The Crusades

The Crusades were Christian military expeditions and religious wars proclaimed by

the pope. They were organized mainly to defend Christians and to recover or defend

territories that Christians believed belonged to them by right. The Crusades, waged by

Western Europeans, took place from the late 1000's to the 1500's. The original goal of the

Crusades was to gain and keep control of Palestine, also called the Holy Land. This region

was important to Christians because it was where Jesus Christ had lived. The shape of the

cross is known as the ‘Crusaders Cross’, because it was taking the papal sign given to the

Crusaders by Pope Urban II to the first Crusade, and became a symbol of the Christian

Kingdom of Jerusalem. The four smaller crosses are said to symbolize the four directions that

Christianity extended from Jerusalem. The Crusading movement was a significant event in

the history of medieval Europe.

Palestine lay along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea since Muslims had taken

control from Christians. In the First Crusade, Christians recaptured Palestine. During later

Crusades, they fought to protect Palestine or recover parts that had again been lost to Muslim

forces. According to the church, Crusading counted as an act of penance that is payment to

God for sins committed. From the late 1000's to the late 1300's, the Crusades were a popular

religious activity, attracting thousands of nobles, knights, peasants, and townspeople. Not all

the crusaders joined the expeditions for religious reasons. Some hoped to gain power,

territory and riches. But most survivors returned home with little material profit.

Even after 1291, when Muslims regained control of the last Christian territory in Palestine,

Crusades continued in the eastern Mediterranean region. They also took places as the Iberian

Peninsula, the lands surrounding the Baltic Sea, Eastern Europe, and even within Western

Europe itself. The crusaders' enemies included Muslims and other non-Christians, Greek and

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Russian Orthodox Christians, and even Roman Catholics considered to be political threats to

the church.

The word Crusade comes from the Latin word crux, meaning cross. Members of the many
expeditions sewed the symbol of the cross of Christ on their clothing. "To take up the
cross" meant to become a crusader.

 How The Crusades Began.

Europe-controlled much of the land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. This area included

southeastern Europe, Asia Minor (now part of Turkey), Palestine, Syria, Italy, parts of Spain

and North Africa. In the 600's, Arab Muslims conquered Palestine including Jerusalem. Most

of the new Arab rulers allowed Christians to visit the shrines in the Holy Land.

In the 900's, Christian pilgrimages from Western Europe to Palestine became increasingly

common, and the attachment of Western Christians to a place they considered holy grew.

Christians came to believe it was a disgrace that Muslims controlled the sites of Christ's

Crucifixion and Resurrection. In 1071, the Muslims Seljuks from central Asia crushed the

byzantines in the battle of Manzikert and conquered Asia Minor, Palestine and Syria.

In 1095, Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus asked Pope Urban II for fighting the Seljuk

Turks. He wanted to defend Christianity against the Muslims and recover the holy place. In

the autumn of 1095, Urban held a meeting of church leaders in Clermont, France. At this

Council of Clermont, Urban called for a crusade. He gave a stirring sermon, urging European

Christians to stop fighting among themselves and recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims.

He promised the crusaders both spiritual and material rewards for their work. The crowd

reportedly responded with shouts of "God wills it" An intense desire to fight for Christianity

gripped Western Europe, and thousands of people joined the cause.

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  Seljuks, pronounced ‘sehl JOOKS’, members of a Turkich ruling family who

controlled much of southwestern Asia from the mid-1000's to the mid-1200's. They

originated in an area of central Asia called Turkestan and named for Seljuk, their first

leader. The Seljuks also became one of the first Turkish peoples to rule in Asia Minor

(now Turkey). In 1055, Seljuk forces conquered part of the Arab Empire in

southwestern Asia. In 1071, Seljuk armies defeated Byzantine forces, this victory

enabled them to eventually win control of Asia Minor. By the end of the 1000's, the

Seljuks had gained control of Persia (now Iran), Syria, and Palestine. The Seljuks

were Muslims who defended Islamic civilization during the Crusades. The Crusades,

wanted to drive the Turks out of Palestine. Much of the Seljuk Empire declined

during the 11's. But the Seljuk branch laid to a foundation or rise of the Ottoman

Empire in the 1300's.

 The First Crusade (1096-1099)

Following Urban's call for a crusade, a preacher known as Peter the Hermit and a knight

called Walter the Penniless led groups that rushed ahead of the official expedition. These

crusaders made up the first of several untrained and undisciplined groups that became known

as the Peasants' Crusade. They demanded free food and shelter as they traveled through

eastern Europe toward Constantinople (now Istanbul). Stirred by an intense feeling against

non-Christians, some groups in the Peasants' Crusade and later crusaders killed many Jews.

The members of the Peasants' Crusade often stole what they wanted. As a result of this unfair

action, many were killed by both angry Europeans and Muslims in Asia Minor.

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  Peter the Hermit was a monk of Amiens, famous as a preach of the First Crusade. He

began to preach the necessity of a crusade to win back the Holy Land under Muslim

hands. Peter rode about France on muleback, wearing the rough habit of a monk and

bearing a crucifix. He hoped to inspire people to join him. In 1096, Peter set out for

Palestine with a band of undisciplined followers, chiefly from the poorer class. After

struggling through Europe and Asia Minor, the majority of his followers were

massacred by the Turks. Peter and the survivors joined Godfrey of Bouillon's army

and helped to recapture Jerusalem.

The main armies sent by Urban consisted chiefly of well-trained French and Norman

knights. The key leaders included Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Toulouse, Robert of

Flanders, Robert of Normandy, Stephen of Blois, and Bohemond of Taranto. In 1097,

Byzantine forces joined the crusaders, the combined army took the city of Nicaea ‘northwest

Turkey’. The army was divided, and Western Europeans marched toward Jerusalem, fighting

many bloody battles along the way. The most difficult was the siege of Antioch, in northern

Syria (now in Turkey). Many crusaders died there, in battle or from hunger, and many others

deserted. After Antioch had been captured, the crusaders were attacked there by the Seljuks.

However, the crusaders discovered a lance said that was thrust into the side of Jesus on the

cross. Inspired by this discovery, the crusaders won a great victory. The Europeans arrived at

Jerusalem in the summer of 1099. They recovered the city after 6 weeks of fighting. Most of

the crusaders then returned home. The leaders who stayed divided the conquered land into

four crusader states, the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of

Tripoli, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

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  The Second Crusade (1147-1149)

In 1144, the Turks conquered the County of Edessa. The threat of the other crusader

states brought the Second Crusade. The spirit preachings of the French religious leader

Bernard of Clairvaux inspired Western Europeans to defend the crusader states against the

Muslims.

King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany led the armies of the Second

Crusade into Asia Minor. But their armies did not cooperate, and the Muslim forces defeated

them before they reached Edessa.

 The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

The Muslims continued to attack the Christians in the Holy Land. By 1183, Saladin,

the sultan of Egypt and Syria, had united the Muslim areas around the crusader states. In

1187, Saladin easily defeated a Christian army at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin and

triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Only the coastal cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch

remained in Christian hands.

The loss of Jerusalem led to the Third Crusade. The important European leaders of the Third

Crusade included the German emperor Frederick I (called Barbarossa), King Richard I (the

Lion Heart) of England, and King Philip II (Augustus) of France.

Frederick drowned in 1190 on his way to the Holy Land. Quarrels among Richard, Philip,

and other leaders limited the crusaders' success. The Europeans conquered the Palestinian

port cities of Acre (now Akko) and Jaffa in 1191. But after the capture of Acre, Philip

returned home. Richard tried to recapture Jerusalem. He failed, but his recovery of the

Palestinian coastline allowed the Kingdom of Jerusalem to exist for another century. Before

Richard left home, he negotiated a treaty with Saladin. As a result of this treaty, the Muslims

let Christian pilgrims enter Jerusalem freely. Saladin, pronounced Salahdihn (1138-1193),
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was the best-known Muslim warrior of the 1100's. He brought the Third Crusade by

capturing Jerusalem in 1187. The Muslims regarded Saladin as a saintly hero, and even the

Christians honored him for his honesty and bravery.

 Saladin served as a soldier in the army of a Syrian leader Nur-alDin. In 1164, Nur

al-Din sent Saladin with an army to settle a struggle between members of the

Egyptian government. In 1168, The Syrian army helped in defending the country

against the Christian crusaders. As a sequence, they took control of Egypt and

Saladin became vizier. Before the Egyptian caliph died, in 1171, Saladin ordered

Egypt to join the Sunni branch of Islam. The caliph of Baghdad later recognized

Saladin as sultan of Egypt and Syria. After gaining control of Egypt, Saladin

extended his rule northeastward to Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul, and Edessa. He led

Muslim armies that captured Jerusalem from the Christians in 1187. Some of his

troops were besieged at Acre (now Akko) in 1189. They surrendered after two

years to Richard the Lion Heart (Saladin and Richard made a truce in 1192 that

gave the coast to the Christians and the interior to the Muslims and allowed

Christian pilgrims to enter Jerusalem. Saladin supported theologians and other

scholars. He also built schools, dikes, canals, and mosques.

 The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)

Crusading reached the height of its popularity in the 1200's. The Fourth Crusade, which took

place at the beginning of the 1200's, resulted from the failure of the Third Crusade to

recapture Jerusalem. The crusaders became involved in affairs of the Byzantine Empire and

failed to reach their original goal. Pope Innocent III persuaded many French nobles to take

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part in the Fourth Crusade and go to the Holy Land. But the Crusade's leaders decided to

attack Egypt instead in order to split Muslim power. The crusaders bargained with traders

from Venice, a powerful Italian port city to take them by ship to Egypt. Only about a third of

the expected number of crusaders arrived at Venice, and they could not pay the costs of the

ships. But the Venetians offered to transport the crusaders if they helped attack Zara, a city in

what is now Croatia. The crusaders accepted the offer.

Meanwhile, a refugee Greek prince named Alexius claimed that his father, Isaac, was the

rightful Byzantine ruler. The crusaders agreed to help him regain the empire in return for

money and other aid in reconquering the Holy Land. In 1203, they camped outside

Constantinople, briefly tried to capture the city, and made Isaac and Alexius co-emperors.

But Alexius could not fulfill his promises to the crusaders. In 1204, the crusaders captured

Constantinople and put Count Baldwin of Flanders on the Byzantine throne. This Latin

Empire of Constantinople lasted until 1261.

 The Children’s Crusade (1212)

This crusade was one of the popular crusades that were not proclaimed by the pope, in

which most of the crusaders were poor people. The Children's Crusade included boys and

girls from 10 to 18 years old, who became convinced that they could recover Jerusalem. They

believed God would deliver the Holy City to them because they were poor and faithful.

Children from different parts such as France and Germany. They expected God’s help so that

they could cross safely the Mediterranean Sea until Jerusalem.

None of the children reached the Holy Land. Many starved or froze to death during the long

march south to the Mediterranean. When the expected miracle did not occur, some of the

youngsters who survived the terrible journey to the sea got aboard ships going to the East.

These children either were drowned in storms at sea or sold into slavery by the Muslims.
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  Other Crusades continued in the 1200's.

In the Fifth Crusade (1217-1229), the Christians continued the strategy of concentrating

their efforts on Egypt, which they considered to be a key for winning Palestine. They

captured the port of Damietta, but soon had to give up in exchange for a truce. The Roman

Emperor Frederick II later negotiated a peace with the Muslim sultan, who gave Jerusalem to

the Christians.

Jerusalem remained Christian until the Muslims seized it again in 1244. The fall of Jerusalem

caused King Louis IX of France (Saint Louis) to lead a Crusade from 1248 to 1254. Like

earlier crusaders, he also tried to win the Holy Land by attacking Egypt. But his expedition

became disorganized, and the Muslims captured Louis and most of his army. The Muslims

freed them in exchange for a ransom and the return of Damietta, which Louis had captured.

Before returning to France, Louis spent four years in the Holy Land trying to strengthen the

Christian forces there. In 1270, he led another Crusade against the Muslims. He landed his

army at Tunisia, in northern Africa. But he died soon afterward when disease broke out

among his troops.

 Louis, IX (1214-1270), was a French king known for his piety and judicial

reforms, also called Saint Louis. Louis led two of the Crusades to the Holy Land

and was canonized (made a saint) by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297. Louis IX

belonged to the Capetian family of French kings. Louis was born on April 25,

1214, in Poissy, France. He was the son of King Louis VIII and Blanche of

Castile. Louis IX came to the throne at the age of 12. His mother ruled wisely on

his behalf until he turned 21. As king, Louis established a code of conduct among

his officials and expanded the role of the royal court in administering justice. But

like other rulers, he also persecuted Jews and people considered heretics by the
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 Roman Catholic Church. Louis led a Crusade that lasted from 1248 to 1254. In

1250, Muslim forces in Egypt took him and most of his army prisoner who

released them later for a condition to give up the captured city and pay a ransom.

Louis died soon in northern Africa of natural causes.

Meanwhile, in the East, the Muslims continued to gain Christian territory. They captured

Antioch in 1268. Finally, in 1291, they seized Acre, the last Christian center in Palestine. In

the 1300's ; the Muslim Ottoman Turks became a serious threat to Christian Europe. The

crusaders shifted their attention from the recovery of Jerusalem to the defense of Europe. The

Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottomans in 1453, and by 1500, Muslims were occupying more

territory in Europe than the Christians had held in the East. The crusaders succeeded in

defending much of Western Europe from Muslims and recapturing Spain and Portugal from

them. In the 1600's, Western Europeans began to recover parts of southeastern Europe.

 Results of the Crusades

The crusaders failed to accomplish their main goals. They recaptured the Holy Land

for a time but could not establish lasting control over the area. Western European and Eastern

European Christians united to fight the Muslims. But relations between the Christians of

Western Europe and the Orthodox Christians of the East became bitter. The Fourth Crusade,

during which Western crusaders captured and partially destroyed Constantinople, played a

major role in driving the two groups apart. Some bitterness has continued to the present day.

But the Crusades also enriched the European life. For example, they stimulated economic

growth by increasing trade between cities bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian cities

of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa profited by carrying crusaders and supplies to the Middle East.

These cities gained trading privileges in territories conquered during the Crusades. The cities

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became rich and powerful handling trade in Asian goods that passed through the conquered

territories on the way to Europe.

Western Europeans also learned how to build better ships and make more accurate maps

during the Crusades. They began to use magnetic compasses to tell directions. The Crusades

were only modestly important compared to the great commercial expansion or the rise of

monarchies in Western Europe. But they seemed extremely important to the people of the

crusading era.

Historians once thought that crusaders who returned to Europe introduced Westerners to

Eastern goods and ways of life. They thought that this contact greatly influenced Western

life. As a result of the Crusades, they argued that Europeans were introduced to new items as

sugar, silk, velvet, and glass mirrors. But modern historians reject these arguments. They

point to a wide amount of interchange between Muslims, Byzantines, and Europeans long

before the Crusades

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