Amalric's reign was marked by a ceaseless struggle with the Muslim atabeg of Damascus and Aleppo, Nur al-Din Zengi, and persistent attempts to subjugate Egypt.

Nur al-Din took advantage of the king's expeditions to Egypt to wreak havoc on the kingdom and the northern crusader states, Antioch and Tripoli, and Amalric had to intervene in the north as well.

[3] Fulk was considerably older than Melisende and had adult children in Europe from his first marriage, including Count Geoffrey V of Anjou and Countess Sibylla of Flanders.

Melisende's lords deserted her as Baldwin advanced, and she took refuge in the Tower of David with her most loyal men, including Amalric, Viscount Rohard the Elder, and Philip of Milly.

[18] Based on charter evidence, Mayer concludes that Baldwin punished Amalric for siding with their mother by depriving him of the County of Jaffa in 1152.

Agnes was the daughter of the dispossessed Count Joscelin II of Edessa, a second cousin of Queen Melisende, and a widow since the death in battle of her first husband, Reynald of Marash.

[22] Mayer argues that Agnes had already been married to Hugh in 1157, making her marriage to Amalric bigamous[22] and, in Barber's opinion, possibly the result of an abduction.

[31] Early in his reign Amalric strengthened his position against his most powerful vassals (tenants-in-chief) by passing the Assise sur la ligece.

[37] Zengi's son Nur ad-Din unified the Muslim principalities of Syria by bringing the great cities of Damascus and Aleppo under his rule; if he were to conquer Egypt as well, the crusader states would be encircled.

[38] Dirgham, who had driven out Shawar, desperately attempted to fend off the invaders by opening the floodbanks on the Nile, but ended up agreeing to pay an even larger tribute and surrendered hostages as guarantees.

After returning to Jerusalem, Amalric wrote to King Louis VIII of France that it was only the annual flooding of the Nile that prevented him from taking Bilbais.

[40] Amalric and Bertrand's attempts to entice the king of France to assist in their planned conquest of Egypt proved fruitless, and so the Christian leaders continued to court the Byzantines.

[46] Hamilton concludes that this "sharp" treatment originated from Amalric's desire to prevent Walter from holding the great lordships of Beirut and Oultrejordain simultaneously.

[49] In January 1167, before the Byzantines could assist, news reached Jerusalem that Shirkuh was marching towards Egypt at the head of a large army furnished by Nur ad-Din.

[51] The Franks secured the support of the Fatimid caliph, al-Adid, but then a stalemate ensued between them and Shirkuh as the opposing forces were encamped on the opposite banks of the Nile.

The king then secretly moved his men 8 miles (13 km) south, leaving some to protect the young caliph and the wooden bridge they had raised on the Nile.

[54] In this period the king was depicted on his seal wearing a sash in the Byzantine fashion, and the two rulers cooperated in the extensive mosaic program undertaken in the Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

[58] William returned to the kingdom in late 1167 and was astonished to find that, by 20 October, King Amalric had departed on another expedition to Egypt without the Byzantines.

Unable to resist, Shawar offered huge sums of money to Amalric while simultaneously petitioning Nur ad-Din for help.

[69][70] Stephen agreed and arrived in Jerusalem with Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, bringing gifts from King Louis VII of France.

[74] William's informants insisted that Manuel had not sent enough supplies, whereas the Byzantine chroniclers John Kinnamos and Niketas Choniates accuse the Franks of procrastinating.

[75] The Byzantine general Andronikos Kontostephanos proposed an all-out assault, but Amalric believed that the city walls had not been battered enough by the siege engines.

Amalric informed Louis VII of France and expressed concern that the enemy would seize Tripoli, Arqa, Gibelet, Latakia, Marqab, and Antioch.

As administrator of the County of Tripoli, Amalric granted Arqa and Gibelacar to the Hospitallers to hold independently of the count on the condition that they repair the castles.

[77] In December 1170 Saladin suddenly brought a vast host to besiege Darum, a simple fortress built by Amalric in the south of the kingdom for collecting taxes and tolls.

[55] Manuel arranged a lavish welcome for the royal party: Amalric was seated on a throne next to the emperor's, albeit slightly lower; given access to private imperial suites; shown the most precious relics; treated to music and theater shows; given a guided tour of the city; and taken by ship to view the mouth of the Black Sea.

Ibn al-Athir relates that Saladin came close to capturing Montreal, but was advised that Nur ad-Din might turn his attention to him if he defeated Amalric at the same time.

In 1172 the king travelled north once again to prevent Cilicia from falling into the hands of the Armenian lord Mleh, who had expelled the Templars from their Cilician fortresses and allied with Nur ad-Din.

The order's envoy was returning from the negotiations with the king's guarantee of safe conduct when he was killed by a group of Templars led by Walter of Mesnil.

[88] He regularly attended Mass, but William noted that not even the Church was spared from the king's "lust for money"; and he was promiscuous, pursuing even married women.