The Crusades

638 CE-Byzantines Empire lost Jerusalem to Arab Invasions

1071 CE-Battle of Manzikert

1095 CE: Sermon at Clermont, France of Pope Urban II

From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to our ears, namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians (Muslims), an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God … has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage and fire... it has either entirely destroyed the churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of its own religion.

They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with their uncleanness …When they wish to torture people by a base death... with flogging they lead the victim around until the viscera having gushed forth the victim falls prostrate upon the ground. What shall I say of the abominable rape of the women? To speak of it is worse than to be silent.

The kingdom of the Greeks [Byzantine Empire] is now dismembered by them and deprived of territory... Let the Holy Sepulchre (tomb) of the Lord our Saviour (Jesus), which is possessed by unclean nations, especially incite [anger] you, and the holy places which are now treated with ignominy (disgrace) and irreverently (disrespectfully) polluted with their filthiness.

But if you are hindered by love of children, parents and wives, remember what the Lord says in the Gospel, "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." "Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake shall…shall inherit everlasting life." …Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. …“All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate forgiveness of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested.”

The crowd replied: Deus Vult! Deus Vult! [God wills it!/It is the will of God!]

The First Crusade (1096-1099)

Motivations: 1)

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Expedition Itself:

The Taking of Jerusalem, 1099 CE

“Our men occupied the walls and towers of the city, then they saw terrible things. Some, and it was their good fortune, were beheaded; others fell from the walls, pierced by arrows; many others burned in the flames. In the streets and squares there were piles of severed heads, hands and feet; men and horses ran among the corpses. But that was nothing. What of the Temple of Solomon [Dome of the Rock], where the Arabs had their religious ceremonies? If we told the truth about what we had happened there, we should not be believed. Let us say only that in the Temple had to wade in blood up to the knees and bits of horses. And it was by the just of judgment of God that this place, which had so long borne injustice against God should receive the blood of his enemies. After the town was captured, it was wonderful to see the devotions of the crusaders before the sculpture of our lord and to hear how they showed their joy as they sang a new hymn to God. “ – Raymond d’Aguilers, Christian Historian

QUESTIONS

According to this document, what conditions does Raymond describe?

What happened when Jerusalem was captured?

"He who has a village in the West has a city in the East"

What is Western Europe like at this time? WHAT ABOUT THE ISLAMIC CALIPHATE? POST-CLASSICAL CITIES???

The Second Crusade 1145-1147 CE

· Launched as a response to the fall of the County of Edessa (see map above)

· Giant failure, the crusaders besiege Muslim city of Damascus in Syria, argue over who will control the city after it is captured, ultimately fail to take the city at all

· Everyone goes home empty-handed, crusader kingdoms remained weak

Children's Crusade (1212 CE)

· Children and poor led by 2 children from the France eventually sought transport to Holy Land to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity

· Sailors sold them into slavery, did not reach the Holy Land unsurprisingly

The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

The Third Crusade was a response to the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 to the Muslim leader Saladin, a brilliant commander who founded his own royal dynasty in Egypt and pushed the Crusader kingdoms to the brink of extinction. King Richard the Lionheart of England, King Phillip II of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (he drowned in a river before reaching the Holy Land) led the crusade to the Holy Land. After a long journey via ships leaving from Sicily, the two kings worked together to retake many of the cities and in particular Jerusalem. After this initial success, Phillip II and Richard argued over who was to command the crusade; soon after, Phillip left for France while Richard carried on with the crusade. He ultimately retook the major city of Acre and fought with Saladin in several pitched battles. There was even talk of Richard marrying Saladin's sister and creating a multi-faith kingdom. But Richard was unable to take Jerusalem and infamously executed 5,000 Muslim prisoners he had taken at Acre because he could not afford to feed them. He swore to return one day to the Holy Land and complete his mission. Richard managed to leave the Crusader States in a better position than he found them, but the Crusader states were on a permanent decline after Saladin's

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)

The Fourth Crusade is perhaps the most infamous of all the expeditions to the Holy Land, because it never reached Middle East. It was launched in the aftermath of the failure of the Third Crusade by a large group of mostly French and Flemish crusaders who sought to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims (this was a common theme after the Christians lost Jerusalem in 1187). The leaders of the crusade ordered a huge fleet to be built in Venice to transport an army of 60,000 to the Holy Land: only 20,000 men showed up, with less than half the money necessary to pay for the fleet, but the Venetians had to be paid. To make up the difference, the crusaders agreed to help the Venetians conquer the Christian city of Zara in Albania, killing fellow Christians to try and make up the difference. The Pope immediately excommunicated the crusaders, but that was not the end of their misadventures. A Byzantine prince, claiming to be the true emperor, promised to pay the remaining sum of money to the Venetians if the crusaders helped him gain the throne of Byzantium. The crusaders, still short of cash, agree and sailed to Constantinople, attacked ANOTHER Christian city, and put the prince in power. The prince was unable or unwilling to pay off the crusaders; angered by the betrayal, the crusaders besieged the city, killed the prince and began their own empire, the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Not one crusader stepped foot in the Holy Land. Although the Byzantines retook Constantinople decades later, the CHRISTIAN Byzantine Empire never recovered and eventually fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

3rd Crusade

Goals:

How successful was the 3rd Crusade? Why?

4th Crusade

Goals:

How successful was the 4th Crusade? Why?

Outcome/Impact of the Crusades:

· Over 200 years, 1-3 million individuals died on both sides

· Muslims still controlled the Holy Land

· Increased trade with the East: Crusaders brought back exotic goods to West

· New knowledge and inventions found their way to the West, Ex:

· Killed many nobles and serfs over 200 years-> impact on feudalism