Latin (official/ceremonial) Syriac (popular) Old French (popular) Italian Armenian Arabic Greek
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Armenian Apostolic Church, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism
Government
Feudal monarchy
Count of Edessa
• 1098–1100 (first)
Baldwin I
• 1131–1144 (last)
Joscelin II
Historical era
High Middle Ages
• First Crusade
1096–1099
• Establishment
1098
• Conquered by Nur ad-Din Zengi, and the rest sold to Manuel I Komnenos
1144
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Edessa under Thoros
Seljuk Empire
Emirate of Zengids
Byzantine Empire
Today part of
Syria Turkey
The County of Edessa (Latin: Comitatus Edessanus) was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia.[1] Its seat was the city of Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey).
In the late Byzantine period, Edessa became the centre of intellectual life within the Syriac Orthodox Church. As such it also became the centre for the translation of Ancient Greek philosophy into Syriac, which provided a stepping stone for the subsequent translations into Arabic. When the crusades arrived, it was still important enough to tempt a side-expedition after the siege of Antioch.
Baldwin of Boulogne, the first count of Edessa, became king of Jerusalem, and subsequent counts were his cousins. Unlike the other Crusader states, the county was landlocked. It was remote from the other states and was not on particularly good terms with its closest neighbor, the Principality of Antioch. Half of the county, including its capital, was located east of the Euphrates, far to the east, rendering it particularly vulnerable. The west part of the Euphrates was controlled from the stronghold of Turbessel. The eastern border of Edessa was the Tigris, but the County may not have extended quite that far.
The fall of Edessa in 1144 was the first major setback for Outremer and provoked the Second Crusade. All the later Crusades, however, were troubled by strategic uncertainties and disagreements. The Second Crusade did not even try to recover Edessa, calculating it to be strategically better to take Damascus. But the campaign failed and Edessa was lost for the Christians.
^ Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-1150). Pontificia Università Antonianum - Rome. ISBN 978-88-7257-103-3.
The CountyofEdessa (Latin: Comitatus Edessanus) was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia. Its seat was the city ofEdessa (modern Şanlıurfa...
prominent center of Christian learning and seat of the Catechetical School ofEdessa. During the Crusades, it was the capital of the CountyofEdessa. The city...
Urfa was founded as a city under the name Edessa by the Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator in 303 or 302 BC. There is no written evidence for earlier settlement...
(or great officers) of the CountyofEdessa were the appointed officials in charge of various aspects of the government of the county. The offices they...
Tancred attempted to retain Edessa, but Bernard of Valence, the Latin patriarch of Antioch, persuaded him to restore the county to Baldwin. Baldwin allied...
first count ofEdessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne,...
holdings in the Near East. Meanwhile, the CountyofEdessa, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Principality of Antioch had been established. Tripoli was...
which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the CountyofEdessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extended...
established four Crusader states: the CountyofEdessa; the Principality of Antioch; the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the Countyof Tripoli. A European presence remained...
daughter of Joscelin II ofEdessa, had lived in Jerusalem since the western regions of the former crusader CountyofEdessa were lost in 1150. Patriarch...
established in the Holy Land: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the CountyofEdessa, the Principality of Antioch, and the Countyof Tripoli. The Crusader presence remained...
of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the...
to south: the CountyofEdessa (1098–1150), the Principality of Antioch (1098–1268), the Countyof Tripoli (1102–1289), and the Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291)...
fall of the CountyofEdessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade (1096–1099) by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem...
CountyofEdessa in the absence of her spouse in 1150. Her first husband, William of Zardana, died in 1132 or 1133, leaving her in the possession of the...
Below is a list of bishops ofEdessa. The following list is based on the records of the Chronicle ofEdessa (to c.540) and the Chronicle of Zuqnin. These...
were located further north: the CountyofEdessa (1097–1144), the Principality of Antioch (1098–1268), and the Countyof Tripoli (1109–1289). While all...
would soon be captured by Nur ad-Din (1150) and what remained of his CountyofEdessa was evacuated by its Latin inhabitants. After the victory at Inab...
The Battle of Harran took place on 7 May 1104 between the Crusader states of the Principality of Antioch and the CountyofEdessa, and the Seljuk Turks...
Kingdom of Jerusalem, there were also three other major Crusader states in the Near East: CountyofEdessaCountyof Tripoli Principality of Antioch These...
residents of the CountyofEdessa. This was both a tactical victory and a strategic defeat for the Crusaders. Zengi, Nur ad-Din's father, had seized Edessa in...
sons: Miles, who was Lord of Courtenay after him; Prince Joscelin, who joined the First Crusade and became Count ofEdessa; and Geoffrey, who also fought...
siege of Shaizar took place from April 28 to May 21, 1138. The allied forces of the Byzantine Empire, Principality of Antioch and CountyofEdessa invaded...
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