Fulk V of Anjou

Fulk (French: Foulque or Foulques; 1089 or 1090 – 10 November 1143) was the count of Anjou (known as Fulk V or the Younger) from 1109 until 1129 and the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143. He was a vigorous and assertive ruler who defeated numerous rebellions as both count and king and left both states more secure than he had found them.

Fulk was born to Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrada of Montfort. He became co-count with his father after the death of his half-brother Geoffrey IV in 1106 and sole count upon his father's death in 1109. Through his marriage with Countess Eremburga, he also became count of Maine in 1110. Fulk's rule in Anjou was marked both by baronial uprisings and a prolonged conflict with King Henry I of England. Eremburga had a prominent place in Fulk's government until her death in 1126. In 1127, Fulk negotiated the marriage of their son, Geoffrey V, to Henry's daughter and heir presumptive, Matilda. In 1129, he relinquished Anjou to Geoffrey and moved to Jerusalem to marry Melisende, daughter and heir presumptive of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem.

Fulk became king upon Baldwin II's death in 1131. The nobles of Antioch recognized him as regent in the name of their young princess, Constance, but he had to defeat Constance's mother, Princess Alice, and Count Pons of Tripoli to enforce his claim to the regency. He enjoyed a cordial relationship with Pons after saving him from Turks in 1133 and remained involved in the defense of crusader states from the ambitious Turkic leader Imad al-Din Zengi throughout the first half of his reign. He excluded Melisende from power early on and faced a rebellion of her kinsman Hugh II of Jaffa in 1134. He defeated Hugh, but Melisende forced him to share rule with her henceforth.

After losing Montferrand to Zengi in 1137, Fulk concentrated on strengthening the defenses of his own kingdom, especially on the southern border with Fatimid Egypt. He deferred to Melisende on Church matters and supported her patronage interests. In 1142, he deftly avoided a confrontation with Emperor John II Komnenos, but both men died in hunting accidents the following year.

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulk_V_of_Anjou