Editing Fulk, King of Jerusalem (section)

==Securing the borders==
Jerusalem's northern border was of great concern. Fulk had been appointed [[regent]] of the [[Principality of Antioch]] by Baldwin II. As regent, he had [[Raymond of Poitou]] marry the infant princess [[Constance of Antioch]], his and Melisende's niece. However, the greatest concern during Fulk's reign was the rise of [[Imad al-Din Zengi|Zengi]], [[List of rulers of Mosul#Zengid emirs|atabeg of Mosul]].<ref name=":3" />
[[File:Map_Crusader_states_1135-en.svg|thumb|413x413px|The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states in 1135 [[AD]], during the reign of Fulk]]
In 1137, Fulk was defeated in battle near [[Baarin]], at the castle of [[Montferrand (crusader castle)|Montferrand]].<ref name=":0" /> In order to recover, he allied with [[Mu'in ad-Din Unur]], the vizier of [[Damascus]]. Damascus was also threatened by Zengi. Fulk captured the fort of [[Banias]], to the north of [[Lake Tiberias]] and thus secured the northern frontier.

Fulk also strengthened the kingdom's southern border. His butler [[Pagan the Butler|Paganus]] built the fortress of [[Kerak]] to the east of the [[Dead Sea]].<ref name=":3" /> To help give the kingdom access to the [[Red Sea]], Fulk had [[Blanchegarde]], [[Ibelin (castle)|Ibelin]], and other forts built in the south-west to overpower the [[Egypt]]ian fortress at [[Askelon|Ascalon]]. This city was a base from which the Egyptian [[Fatimids]] launched frequent raids on the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Fulk sought to neutralise this threat.

[[Byzantine emperor]] [[John II Comnenus]] traveled to [[Syria]] in 1137<ref name=":3" /> and 1142 while attempting to impose [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] control over the [[crusader state]]s. John's intention of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, accompanied by his impressive army, alarmed Fulk, who wrote to John pointing out that his kingdom was poor and could not support the passage of a large army. This lukewarm response dissuaded John from carrying through his intention, and he postponed his pilgrimage. John died before he could make good his proposed journey to Jerusalem.{{sfn|Runciman|1952|pp=212–213, 222–224}}