Here's a new chapter to say thanks for reading
and especially to say thanks to Luminous for his map
@Cuāuhtemōc
I read your excellent ATL on Cortes a while back, it was superb! And thanks for reminding me that the Nubian Christians exist
I'd planned to do something with them, but forgotten about it by the time I actually got here
I'm not tremendously happy with some parts of this chapter, the dynastic bit in particular (I would have written more if i hadn't gotten a bit lost in it all), so if you have any revisions to suggest go ahead
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Chapter Nine
The Leper King
Baldwin IV became King of Jerusalem in 1179 with the death of his father, despite the misgivings of many of within the Kingdom. Concerns were raised because of Baldwin’s unfortunate condition of being a leper, ruling out the possibility of him producing any heirs and making it unlikely that he would be long for this world. The new King was also only 18 years old when crowned, but luckily for him the Kingdom faced no immediate wars or invasions as had so often happened in the past with the death of a monarch. In Egypt the Moslems were disorganised and weak, having splintered into different factions following the Latin and Byzantine conquest of Lower Egypt, their territory limited to Upper Egypt and the western fringes of the country where the Latins had so far been unable to penetrate, limited as they were by long supply lines and a shortage of manpower. Although the wholesale recruitment and acceptance of the Copts into the Latin system would have solved this, the remained a marginalised group, although they held far greater rights than the Moslems. Steps in the right direction had been taken by the raising of Coptic contingents for fighting in Latin wars, which necessitated rewarding them, often with money or positions of power, but for the time being they were kept from climbing any higher than the lowest positions of nobility. Because of this, the Coptic people remained largely cool to the Latin occupation, but the numbers of those who were sympathetic or even supportive to the new government was slowly growing. During this period, the Copts also experienced a cultural flourishing as they began to re-emerge as a major force, blending with imported Latin culture as the lords with more sense (often Latins who had grown up in Outremer) encouraged their new subjects as fellow Christians. Others were less politically astute and were oppressive in their enforcement of the Latin religion and ideas as the new system, these lords generally being newly arrived crusaders who were not used to compromise with infidels and heretics.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem under Baldwin IV also had another major advantage which had been denied the earlier Kings, much to the detriment to the strength of the state, a relatively secure land passage across Anatolia to the west. Following the fall of Iconium to the Byzantines in 1159 it had become possible to travel from Western Europe to Outremer without having to battle your way through the armies of the Turks, only the occasional raids menacing the area and even these were declining in frequency as the Byzantines re-established their authority in the region. This allowed crusaders and hopeful migrants to travel to the Levant, seeking the opportunities provided by the expansion of the Christian territories or to make the pilgrimage to and perhaps settle in the Holy Land. With this new ease of access and encouraged by the success of the Second Crusade and the Latin conquests since then, many hopefuls flocked to the region, resulting in Baldwin having a greater number of crusaders in the armies he raised throughout his reign than any King before him who had not been the beneficiary of a crusade. Although not all of these new arrivals decided to stay, they provided some relief to the manpower problem that had plagued the crusaders states since their inception.
Before the birth of Baldwin’s younger brother Godfrey only shortly before the death of Amalric, it had been presumed that the Crown would pass to one of his sisters and as such finding them suitable husbands had been of great importance. As such, Sibylla had been married William of Montferrat in 1176 and had provided him with a son named Baldwin the following year. However, since the succession had been secured, their marriages became less important to the welfare of the Kingdom and in 1180 Isabella, the King’s other sister, was betrothed to a member of the Ibelin family. However, Baldwin refused to accept the betrothal and demanded that she find another suitor, choosing Humphrey IV of Toron in 1181, resulting in their marriage in 1183. This disagreement was the start of the Ibelin hatred for the King but only a small setback in their quest for power, Balian of Ibelin marrying Maria, Baldwin’s stepmother, in 1181. It was at this time, however, that Baldwin removed his brother Godfrey from the care of Maria and the Ibelins, deeming it too great a risk. To prevent the Ibelins from climbing any higher, in 1184 the King had Sibylla, who’s first husband had died in 1177, married to Alexios Komnenos, third son of the second son of Emperor John II and so nephew of Manuel I. The King was growing increasingly fearful of the power of the great noble families within the crusader states, seeking to limit them as best he could whilst rewarding those loyal to him. But this situation was nothing new, Jerusalem having been troubled by the feudal system since its creation, with the nobles displaying a large amount of power and influence even for the time, causing instability within the Kingdom and undermining the strength of the Latins in Outremer. It was a problem that would continue to plague Jerusalem for some time, even as other European states became increasingly centralised.
Despite these troubles, in the second year of Baldwin’s reign great excitement was causing throughout the Kingdom, after envoys from up the Nile arrived in Egypt, from where they were brought to Jerusalem to see the King. They spoke of a Christian Kingdom to the south that was at war with the Moslems and wished to find out who had conquered Lower Egypt. Both sides were happy to find fellow Christians, the Makurian delegation being hailed as representatives of Prester John much to their confusion, but there was plenty of celebration in anticipation for what could only be the start of a profitable alliance. When the ambassadors finally set off to return, they were laden with gifts and given an escort as far as the borders of the Principality of Egypt. Regretfully, they never made it back to their homes, attacked by either some Moslem warlord or bandits both of which had become endemic to Upper Egypt. The remains of the Fatimid Empire that the Latins had not conquered had descended into anarchy since the fall of Lower Egypt as power struggles became the norm throughout the region. The area along the Arabia coast in which Mecca was situated had escaped the worst of this, remaining relatively stable compared to the Sinai and the remains of Egypt, but was too weak to attempt to wage war on the Latins alone. Due to the dangerous nature of travel in these areas and the desire of many Moslems to prevent the Latins and the Makurians from joining together, there were obvious problems with communications for the Christians. However, in 1183 Baldwin decided that it was necessary to send out a party to ascertain the fate of the ambassadors and to renew contact with the Makurians. A heavily armed convoy consisting of Latin knights and Coptic serjeants rode out on the King’s orders, carrying further gifts and a request for an alliance.
