Editing Kingdom of Jerusalem (section)

== People ==
The kingdom was ethnically, religiously, and linguistically diverse, although the Crusaders established themselves and their descendants as an elite Catholic minority. They imported many customs and institutions from their homelands in Europe, and there were close familial and political connections with the West throughout the kingdom's existence. The kingdom also inherited "oriental" qualities, influenced by pre-existing customs and populations. The majority of the kingdom's inhabitants were native Christians, especially [[Greek Orthodox|Greek]] and [[Syriac Orthodox]], as well as [[Sunni]] and [[Shi'a]] Muslims. The native Christians and Muslims, who were a marginalized lower class, tended to speak Greek and Arabic, while the crusaders, who came mainly from [[France]], spoke [[Old French|French]]. There were also a small number of [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]].

According to [[Benjamin of Tudela]], who travelled through the kingdom around 1170, there were 1,000 Samaritans in [[Nablus]], 200 in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]] and 300 in [[Ascalon]]. This sets a lower bound for the Samaritan population at 1,500, since the contemporary ''[[Tolidah]]'', a Samaritan chronicle, also mentions communities in [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and [[Acre, Israel|Acre]]. Benjamin of Tudela estimated the total Jewish population of 14 cities in the kingdom to be 1,200, making the Samaritan population of the time larger than the Jewish, perhaps for the only time in history.<ref name=Kedar>[[Benjamin Z. Kedar]], "Samaritan History: The Frankish Period", in Alan David Crown (ed.), ''The Samaritans'' (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1989), pp. 82–94.</ref>