When the Crusaders captured the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in 492 / 1099 they established the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the third and largest Frankish state of the eastern Mediterranean region. Its first king was Godfrey of Bouillon who called himself ‘Defender of the Holy Sepulchre’. The Crusader rulers offered their patronage to both Islamic and Christian holy sites, supporting generously the Aqsa
Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, just as they did Christian monuments in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Several architectural features and objects from this period are extant.