Tughtakin of Damascus understood that Baldwin II was under pressure on several fronts in the early years of his reign, and tried to exploit the fact by building a fort at Gerasa (1120) and ravaging the area of Tiberias. Baldwin defended tirelessly against Tughtakin's attacks, raising troops from the north of the kingdom and attacking across the Jordan, forcing Tughtakin to retreat towards Damascus and capturing Gerasa. Since it was too far from his base to defend easily, he destroyed the fort, but sent home its garrison of forty Turks