Baldwin had become King of Jerusalem when his brother Godfrey of Bouillon died in 1100.
The County of Edessa had passed to his cousin Baldwin of Bourcq.
He was joined by Joscelin of Courtenay, who became lord of the fortress of Turbessel on the Euphrates, an important outpost against the Seljuq Turks.
The Frankish lords had formed a good rapport with their Armenian subjects, and there were frequent intermarriages; the first three counts had all married Armenians.
Count Baldwin's wife had died in Maraş in 1097, and after he succeeded to Edessa he had married Arda, a granddaughter of the Armenian Roupenid chief Constantine.
Baldwin of Bourcq had married Morphia, a daughter of Gabriel of Melitene, and Joscelin of Courtenay had married a daughter of Constantine.
Baldwin of Bourcq had quickly become involved in the affairs of northern Syria and Asia Minor.
He had helped secure the ransom of Bohemond I of Antioch from the Danishmends in 1103, and, with Antioch, had attacked the Empire in Cilicia in 1104.
Later in 1104, Edessa had been attacked by Mosul, and both Baldwin and Joscelin had been taken prisoner when they were defeated at the Battle of Harran.
Bohemond's cousin Tancred had become regent in Edessa (although Richard of Salerno actually governed the territory), until Baldwin and Joscelin were ransomed in 1108.
Baldwin had had to fight to regain control of the city; Tancred had eventually been defeated, though Baldwin had to ally with some of the local Muslim rulers.
Mawdud ibn Altuntash is an officer of Mehmed I of Great Seljuk, who had sent him to reconquer Mosul from the rebel atabeg Jawali.
After his conquest of the city, Mehmed had entrusted him with several military attempts to push back the Crusaders from the nearby Principality of Antioch and county of Edessa.
The first attempt is launched in 1110; having joined forces with Ilghazi, the emir of Mardin, and of Soqman al Qutbi, emir of Khilat, they begin by besieging Edessa from April of that year, but Baldwin I of Jerusalem intervenes, and forces Mawdud to retreat.
All Edessa’s lands east of the Euphrates are lost to Mawdud of Mosul in 1110.
This is not followed by an assault on Edessa itself, as the Muslim rulers are more concerned with consolidating their own power.
