for the crusaders, and the city was conquered on 5 December 1110. Eustace Grenier was granted the Lordship of Sidon after the city was captured. By order of Baldwin and the patriarch of Jerusalem, Ghibbelin of Arles, a splinter was taken from the True Cross and given to Sigurd after the siege, as a token of friendship and as a relic for his heroic participation in the crusades. Thereafter, King Sigurd returned to his ships and prepared to leave the Holy Land. They sailed north to the island of Cyprus, where Sigurd stayed for a time. Sigurd then sailed to Constantinople (Miklagard) and entered the city through the gate called the Gold Tower, riding in front of his men. He stayed there for a while, meeting and spending much time with Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Return to Norway Before leaving Constantinople, Sigurd gave all of his ships and many treasures away to Emperor Alexios. In return the emperor gave him many strong horses, for him and his fellow kinsmen. Sigurd planned to return to Norway over land, but many of his men stayed behind in Constantinople, to take up service for the emperor as part of his Varangian Guard. The trip took three years and he visited many countries en route. Sigurd traveled from Serbia and Bulgaria, through Hungary, Pannonia, Swabia and Bavaria where he met with the Emperor Lothar II of the Holy Roman Empire. He later arrived in Denmark where he was greeted by King Niels of Denmark, who eventually gave him a ship in which to sail to Norway. Upon returning to Norway in 1111, Sigurd came back to a flourishing and prosperous kingdom. King Øystein had created a strong and stable country and the church gained more wealth, power and prestige. During Sigurd's reign, the tithe (a 10% tax to support the church) was introduced in Norway, which greatly strengthened the church in the country. Sigurd also founded the diocese of Stavanger. He had been denied divorce by the bishop in Bergen, so he simply installed another bishop further south and had him perform the divorce. Sigurd made his capital in Konghelle (in the vicinity of Kungälv in present-day Sweden) and built a strong castle there. He also kept the relic given to him by King Baldwin, a splinter reputed to be from the True Cross. In 1123, Sigurd once again set out to fight in