IO f THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS
protect and extend this kingdom, in which rests both the
honour of your arms and the cause of Jesus Christ ". The
choice fell upon Godfrey de Bouillon, a man of about forty,
who had been commander-in-chief of the siege. The tall,
blond, blue-eyed Godfrey would not wear a crown of gold
where Jesus Christ had been crowned with thorns, nor i^ould
he adopt the title of king; he was content to describe himself
as Baron and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre.
Godfrey ruled in Jerusalem for less than a year, and it was
a year of difficulty and doubt. The Crusaders had defeated
several Moslem armies on the way to Jerusalem, but the
enemy had never fought as a united body against the invaders.
A few years before the Crusaders advanced into Asia Minor,
Malek Shah had exercised sovereignty from the frontier of
China to the northern extremity of Palestine. His sons had
divided his lands when he died, and what had been a united
and powerful empire became a series of independent states
under princes who were often at war with each other. The
rivalries of these princes had not permitted them to co-operate
in facing the Westerners, and the success of the crusading
army was largely due to the internecine quarrels of the
Saracens.
A few weeks after Godfrey's election, however, several of
the Moslem princes buried their jealousies and marched out
to rid the country of the Christians. Egypt supplied the
main part of the army, but the Prince of Damascus and
the Caliph of Bagdad also sent their contingents, and the
Crusaders were threatened by a force alleged, no doubt with
great exaggeration, to be half a million strong, Godfrey
determined to intercept the enemy and urgently appealed to
his fellow-leaders to support him; but the quarrels had not
been confined to the ranks of the Saracens. Dissensions had
shown themselves on many occasions in the Christian army,
and trouble broke out now. Only after much wrangling was
Godfrey able to collect an army of between forty and fifty