Baldwin IV
king of Jerusalem
Also known as: Baldwin the Leper, Baudouin le Lépreux
Baldwin IV (born 1161—died March 1185, Jerusalem) was the king of Jerusalem (1174–85), called the “leper king” for the disease that afflicted him for most of his short life. His reign saw the growth of factionalism among the Latin nobility that weakened the kingdom during the years when its greatest adversary, the Muslim leader Saladin, extended his influence from Egypt to Syria. Educated by William, archdeacon of Tyre, Baldwin was crowned four days after his...