Page "Kingdom of Jerusalem" Paragraph 7

The crusaders arrived at Jerusalem in June 1099 ; a few of the neighbouring towns ( Ramla, Lydda, Bethlehem, and others ) were taken first, and Jerusalem itself was captured on July 15.

On 22 July, a council was held in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to establish a king for the newly created Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Raymond IV of Toulouse and Godfrey of Bouillon were recognized as the leaders of the crusade and the siege of Jerusalem.

Raymond was the wealthier and more powerful of the two, but at first he refused to become king, perhaps attempting to show his piety and probably hoping that the other nobles would insist upon his election anyway.

The more popular Godfrey did not hesitate like Raymond, and accepted a position as secular leader.

Although it is widely claimed that he took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (" advocate " or " defender " of the Holy Sepulchre ), this title is only used in a letter that was not written by Godfrey.

Instead, Godfrey himself seems to have used the more ambiguous term princeps, or simply retained his title of dux from Lower Lorraine.

According to William of Tyre, writing in the later 12th century when Godfrey had become a legendary hero, he refused to wear " a crown of gold " where Christ had worn " a crown of thorns ".

Robert the Monk is the only contemporary chronicler of the crusade to report that Godfrey took the title " king ".

Raymond was incensed and took his army to forage away from the city.

The new kingdom, and Godfrey's reputation, was secured with the defeat of the Fatimid Egyptian army under al-Afdal Shahanshah at the Battle of Ascalon one month after the conquest, on August 12, but Raymond and Godfrey's continued antagonism prevented the crusaders from taking control of Ascalon itself.