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This is my first shot at a TL, so let me know up front what's wrong or too ASB. I tried by best and did a lot of research (but probably not nearly enough). Here it goes, hopefully you enjoy.



Outremer: 1099-1105



POD: July 29, 1099 Pope Urban II does not die. He lives for another four years and continues actively aiding the First Crusade's efforts and success'.

After Godfrey of Bouillon takes Jerusalem and becomes the Defender of the Holy Sepulcher, he contracts an illness that brings him near death, but breaks it and comes out a new man, having a vision that seemed like divine intervention. He turns to Dagobert of Pisa and Raymond of St. Giles with new terms of friendship and shared goals for the Holy Land. Raymond eventually takes Ascalon with assistance from a newly reformed Godfrey. They then march on Bohemond of Antioch and took his lands for the soon to be Papal fiefdom, those stretching from Tripoli to the southern border of Edessa and Armenian Cilicia. This campaign took merely weeks as, with Baldwin of Edessa’s help, Bohemond was crushed by the forces of Godfrey, Baldwin, and Raymond.

Assistance from the Pope came quickly with a new stabilized and centered Crusader State in the Holy Land. With Godfrey serving as the Defender of the Holy Sepulcher and not as a King of Jerusalem, and allied with the goals of the church through Dagobert of Pisa and Pope Urban II, the state was transformed into a fiefdom of the Papal State and was ruled jointly by the Crusader State and the Papal State.

With the creation of the State of Outremer, the Urban II quickly sought to strengthen the state with a push from the church in the form of a papal bull. “Accerso Lux Lucis” called for the people of Europe to “bring the light” to the Holy Land to become closer to God. This caused mass waves of immigration from Europe to Outremer, and with the Papacy controlling the passage with a fleet funded by the payment for the transportation, it succeeded. The first to jump were the families of Crusaders who yearned to reunite, and with the news of the Crusaders success, the newly issued Papal Bull, and Papal control of the transportation to Outremer, the influx of migrants was immense.

Accerso Lux Lucis was taken advantage by those in the Holy Lands as well. Godfrey and Raymond began reforms to change the crusader armies that stood into a standing army for Outremer. With Godfrey, as Defender of the Holy Sepulcher, co-ruling Outremer with Dagobert, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, he was able to get full support for the new reforms. With a strong army having new ideals and fresh reinforcements in migration efforts, Outremer could only grow. The reforms of Godfrey and Raymond took form as the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, the standing army of the state of Outremer.

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The State of Outremer: Outremer of TTL is more powerful, stable, and successful than the Kingdom of Jerusalem was OTL. It exists as a fiefdom of the Papal State, and with the success of the First Crusade and the guiding hand of a surviving Pope Urban II, the masses of Europe were drawn to this perfect realm which is closest to the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The governing of Outremer is very progressive for its time, and was created by the hands of Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of St. Giles, and Dagobert of Pisa. Written in the Assizes of Jerusalem, (TTL created but not completed by reformed Godfrey, Raymond, and Dagobert) The administration would be guided by the Church, the military would be guided by the Protectors of the Holy Land and what survives them (namely the Defender of the Holy Sepulcher, the Crusaders, and through them the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher), and the representation of the state would be guided by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Defender of the Holy Sepulcher.

The State of the Church: New funds from the immigration to Outremer, a strong navy grown from said funds, new riches and trade from its fiefdom of Outremer, and a strong guiding force through Urban II, the Papal State grew to become one of the strongest in all of Italy.

The success of the First Crusade sparked newer, stronger faith in Christianity, and by extension, the Church. The Pope and the Papal State gained stronger influence with the people in Europe as well as its kings. Also, the reforms in Outremer spread to the Italian peninsula like wildfire through its heavy trade and migration efforts, making the Papal Navy, by extension, part of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher due to the newfound faith in Outremer, the Church, and Christianity. The Papal Army also joined in and became the Italian arm of the Knights and with it came a stronger, reformed army for the Papacy.

Foreign Affairs of Outremer: Through Raymond, Godfrey and Dagobert returned the captured lands of Nicea and Dorylaeum to the Byzantine Empire. Strengthening their ties and signing a military alliance, this started the chilling of relations between the Eastern and Western Churches, who, were by extension through Outremer, allies.

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September, 1100 – Feeling choked by Outremer to the South (which now contained OTL possessions of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, namely Acre, Ascalon, Arsuf, Jaffa, Caesarea Maritima, and OTL possessions of the Principality of Antioch), Edessa to the east, and the Byzantines to the west, Amenian Cilicia declared was on Edessa. Baldwin of Bolougne died in the siege of Edessa, therefore leaving his brother Godfrey as heir to his lands, but he had to control the area first. Outremer declared war hastily, with their allies, the Byzantines, following suit.

Godfrey marched with his Knights to Terbessel, now controlled by the Armenians, and laid siege on it. After only three days the defenders surrendered to Outremer under the overwhelming might and moral of the Knights and Godfrey. He pushed on to Edessa meeting them outside the city where a fierce battle was about to begin. The Knights, fighting with newfound valor and feeling almost invincible through their new faith, crushed the Armenian army in a glorious victory, ending with Raymond of St. Giles beheading their king, Constantine I.

The Knights pressed on with their morale as high as ever to Sis, and crushed the small defending force within days by siege. After control of Sis was established, Alexios and Godfrey signed a peace with the remaining officials of the Armenian Kingdom. Sis and the country of Edessa would go to Outremer, while Tarsus would become a tributary to the Byzantines.

December 1, 1100Phillip of Outremer, Son of Godfrey, is born.

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Godfrey of Outremer: Defender of the Holy Sepulcher – After the Armenian- Christian war, Outremer was extended to the perfect size to be accommodated by its strength at that time. Godfrey proceeded to keep relations up with the Byzantines and married Zoe Komnenos. The procession was led by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the couple emerged from the Church as Godfrey and Zoe of Outremer. Soon after, before Godfrey left to oversee the new fortifications in Ascalon by its commander Raymond of St. Giles, Zoe became pregnant. Godfrey returned from his journey, happy with Raymond’s efforts, just in time to see his son and heir be born. He and his wife would name him Phillip.

Godfrey was also a fair protector of the lands he served (and ruled), and was fairly popular with the people of Outremer. He was also idolized (along with Raymond of St. Giles) as the founder, creator, and in the future, patron saint of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. He would eventually become one of and the last of the Nine Worthies.

Some time in June, 1105, Godfrey went to bed with his wife, and failed to arise the next day. Some say God called him to the Kingdom of Heaven for his saintly efforts, and through these claims, eventually became a saint. He was succeeded in his position of Defender of the Holy Sepulcher by Raymond of St. Gilles, who took Godfrey’s position and role in Phillip’s life, raising him to be a strong warrior-prince, and a pious, faithful man.


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August, 1102 – Alexios, feeling brave through the new revival of the Byzantine Empire through trade and alliance with the Papacy and Outremer, declared open war with the Seljuq Empire, with Outremer and the Papal State following behind. Godfrey took Damascus, Aleppo, and marched on Harran, looking to block the Seljuqs from the Levant and flank their reinforcements to the Sultanate of Rum. Alexios took this as a sign to move and pressed on the Seljuq presence in Asia Minor and pushed to Rum. The siege lasted two weeks, and afterwards, a treaty was signed, allowing Byzantine hold over Asia Minor and kicking the Seljuqs out of the Levant for good. The Seljuq- Christian war, as it was called by both the Byzantines and the Outremerians, was the final stepping stone in putting Outremer on the map forever. Islam was effectively blocked out from the Holy Lands and over the course of the next century, would become more Europeanized and Christian.

February, 1103 – Raymond of St. Giles, the Commander of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher completes fortifications in Ascalon for impending war with the Fatimids and to prevent destruction from raiders of Arabian nomad tribes (who were eventually bought off with papal money from the Knights banking system). Pope Urban II dies; the election process for a new pope begins.

June 1105 – Godfrey of Outremer, Defender of the Holy Sepulcher dies. Raymond of St. Gilles takes over as co-ruler of Outremer and Defender of the Holy Sepulcher. Pope Stephen X is coroneted and it seen as a strong pope for the strengthening of the Holy Lands and of the Papal State.
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