Editing Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (section)

===Progressing disability===
[[File:Karak castle in Jordan.JPG|thumb|Kerak Castle]]

Baldwin could not walk unsupported or use his hands from 1183.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=187, 240}} Because of an inability to blink, his [[cornea]] dried and he became blind.{{sfn|Mitchell|2000|p=253}} He nevertheless had to summon his troops in response to Saladin's march south following the Egyptian conquest of Aleppo in June. The king then developed a life-threatening fever. He was attended by his mother and the new patriarch, [[Heraclius of Jerusalem|Heraclius]], at nearby [[Nazareth]]. Having summoned the High Court to his bedside, Baldwin entrusted the government to his brother-in-law, Guy, who was next in line to succeed him.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=188}} Guy's appointment to regency was meant to be permanent. Baldwin retained only the royal title and authority over the city of Jerusalem, but he had Guy swear that, while Baldwin lived, he would not make himself king or alienate parts of the [[royal demesne]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=189}}{{sfn|Riley-Smith|1973|p=107}}

Fearing discontent among his barons, Baldwin had failed to give Guy any experience in military leadership prior to making him regent.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=189}} Indeed, the great lords of the kingdom, the independent rulers of Antioch and Tripoli, and the grand masters of the military orders refused to cooperate with Guy.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=191}} Baldwin recovered unexpectedly and returned to Jerusalem. Having found that coastal climate suited his health, Baldwin offered Jerusalem to Guy in exchange for Tyre. Guy brusquely refused, possibly because Tyre was more lucrative, leaving Baldwin gravely insulted.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=192}}{{sfn|Riley-Smith|1973|p=107}}

The wedding of Baldwin's half-sister, Isabella, and Humphrey IV of Toron was celebrated in Kerak in late 1183. Saladin attacked during the festivities and [[Siege of Kerak|laid siege]] to the castle, hoping to capture the king's half-sister and her husband.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=192}} The retired king had gathered a council in Jerusalem to inform him about the government of the kingdom when news about the siege reached him. The defense of such a vital fortress and the king's half-sister within it could not be entrusted to Guy, who had proven unable to command the troops. Baldwin immediately dismissed him from regency and resumed power. Guy's removal from regency was effectively disinheritance; at the council's insistence, deliberations about the succession followed. The proposal of the king's mother that Sibylla's five-year-old son, Baldwin, be made [[co-king]] was accepted, and the boy was crowned on 20 November.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=193–194}}

In late November Baldwin ordered the lighting of a [[beacon]] on the [[Tower of David]], which may have been the first in a chain of such beacons, in order to hearten the defenders of the intensely bombarded Kerak.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=195}} Baldwin accompanied his troops again, but having become blind and immobile, this time he went in a litter slung between two horses.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|pp=196, 241}} His presence was essential to unite the discordant barons. Even his humiliated brother-in-law led his men. Warned by his scouts about the king's approach and concerned about having left Egypt unguarded, Saladin abandoned the siege on 4 December. Baldwin entered Kerak triumphantly.{{sfn|Hamilton|2000|p=196}}{{sfn|Runciman|1952|p=441}}