ABSTRACT
There is very little written or archaeological evidence for the palaces of the Kingsof Jerusalem. In the first years of Frankish rule the king may possibly have resided in the Tower of David.1 In 1104 King Baldwin I moved to the more spacious and bettersituated Templum Salomonis (the al-Aqsa Mosque). Oddly enough, it appears that he subsequently neglected the palace and allowed it to fall into disrepair. When he died in 1118 the roof was in danger of collapse and Fulcher of Chartres wrote:
It is now a matter of serious regret that the fabric of the roof needs repairing, ever since it passed into the hands of King Baldwin and our people. This is due to our lack of resources. Indeed if any lead fell down, or was taken down from the roof by his orders, he was even selling it to the merchants.2
