By Omar Afifi '24

This seal was made during the reign of King Amalric, who ruled the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem from 1163 until 1174.  Crusaders took over Jerusalem in 1099, at the conclusion of the First Crusade. The previous rulers of Crusader Jerusalem were Godfrey, Baldwin I, Baldwin II, Melisende, Fulk, Baldwin III, and then Amalric. 

If we take a look at the map (above), we can see the route that was taken by the First Crusade. This map shows the treacherous journey the crusaders had to endure in order to reach the Holy Land. During their journey and afterwards, many ideas, cultural practices, and art pieces were exchanged. Although the crusaders were a violent group who killed many people, many other things were happening in addition to the violence and chaos. 

King Amalric's unsuccessful military efforts helped to give rise to one of the region’s most powerful generals: Saladin. Amalric was constantly attempting to expand westward towards Egypt. After failed attempts to invade Egypt without the necessary help from the Byzantine Empire, they struck a truce with Saladin, the Vizier of Egypt at the time. The battles fought in Egypt weakened Amalric’s kingdom. The battles won by Saladin, fending off the Christian forces, promoted Saladin’s position. Saladin was appointed as Sultan after the death of the last Fatimid caliph in 1171, which helped to establish his position as one of the region's most powerful generals.