People/Latin Crusaders and Crusader states

1136–1174 · King of Jerusalem (1163–1174)

Amalric I

Other names · Amalric I · Amaury I

King who turned the Kingdom of Jerusalem toward attempts to dominate Egypt.

No verified depiction added

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Amalric was a son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk and succeeded his brother Baldwin III in 1163. To obtain the throne he was required to annul his marriage to Agnes of Courtenay, while their children Baldwin and Sibylla remained legitimate. The succession created close links between his family policy and the future stability of Jerusalem.

02

Role in the Crusades

Between 1163 and 1169 Amalric repeatedly campaigned in Fatimid Egypt. He formed changing alliances amid the struggles involving the vizier Shawar, Shirkuh and Nur al-Din. Operations around Bilbeis and Cairo failed to establish lasting Frankish control and instead contributed to the rise of Shirkuh and Saladin in Egypt.

Method note

Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Related cases

1163 – 1169 · Cairo – Bilbeis – Alexandria

Crusader–Zengid campaigns in Egypt

Between 1163 and 1169, King Amalric of Jerusalem and Nur al-Din's commander Shirkuh clashed several times to gain influence over weakened Fatimid Egypt. The struggle ended in Nur al-Din's favour when Shirkuh became vizier in January 1169.

Open record →May–November 1174 · Damascus and Jerusalem

Deaths of Nur al-Din and Amalric I; Saladin enters Damascus

In 1174 first Nur al-Din (15 May) and then King Amalric of Jerusalem (11 July) died. As young heirs and regency disputes emerged on both sides, Saladin entered Damascus in October 1174 and began gathering Nur al-Din's legacy under his own rule.

Open record →