 Taking advantage of the presence of Thierry , Count of Flanders , and his army in the Holy Land and an earthquake that destroyed most towns of Northern Syria , Baldwin III of Jerusalem invaded the Muslim territories in the valley of the Orontes River in the autumn of 1157 . Raynald joined the royal army , and they laid siege to Shaizar . Shaizar was held by a band of Assassins , but it had been ruled by the <unk> who paid an annual tribute to Raynald . Before the capitulation of the garrison , Baldwin decided to grant the fortress to Thierry of Flanders , but Raynald demanded that the count should pay homage to him for the town . After Thierry sharply refused to swear fealty to an upstart , the crusaders abandoned the siege . They marched on <unk> ( present @-@ day Harem , Syria ) , which had been an Antiochene fortress before Nur ad @-@ Din , atabeg of Aleppo , captured it in 1150 . After the crusaders captured <unk> in February 1158 , Raynald granted it to the Flemish Raynald of Saint @-@ Valery . 
