Joscelin II, Count of Edessa

Who was Joscelin II, Count of Edessa?

Joscelin II of Edessa was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa.

The young Joscelin was ransomed for Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem in 1124. In 1131, his father Joscelin I was wounded in battle with the Danishmends, and Edessa passed to Joscelin II. Joscelin II refused to march the small Edessan army out to meet the Danishmends, so Joscelin I, in his last act, forced the Danishmends to retreat, dying soon after.

Joscelin II ruled the weakest and most isolated of the Crusader states. In 1138 he allied with Antioch and Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos to attack Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, the campaign ended with the unsuccessful Siege of Shaizar. Upon returning to Antioch, Joscelin exploited local sentiment against the Byzantine Empire to instigate a riot that forced John to return home.

In 1143 both John II and Fulk of Jerusalem died, leaving Joscelin with no powerful allies to help defend Edessa. In autumn 1144, Joscelin formed an alliance with Kara Aslan of the Artuqids and marched a sizable army north to assist in their struggle with Zengi. With the capital only lightly defended, Zengi redirected his army, invading and capturing Edessa itself. Joscelin fled to Turbessel, where he held the remnants of the county west of the Euphrates.