World History
The Crusades
A crusade is a pilgrimage to a holy place. However, the Crusades that occupied Europe
from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries were a bit more involved. Their main purpose was
to gain control of the Holy Land. As such they were an example of great religious emotion and
also of religious intolerance, because they were out to kill Muslims. But the Crusades were
much more that religious movements. The most important reason for going was the desire for
wealth, land, adventure, and glory.
At this time the Near East was dominated by two great cultures: the Byzantine and the
Muslim. Preserved behind the great walls of Byzantine, added to and ennobled, were all the
tremendous achievements of the Greeks and Romans. However, the Muslim world had been
pressing against them for three hundred years. The result was the loss of North Africa, Egypt,
the Holy Land, and all the Near East except Asia Minor. Yet the two civilizations were bound
together by commercial ties.
The Muslim Arabs had been busily building and advanced culture based on ancient
Greece and Rome and adding their own observations, inventions, and ideas. Islam demanded
that everyone read the Quran. Therefore, all Muslims had to be able to read. Schools were
established near mosques. In larger cities advanced instruction was offered in astronomy,
algebra, philosophy, Islamic law, literature, etc. Books were manufactured in medicine
(Avicenna) and chemistry (isolating chemical substances). The concept of zero, unknown to
Europe, allowed Muslims to lay the basis for modern algebra, geometry, and arithmetic.
The Muslims were tolerant of religions “of the book” and did not prevent Christian
pilgrims from visiting the holy place of the Near East. But around 1050 an upheaval occurred
that ended these peaceful relations. The Sel juk Turks, brought to the Muslim Empire as
bodyguards for the Caliph of Baghdad, promptly murdered him and took over. Converting to
Islam, they began a conquest of the Middle East. In ten years the Turks had overrun the Middle
East, conqured Jerusalem, and defeated the Byzantine Empire. All travel to the Holy Land was
cut off. In the face of this problem, Alexus Comnenus, the Byzantine Emperor, decided to
recruit foreigners to help fight the Sel juk Turks. He wrote letters to the leaders of Europe where
Pope Urban II heard the call.
Urban summoned churchmen and great nobles to a council at Clermont in France (1095).
In a carefully staged ceremony, Urban issued a call for a crusade to rescue the Holy Land from
the Turks. Followers of Urban, placed in the crowd, began shouting “God wills it!” And soon
everyone was pledging to go on a crusade.
The First Crusade 1095-1099
The First Crusade had two parts. Since the great lords needed time to prepare, lesser
knights and peasants left first. These groups were organized by a poor monk who possessed the
power to sway and inflame all who listened. His name was Peter the Hermit. Following the
Danube River route to Byzantium, they lived off the land, burning and looting Christian towns
along the way to get supplies. The destruction and resentment they caused meant that other
crusaders following that route and expecting help from these Christians had to waste time and
lives fighting their way through these lands.
When Peter’s group arrived in Byzantium, Alexus was afraid this rabble would cause
trouble, so he got them safely away from the city by putting the across the Bosporus. The
crusaders were told to wait there until the great barons arrived from Europe. However, Peter and
the other crusaders became impatient and set out alone for Antioch. The Turks fell on them, and
almost all were slaughtered.
Meanwhile, the great barons had begun their journey. Their armies took both the
overland and sea routes. Arriving in Byzantium in 1096, they put themselves under the authority
of Alexus Comnenus. So later that year, a combined Byzantine-Latin army set out for the Holy
Land. In June of 1097, they captured the Turkish capital of Nicaea. One hundred miles south, at
Dorylaeum, the Christians were ambushed by Muslims. But the battle turned into a rout, since
the heavily armored crusaders were too much for the Muslims when fighting hand to hand.
The crusader continued south until they arrived at the city of Antioch. But even before
reaching Antioch, part of their army had been lost. This occurred because nobles were always
looking to conquer territories for themselves. Baldwin was the first to depart, taking those who
were willing to follow him; he conquered Edessa and established his own kingdom there.
Meanwhile, the main body of the crusader army was trying to capture Antioch. Because
it commanded the trade and communication routes to the Holy Land, the city had to be taken.
From October, 1097 to June, 1098, the crusaders laid siege to the city but could not capture it.
The reason for this lay in a stupid agreement made by the principle nobles. Raymond of
Toulouse, Count Robert of Flanders, Geoffrey of Buillon, Stephen of Blois, Robert Cuthouse,
and the Normans had pledged that the one who captured the city would own it. As a result no
one was willing to cooperate with anyone else. Finally, the Normans, tired of the ridiculous
situation, decided to make an attempt. They could not assault the city themselves, so they tried
to find a traitor in the town. At last they were successful. The traitor agreed to open the gate,
and the Normans rushed in and seized the walls. The rest of the crusaders poured into the city.
The Turks retreated to a heavily fortified castle in the center of the city and held out for
reinforcements.
One week later Turkish reinforcements did arrive and trapped the crusaders in the city.
Soon the crusaders, cut off from their food supply, were eating rats and dying of starvation.
Stephen of Blois managed to slip out of the city with the idea of getting help for the Byzantines.
When he saw the size and strength of the Turkish army, he gave up hope. Meeting a Byzantine
army coming to aid the crusaders, Stephen convinced them that the cause was hopeless, and they
returned home. The crusaders were left alone.
After several weeks the crusaders had decided to surrender when a miracle occurred. A
knight named Randolph said he dreamed that the lance that pierced his Christ’s side was buried
in the city. Fumbling and stumbling around the city, he finally pointed to a spot. The leaders
dug, and low and behold, there was a lance. Stirred by this obvious sign from God, the crusaders
marched out of the city and destroyed the Turks.
The leaders of the First Crusade divided up the land they had conquered, chose a king,
and called their country the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Soon after settling down, they
discovered that their old ways of life could not be followed in this new land and climate. They
began to take on the ways of the East. They wore eastern dress and ate eastern foods. After
thirty years one could not tell a crusader from a native. Once they were settled in, they wanted
peace at any price, so they made treaties with the Muslims Turks.
The Second Crusade 1146-1147
In 144 the County of Edessa was captured by the Turks. Immediately a new crusade was
called in Europe. Its leaders were Conrad III, the Holy Roman Emperor (it was said that he was
persuaded to go by listening to St. Bernard preach a sermon. The sermon was in Latin and
Conrad did not understand Latin), and Louis VII of France. Both armies took the overland route.
The Germans went first and so ravaged and plundered the land that the French had to fight their
way through all these Christian lands to Byzantium. They almost did not make it.
When Conrad and Louis finally did set out for Edessa, they discovered it was impossible
to get there. Not knowing the country or the people, and hearing that Damascus was the Muslim
capital, they decide to capture it rather than Jerusalem. What they were doing was attacking the
only friendly Muslims in the Middle East! The whole affair turned into a miserable failure.
Tryingto lay siege to the city, they were captured by the Muslims and had to ransom themselves.
Louis and Conrad went home. What they had managed to accomplish, however, was to
antagonize the only friends the Christians living in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem had.
Interregnum
After the departure of the Second Crusade, Saladin, a great Muslim leader emerged. His
desire was to unify all Muslims, Arab and Turk alike. Due to the bungling of Louis and Conrad,
the climate was right for his plan. Both Arab and Turkish Muslims hated the Christians. By
1174 Saladin had seized Egypt and united all of the Middle East from Baghdad to Cairo under
his rule. Only the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem remained outside of his grasp.
In the face of this Muslim threat, the Christians were divided. Baldwin, king of the Latin
Kingdom, were having trouble with a knight called Reginald of Chatillon. Reginald was one of
the most idiotic, stupid men in history. He was fond of playing pranks on people he disliked.
Once he tied the bishop of Antioch, naked, to the steeple of his church and coated him with
honey so the bees and flies would bite them. Well, Reginald decided that just for fun he would
lead a group of knights down to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, lay siege to it for awhile, and
then come home. This only served to further enrage the Muslims. On the way home, Reginald
and his misguided knights tried to capture a caravan, and in the attempt, got hold of Saladin’s
daughter. Reginald let her go, but Saladin swore he would kill Reginald with his bare hands.
Saladin quickly invaded the Holy Land and attacked the crusader castles. The crusaders
were undecided as to how to meet and beat the Muslims. The wiser ones were all for staying in
their castles and waiting for help from Europe. However, Reginald called them cowards and said
they should fight Saladin face to face in an all-out, pitched battle. Against their better judgment,
the crusaders gave in to Reginald’s taunts and agreed to have him command the armies.
Early on July 3, 1187, in the middle of a blistering summer, they set out in full battle
armor. By noon they had drunk all of their water and eaten all of their food (Reginald never
bothered with small details like supplies). By noon on July 4, the crusaders were almost
crawling on their stomachs. The hot sun was scorching their skins inside their armor. Who
showed up? Saladin. The result was the Battle of Hattin. The Christians were either
slaughtered or taken prisoner. Reginald was last seen walking away toward the desert with
Saladin riding close behind him. Shortly after Hattin, Jerusalem fell to Saladin. These events
brought a call for another crusade.
The Third Crusade 1189-1192
This crusdade is sometimes called the King’s Crusade because it was led by three great
monarchs: Fredrick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, Richard the Lion-Hearted of
England, and Philip Augustus of France. Fredrick was eliminated early. Taking the land route,
he reached Asia Minor and was crossing a small river. He fell into the water while wearing his
armor and drowned before his men noticed he was missing.
Philip and Richard decided to go by sea and attack the Muslims besieging Acre, the last
Christian held city in the Holy Land. Philip got there first and promptly got himself surrounded
by the Muslims. Richard arrived shortly afterward. His knights said the situation was hopeless
because the Muslims held the beaches. But Richard, who had red sails on his ship and wore red
armor, ordered the ship to sail close to the shore. Standing at the bow, he jumped off the ship in
full armor. Fortunately, the water was not too deep. Wading ashore, Richard cut open a few
Muslims. His men then followed, and the Muslims were defeated.
Richard and Philip won a few minor battles, but they were unable to capture Jerusalem.
Philip grew tired and went home. Richard decided to make peace. He negotiated a truce with
Saladin whereby Christians could come to Jerusalem as long as they left the city by sundown.
The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was ended. Never again would Christians hold the Holy Land.
The Fourth Crusade 1202-1204
Determined to regain the Holy Land, Pope Innocent III sponsored and planned this
crusade. Boniface, the brother of Conrad III, was selected as leader. He made a treaty with
Venice to provide transportation to the Holy Land. The price of the ships was an extraordinary
85,000 silver marks, since Venice would have to give up her trade contracts for a whole year. As
time went on, it became clear to the Venetians that Boniface did not have the money. So they
threw him in jail and refused to let him and his army go unless arrangements for payment were
made. Finally, the crusaders and Venetians reached an agreement: all the crusaders had to do
was capture the city of Zara, a commercial rival of Venice, and then they would be taken to the
Holy Land. The only trouble was Zara was a Christian city and belonged to the King of Hungary
who was also going on a crusade for the pope. Zara was attacked and captured in 1202.
Pope Innocent III was so enraged that he excommunicated all members of the Fourth
Crusade. They could not go home, and while they were sitting around wondering what to do, the
son of the Byzantine emperor came along. His father had been thrown off his throne, and he
wanted to help his father regain his power. The crusaders decided to help and laid siege to
Byzantium. As time dragged by during the siege, the crusaders tired of wasting their efforts for a
deposed king. Why not capture the city for themselves they thought. By the spring of 1204,
Byzantium had fallen and the crusaders looted the city. Thus the only thing accomplished by the
Fourth Crusade was the capture of two Christian cities. No crusader had set foot in the Holy
Land.
The Fifth Crusade 1217-1221
In spite of the dismal of failure of the Fourth Crusade, Innocent III still wanted to sieze
Jerusalem. Fredrick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, had promised to go, but only Andrew of
Hungary and John of Jerusalem actually made the trip. Arriving at Acre in 1217, they were
prevented from landing by a large Muslim force. So they decided to try and capture Egypt.
Their reasoning went something like this. First we will capture the city of Damietta at the mouth
of the Nile River. From there it would be easy to march down and take Cairo. Once Cairo was
occupied, the Muslims would be willing to trade for Jerusalem.
The first part of the plan worked well; Damietta, after a fifteen month siege, fell in
November of 1219. Meanwhile, the Muslim ruler of Egypt, Al Kamil, was more interested in
fighting his brother than the crusaders. Hence, he offered Jerusalem to the crusaders if they went
away. At last the goal for which all the Crusaders had fought for was a possibility, and it could
be theirs without any bloodshed! Unfortunately, the crusaders thought Al Kamil was only
offering this prize out of weakness. So they refused the proposal and marched to attack Cairo.
They started along the banks of the Nile as it began to flood. With the river rising around
them, they sought to reach the hills along the side of the river. Half way up they looked up and
saw thousands of Al Kamil’s armies on top of the hills. Caught between the rising river and the
Muslims, the crusaders were given two choices: die or get out of Egypt. They got out.
Jerusalem could have been theirs; now they had nothing.
The Sixth Crusade 1228-1229
Fredrick II had never gone on the Fifth Crusade. He kept giving Innocent excuses for not
going. In 1226 Gregory XI became pope. He was a tough character. He sent a message to
Fredrick, go or else. Meanwhile, Fredrick had been in contact with Al Kamil, and they
concluded an alliance. Finally, Fredrick decided to leave for the Holy Land. In 1227 he set sail,
but two days later he returned claiming he was sick. That was enough for Gregory; he
excommunicated Fredrick. The next year Fredrick did travel to the Holy Land. He was aided by
African Christian knights from Nubia. Nubia had been Christian for most of the crusades. They
wore armor and chain mail like the Europeans. They also had fought the spread of Islam. These
African knights were honored by a statue to their leader, Morris, erected in Magdeburg Cathedral
after the Sixth Crusade. To honor the fame and virtue of this African knight, he was made a
military saint.
On Fredrick’s crusade there was no fighting, robbing, looting, or pillaging. All he did
was talk. The result was the Treaty of Joppa in 1229. There would be a ten year truce between
Muslims and Christians. The cities of Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem were to be
Fredrick’s. With the stroke of a quill pen, Fredrick had accomplished what all the military
campaigns of the English, French, and German kings and the nobility of Europe had failed to do.
But Gregory condemned the treaty and forbade all Christians from recognizing it! Why?
Because Fredrick had been excommunicated during the crusade. The treaty was NEVER
observed.
Evaluations
Militarily, except for the First Crusade, all the crusades were failures. But new methods
of warfare were borrowed from the East (catapults, mining castles, etc.). New ways of building
castles were discovered (stone masonry).
Politically, the Crusades aided the development of strong kings. Only kings were capable
of putting together the armies, supplies, etc. necessary for a successful crusade. Since only about
one person in ten returned from the Holy Land, there was great loss of life among the nobles of
Europe. The kings often seized fiefs left vacant by dead barons.
Economically, the Crusades caused the Commercial Revolution: the rise of towns, a
money economy, trade, and the middle class. The Commercial Revolution came about because
of a desire for eastern goods (silk, damask, cotton, pepper, oranges, rugs, tapestries, spice, etc.).
In society the position of women rose because they were often left in charge of fiefs
during their husband’s absence. The freedom of serfs was aided by the rise of towns and a
money economy.
But of supreme importance were the cultural influences. The Europeans re-discovered
their classical past. They also came into contact and brought back the ideas and advances of the
Muslims.