After the First Crusade, most of the crusaders returned home. But a few remained in the Holy Land to establish Christian colonies, namely, Baldwin in the County of Edessa, Bohemund in the principality of Antioch, Raymond in the county of Tripoli, and Godfrey in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Technically, the Greek emperor, to whom the crusaders had pledged their allegiance in Constantinople, ruled over Jerusalem, and Jerusalem held nominal feudal authority over the other three Latin states. In reality, however, the crusaders disavowed their pledges to the Byzantine ruler and pledged themselves anew to the pope in Rome. Moreover, the four Latin states operated more as a loose confederation than as a unified sovereignty ruled by the king of Jerusalem.

A Powerful Coalition

These colonies became known as the Crusader...