Editing Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem (section)

====Holy war====
Immediately after his coronation Baldwin III sought to assert himself in warfare, the one field in which he had the advantage over his mother, and in 1144 he quelled a revolt at [[Wadi Musa]].{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=117}} The queen and the constable faced their first crisis already in November when Zengi of Mosul [[siege of Edessa (1144)|besieged Edessa]].{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=179}} The Edessenes appealed to the young king for help, but it was Melisende who made the decisions.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=117}} She called a council, and it was decided that Manasses, Philip, and Elinand should lead a relief force.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=180}} Mayer believes that the young king was not sent because Melisende resented his success at Wadi Musa;{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=117}} he argues that the queen did not wish to see her son gain a reputation as a military leader lest it lead to him becoming a threat to her political leadership.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=118}} Barber suggests that Melisende did not send Baldwin because she thought that the gravity of the situation required experienced adults. In any case, the army did not reach Edessa in time:{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=180}} the city fell to the Turks, who spared its Armenian and Greek population, but "killed the Franks wherever they could" according to the chronicler [[Michael the Syrian]].{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=179}} Immediately upon receiving the news Melisende contacted Antioch about sending an embassy to break the news to the [[pope]] and to request [[Second Crusade|a new crusade]].{{sfn|Runciman|1952|p=247}} Baldwin III [[came of age]] on his fifteenth birthday in early 1145,{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=114}} but the occasion was not publicly celebrated.{{sfn|Hamilton|1978|p=152}}

Zengi was assassinated in September 1146.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=182}} Count [[Joscelin II of Edessa]] [[Siege of Edessa (1146)|attempted to retake his former city]], and King Baldwin invaded the [[Hauran]], but both were defeated by Zengi's son [[Nur al-Din Zengi|Nur al-Din]].{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=182–184}} Mayer is certain that Melisende blamed Baldwin for the failure to take the Hauran, saying that it may explain how Melisende was able to reduce Baldwin's position by associating her younger son, Amalric, in a subsequent charter. The inclusion of Amalric was, in Mayer's words, "an application of the principle ''[[divide et impera]]''", and served to increase Melisende's power at Baldwin's expense.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=124}}
[[File:2nd Crusade council at Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Three kings met at Acre (pictured above) to plan the siege of Damascus (pictured below).|alt=Three seated kings; knights marching on a walled city]]
The news of the fall of Edessa shocked Europe,{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=184}} and [[Pope Eugene III]] began calling for a crusade.{{sfn|Barber|2012|pp=184–185}} Kings [[Louis VII of France]] and [[Conrad III of Germany]] travelled to the Levant with their relatives, vassals, and troops, accompanied by [[papal legate]]s.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=188}} The crusaders were [[Council of Acre|met near Acre]] on 24 June 1148{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=127}} by a contingent from Jerusalem consisting of Queen Melisende, King Baldwin, Patriarch Fulcher, the archbishops and the bishops, the masters of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] and [[Templar]], and the leading noblemen; it was the most impressive gathering of dignitaries ever held in the Latin East.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=188}} A decision to attack [[Damascus]] had already been reached in April by Baldwin, Conrad, and Fulcher in a much smaller meeting, which Melisende apparently did not attend.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=127}} Damascus was a great Muslim-held city,{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=150}} and its capture would have served Jerusalem better than capturing distant Edessa.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=189}} The patriarch usually took Melisende's side over Baldwin's and would have advocated her opinion, but right at this time the two were at odds over the appointment of her chancellor, Ralph, to the see of Tyre.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=127}} Mayer surmises, while admitting that it cannot be known for certain, that Melisende must have been opposed to the decision to attack Damascus because it had so far been a valuable ally against Nur al-Din and because the conquest of such a great city would have earned Baldwin enough prestige to challenge her supremacy.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=128}}

During the ensuing [[Siege of Damascus (1148)|siege of Damascus]] the crusaders were falsely advised by certain persons who had been bribed to betray them,{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=189}} leading to a swift and humiliating defeat.{{sfn|Barber|2012|p=188}} Mayer considered the possibility that Melisende first supported the expedition only to then engineer its failure in a bid to destroy Baldwin's military and political reputation, noting that it would have been a politically reckless game. The outcome was a major setback for Baldwin, but he was not completely crushed.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=128}} In 1149, after the death of Prince Raymond in [[battle of Inab|another disastrous defeat]] of the Christians by Nur al-Din, Baldwin hastened to assume responsibility for Antioch.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=129}} Melisende used her son's failure at Damascus, and possibly his journey to Antioch, to further reduce his position: from 1149 she no longer issued charters jointly with him,{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=129}} but merely allowed him to consent.{{sfn|Mayer|1972|p=130}}