Nobody knows what happened to Baldwin the first that fateful day that he and his Crusader Knights captured the city of Jerusalem. His armies were valiant in taking the holy city, and the siege was an absolute success. And yet, the same Baldwin that entered the city of Jerusalem was not the same that left it.
The Christians say that he had fallen to the Devil's temptation with all this new power in his hands.
The Muslims say that the Desert heat was simply too much for his pale european complexion to stand, and that he simply went insane.
The Jews say that it was a Miracle from God.
Nonetheless, upon his entry into the city, Baldwin quickly made a shocking conversion to Judaism. His armies, stunned at the move, made no motion to stop him. Baldwin then proceeded to attempt and convert all the Crusaders who had come with him. Only to fail, the majority still remained Catholic.
Nonetheless, Baldwin instituted freedom of Religion in the City to all, and as much as the Pope would have liked to have stopped the reformed Crusader, he could not. As Baldwin was only one of two allies in the Middle East.
Hearing of Baldwin's Conversion, and the possiblility of safety and security under his rule, the Jewish Communities of other cities quickly staged revolutions. Once the Jews assumed control, they contacted Baldwin and gave the cities to him. Soon enough Baldwin I was in control of a trio of powerful cities, Tyre, Jerusalem, and Acre.
A group of Catholics, discontent with the now ruling Jewish class of the city, decided that now would be the best time to leave Tyre and found their own city. They did not get too far, however, before they were stopped by Baldwin's guards, and brought before the King himself.
"Ho Ho Ho! And what do we have here?" Baldwin chuckled, seeing the rag-tag group enter his throne room.
"We wish to found our own city, we Catholics refuse to live in a city ruled over by Jews!" The leader of the group snarled,
"So long as you pledge alligence to me, I will let you found your own city in the Province of Transjordan." Baldwin offered, the group turned to commune with one another, and decided that if they were that far away they could at least have a bit of autonomy from this insane king.
"Very well, we accept."
"Good! You also cannot harm any Jews who wish to come with you."
"What?!"
"I could kill you in an instant you know." Baldwin reminded the rash settler, and with that, the group sulked off.
Meanwhile, the Jewish citizens and Chrisitan citizens of Damascus were staging a revolt against their Arab rulers, wishing to join one of the rising Crusader states. Damascus was a productive, populated, and cultured city. A powerful gain for Baldwin or his rival, Bohemond of Antioch.
But while Bohemond's armies were in the North, Baldwin already had sent help to liberate the city. Hoping this could be just another advantage over his Norman Counterpart.
Meanwhile to the South, the grumbling settlers had finally brought Transjordan into the control of Baldwin, and more importantly, revealed a hidden, and relatively unguarded Fatamid settlement. While of a different faith at this point, Baldwin wasn't just going to forget why he was here in the Holy Land.
He was here to kill Arabs and snatch land. And he was all out of Settlers...
So Aqaba was conquered.
Meanwhile, Damascus fell to Pro-Jerusalem forces within the city before Baldwin even got there. The king of course had to smile, as this obivously showed his popularity over that smelly Viking Bohemond. Still, this had left Baldwin's main army with nothing to do. So Baldwin gave them the order to turn around,
Telling them it was time to claim Egypt...
