After the capture of Jerusalem the crusaders met to elect
a king. Their choice fell upon Godfrey of Bouillon. He refused to wear a crown
of gold in the city where Christ had worn a crown of thorns and accepted,
instead, the modest title of "Protector of the Holy Sepulcher." [8]
Godfrey died the next year and his brother Baldwin, who succeeded him, being
less scrupulous, was crowned king at Bethlehem. The new kingdom contained
nearly a score of fiefs, whose lords made war, administered justice, and coined
money, like independent rulers. The main features of European feudalism were
thus transplanted to Asiatic soil.
[8] The emperor Constantine caused a stately church to be
erected on the supposed site of Christ's tomb. This church of the Holy
Sepulcher was practically destroyed by the Moslems, early in the eleventh
century. The crusaders restored and enlarged the structure, which still stands.
OTHER CRUSADERS' STATES
The winning of Jerusalem and the district about it formed
hardly more than a preliminary stage in the conquest of Syria. Much fighting
was still necessary before the crusaders could establish themselves firmly in
the country. Instead of founding one strong power in Syria, they split up their
possessions into the three principalities of Tripoli, Antioch, and Edessa.
These small states owed allegiance to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
