Page 533

 Ch. XVII THE LATIN STATES UNDER BALDWIN III AND AMALRIC 1 533 
June 29, 1149, his troops were surrounded, and Raymond with Reginald of Marash
perished in the battle.4 The atabeg then advanced toward Antioch ravaging
the countryside as far as the coast where he exultantly bathed in the Mediterranean.
The defenders of Antioch, directed by the patriarch Aimery, were accorded
a short truce. Moslem troops were kept on guard, however, and Nür-ad-Din
returned to complete the capture of Uãrim. 
 These Moslem successes and Raymond of Poitiers' death produced a situation
which required intervention from Jerusalem. In Antioch the government had
fallen to Raymond's young widow, Constance, who had been left with four children.
Although the patriarch Aimery had rallied the discouraged defenders and messages
had been sent to Europe, immediate reinforcement was vital. In fact, when
Baldwin III arrived to assist Antioch, all the possessions of the principality
east of the Orontes had been lost. An attempt to recapture Uãrim failed,
but Nür-ad-Din was for the moment satisfied with his conquests, and
a truce provided a much needed respite. It was possible, therefore, to put
Antioch's defenses in order. 
 The king was also able to salvage, at least temporarily, the vestiges of
the county of Edessa. The final liquidation of Edessa could not, however,
be long delayed. On May 4, 1150, Joscelin was ambushed on the way to Antioch.
His Turkoman captors were willing to set him free on payment of ransom, but
the atabeg quickly sent a corps of soldiers who brought the count to Aleppo
where he died nine years later. Despite threats of injury he refused to abjure
his faith and, since he was unable to obtain a Latin priest, received the
last rites at the hands of a Jacobite bishop. 
 On the news of Joscelin's capture, Mas~üd, Selchükid sultan of
Iconium (Konya), advanced into Latin territory and in May 1150 took Kesoun,
Behesni, Raban, and other outlying possessions of Edessa. Considerable numbers
of the inhabitants made their way to Tell Bashir where Joscelin's wife, Beatrice,
was valiantly holdnig out. Meanwhile, Nür-ad-DIn took ~Azãz,
which with Uãrim made him master of the hinterland of Antioch. 
 These events brought Baldwin once again to Syria accompanied by Humphrey
of Toron and Guy of Beirut. He was joined by Raymond II of Tripoli and his
troops. When the royal party reached Antioch, the king found that although
Mas~üd had been 
 ~ Apparently Raymond of Antioch had the assistance of a Kurdish Assassin
leader who also was killed. Cf. above, chapter IV, p. izo, and XVI, p. 515.
See also chapter XVI, pp. 5 I 5—556, for an analysis of Niir-ad-Din's
own conception of his "mission" at this time.