 Ascalon had also been contained by a number of castles built during the reign of Fulk and was not an immediate threat.The capture of Damascus, on the other hand, would benefit Baldwin; despite being a sometime-ally of Jerusalem, Nur ad-Din also desired it, and capturing it would help limit the emir's power.It would please Conrad and Louis, who were interested in capturing a city which, unlike Ascalon, was important to the history of Christianity.