Death of Baldwin I of Jerusalem

April 2, 1118

Campaigning deep into the Egyptian desert, the Crusader king fell ill from an old wound and ordered his cook to embalm his body in salt and carry it home for burial at the Holy Sepulchre beside his brother Godfrey. He was laid to rest on Palm Sunday. Baldwin had transformed a fragile pilgrim settlement into a functioning feudal kingdom, conquering every major coastal port from Beirut to the borders of Egypt.