As Co-king of Jerusalem

As Baldwin IV became increasingly incapacitated by his leprosy, Guy was appointed bailli of the kingdom. Along with Raynald of Châtillon, he provoked Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria, with raids on Muslim caravans. However, in 1183, when Saladin invaded the kingdom, Guy hesitated to respond and was considered a weak commander.

Baldwin IV deposed Guy and took back power to himself, although he was by now blind and bed-ridden. For the next few months he attempted unsuccessfully to have Sibylla's marriage to Guy annulled. Raymond III was invited back, and the Haute Cour was summoned to decide on Baldwin IV's successor. His legal heir was his sister, Sibylla, but it was decided that her son Baldwin of Montferrat would inherit the kingdom, preceding Sibylla's claim. Baldwin V, aged 5, was crowned co-king.

The succession crisis also prompted a mission to the west to seek assistance: in 1184, Patriarch Eraclius, along with Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and Arnaud de Toroge, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, travelled throughout the courts of Europe. Eraclius offered the kingship to both Philip II of France and Henry II of England: the former was the son of Louis VII, a first cousin of Baldwin V's father; the latter was a first cousin of Baldwin IV and Sibylla, and had promised to go on crusade after the murder of Thomas Becket. However, no help was forthcoming from them. Some family support did arrive in the form of Baldwin V's paternal grandfather, William V ("the Elder"), Marquess of Montferrat, who established himself in the castle of St Elias. At around the same time, in the latter part of 1184, Baldwin's maternal grandmother, Agnes of Courtenay, died at Acre.