Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (French: Baudouin; c. 1075 – 21 August 1131), was the count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118 and the king of Jerusalem from 1120 until his death. He accompanied his kinsmen, the brothers Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne, to the Holy Land during the First Crusade. He became the second count of Edessa when the first count, Baldwin of Boulogne, left the county for Jerusalem following Godfrey's death. He was captured at the Battle of Harran in 1104. He was held first by Sökmen of Mardin, then by Jikirmish of Mosul, and finally by Jawali Saqawa. During Baldwin's captivity, Prince Tancred of Antioch and Richard of Salerno governed Edessa as his regents.
Baldwin was ransomed by his cousin Joscelin of Courtenay, lord of Turbessel, in the summer of 1108. Tancred attempted to retain Edessa, but Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch, persuaded him to restore the county to Baldwin. Baldwin allied with Jawali, but Tancred and his ally Radwan of Aleppo defeated them at Turbessel. Baldwin and Tancred were reconciled at an assembly of the crusader leaders near Tripoli in April 1109. Mawdud, the Atabeg of Mosul, and his successor, Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi, launched a series of campaigns against Edessa in the early 1110s, devastating the eastern regions of the country. Baldwin accused Joscelin of treason for seizing the prosperous town of Turbessel from him in 1113 and captured the neighboring Armenian lordships in 1116 and 1117.
Baldwin I, the first king of Jerusalem, died on 2 April 1118. Arnulf of Chocques, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Joscelin of Courtenay, who held the largest fief in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, convinced their peers to elect Baldwin of Bourcq as King Baldwin II. Baldwin took possession of most towns in the kingdom and gave Edessa to Joscelin. After the army of the Principality of Antioch was almost annihilated on 28 June 1119, Baldwin was elected regent for the absent Prince Bohemond II of Antioch. The frequent Seljuq invasions of Antioch forced him to spend most of his time in the principality, which caused discontent in Jerusalem. After Belek captured him in April 1123, a group of noblemen offered the throne to Count Charles I of Flanders, but Charles refused. During his absence, the Jerusalemite troops captured Tyre with the assistance of a Venetian fleet. After he was released in August 1124, he tried to capture Aleppo, but al-Bursuqi forced him to abandon the siege in early 1125.
Bohemond II came to Syria in October 1126. Baldwin gave his second daughter, Alice, in marriage to him and also renounced the regency. Baldwin planned to conquer Damascus, but he needed external support to achieve his goal. He married off his eldest daughter, Melisende, to Count Fulk V of Anjou in 1129. The troops who accompanied Fulk to Jerusalem enabled Baldwin to invade Damascene territory, but he could seize only Banias with the support of the Nizari (or Assassins) in late 1129. After Bohemond II was killed in a battle in early 1130, Baldwin forced Alice to leave Antioch and assumed the regency for her daughter, Constance. He fell seriously ill in Antioch and took monastic vows before he died in the Holy Sepulchre. He had bequeathed the kingdom to Melisende and Fulk. Baldwin had been respected for his military talent, but he was notorious for his "love for money".
Baldwin's birth year is unknown. It is only known that his father, Count Hugh I of Rethel, was born in the 1040s and Baldwin was already an adult by the 1090s. Baldwin was likely born a younger child of Hugh, possibly being his third son. Baldwin's family spoke the Champenois dialect of Old French, but he was probably illiterate. Baldwin was the lord of Bourcq, a small village to the southeast of Rethel, when he joined the army of his kinsman Godfrey of Bouillon at the beginning of the First Crusade. It is not known why Baldwin took the cross, but the chronicler William of Tyre describes him as very religious; Baldwin had callouses on his hands and knees from frequent prayer.
The army departed for the Holy Land on 15 August 1096, and reached Constantinople on 23 December. The Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, urged the crusader leaders to take an oath of fealty to him. Godfrey of Bouillon appointed Baldwin, Conon of Montaigu and Geoffrey of Esch to represent him at a meeting with Alexios in January 1097. After Godfrey and his principal commanders swore fealty to the Emperor, the crusader army was shipped to Asia Minor in February.
Baldwin's cousin Baldwin of Boulogne and Tancred of Hauteville broke away from the main army to invade Cilicia around 15 September 1097. Baldwin accompanied them in Boulogne's contingent. He also participated in Boulogne's military campaigns against the Seljuq rulers of the fortresses on the plains near the River Euphrates. After seizing Ravendel, Turbessel and Edessa, Boulogne established the first crusader state, the County of Edessa, in early 1098.
Baldwin rejoined the main crusader army, which was marching towards Jerusalem, near Tyre in late May 1099. He and Tancred seized Bethlehem; there was no resistance as the town was inhabited by local Christians. The crusaders laid siege to Jerusalem, and shortly afterwards Baldwin and Tancred captured an elderly Muslim nobleman. After he refused to convert to Christianity, Baldwin's soldiers beheaded him at the Tower of David to frighten the defenders of Jerusalem. Jerusalem fell to the crusaders on 15 July. Baldwin left Jerusalem in the retinue of Count Robert II of Flanders in late August. Robert returned to Europe, but Baldwin remained in Syria. Godfrey of Bouillon died on 18 July 1100. Baldwin of Boulogne decided to return to Jerusalem to take possession of Godfrey's inheritance.
Baldwin was staying in Antioch when Baldwin of Boulogne decided to leave Edessa. He was a military commander of the troops of Bohemond I of Antioch who had recently been captured by Danishmend Gazi. Baldwin of Boulogne summoned Baldwin from Antioch and granted him the County of Edessa. Baldwin swore fealty to Baldwin of Boulogne, who left Edessa for Jerusalem on 2 October 1100.
Baldwin married Morphia, the daughter of Gabriel, the Armenian lord of Melitene, which enabled him to consolidate his position among his mainly Armenian subjects. Sökmen, the Artuqid ruler of Mardin, attacked Saruj in early 1101. Baldwin attempted to relieve the town, but Sökmen routed his army, forcing him to return to Edessa. When relating these events, the Armenian historian, Matthew of Edessa, described Baldwin as a coward who was "pitiful in body". Sökmen captured the town, but the fortress resisted his siege. Baldwin went to Antioch to raise new troops before returning to Saruj. He forced Sökmen to leave the town and executed all the townspeople who had cooperated with the Artuqids.
One of his cousins, Joscelin of Courtenay, came to Edessa in 1102. Baldwin granted him lands to the west of the Euphrates. When the Egyptians invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem in May, Baldwin of Boulogne—who had been crowned king of Jerusalem—sent envoys to Tancred (who ruled Antioch) and Baldwin, seeking their assistance. They assembled their troops and marched to Jerusalem together, but by the time they arrived in late September, the Egyptians had returned to their headquarters at Ascalon. The three crusader rulers made a raid against Ascalon, but Tancred and Baldwin soon returned to their realms.
Tancred's ambitions in northern Syria irritated both Baldwin and Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch. They started negotiations with Danishmend Gazi regarding Bohemond's release. Kogh Vasil, the Armenian lord of Raban and Kaisun, and Bohemond's Italian kinsmen contributed to his ransom. Bohemond was set free in May 1103. Baldwin granted villages to the Armenian prelate, Barsegh Pahlavuni, because he wanted to strengthen his position among his Armenian subjects.
Baldwin's troops made frequent raids against the fertile plains around Harran. Sökmen and Jikirmish, the atabeg of Mosul, made an alliance and invaded Edessa in May 1104. While their troops were assembling at Ras al-Ayn, Baldwin sent envoys to Joscelin and Bohemond and persuaded them to make a joint attack against Harran. Baldwin, Bohemond and Joscelin went together to Harran and entered into negotiations with the Seljuq garrison for a peaceful surrender. However, both Baldwin and Bohemond wanted to seize the wealthy town and the crusader army started disintegrating because of their conflict.