The Crusades

Decline of Byzantium

• In 1071, Muslim Saljuqs won an important victory at Manzikert

• Byzantine factions then turned on each other in civil war, allowing the Saljuqs almost free rein in Anatolia

• The Byzantine Emperor asked Pope Urban II to help him against the Muslims

Pope Urban II

• Urban responded to Byzantium’s request with a rousing speech in Clermont, France in 1095 in which he called upon Christians to “Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves…”

• Urban’s speech would help launch the first of several Crusades

Reasons for the Crusades

• The Pope hoped to unite the entire eastern Mediterranean and the divided Christian faith under the banner of the Latin Church– Remember the Schism

from Lesson 6• Italian city-states, with

their large navies, hoped for commercial gains and were therefore keen supporters of the Crusades

Reasons for the Crusades

• The Byzantine Empire was in severe decline and no longer could act as a buffer between the Muslim East and the Catholic West

• Christian pilgrims visiting the holy sites in Jerusalem began experiencing increased harassment and danger “A pilgrim camp near Jericho”

by David Roberts

A New Concept of War

• Augustine’s Just War Theory– Waged under the auspices

of the state– Vindication of justice

(defense of life and property)

– Restrained conduct with regard to the enemy, non-combatants, and prisoners

• The Crusades– At behest of the Pope, but

under operational control of the kings

– Defense of the faith– No restraint in dealing with

the infidel

• The change was justified based on the Biblical accounts of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua (remember Lesson 10)

Mobilization of the Crusades

• Pope Urban traveled to various cities for nine months preaching the Crusade and offering extraordinary inducements to include a plenary indulgence remitting all punishments due to sin for those who died on the Crusade

• Serfs were allowed to leave the land to which they were bound

• Citizens were exempted from taxes• Debtors were given a moratorium on interest• Prisoners were freed and death sentences were

commuted by a bold extension of Papal authority to life service in Palestine

The Crusaders

• The variety of motivations resulted in a varied assembly– Men tired of hopeless poverty– Adventurers seeking action– Merchants looking for new markets– Lords whose enlisting serfs had left

them laborless– Sincerely religious individuals

wanting to rescue the land of Christ

The First Crusade

• The word “crusade” comes from the Spanish cruzade which means “marked with the cross”– Crusaders wore red

crosses on their chests to symbolize their purpose

The First Crusade• Urban had appointed August

1096 as the time of departure, but many of the impatient peasants, who were among the first recruits, could not wait

• Led by such personalities as Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, they set out in three groups and quickly devolved into disorder, hunger, and ill-discipline

• They were all but annihilated by a force of Turks at Nicea

“Alexius Comnenus, Emperor of the East, receives Peter the

Hermit at Constantinople, August 1096”

by Gillot Saint-Evre

The First Crusade• The more organized

Crusaders, under the divided leadership of various feudal leaders, moved by various routes to Constantinople

• There the Emperor Alexius gave them provisions and bribes in exchange for a pledge of fealty– Alexius was somewhat

afraid the Crusaders had designs on Constantinople as well as Jerusalem

Duke Godfrey of Bouillon was among the most brave, pious, competent, and fanatical of the

First Crusade leaders

The First Crusade

• The First Crusaders met an even more divided Muslim force and won victories at Nicea on June 19, 1097 and Antioch on June 3, 1098

• By June 7, 1099, after a three year campaign, 12,000 of the original 30,000 Crusaders reached Jerusalem

Siege of Antioch

The First Crusade

• On July 15 the Crusaders went over the city walls and unleashed unbridled carnage– Blood reportedly ran

knee-deep– 70,000 Moslems were

slaughtered– Jews were herded into

a synagogue and burned alive

The First Crusade

• Administrative rule of Jerusalem proved problematic

• Eventually the kingdom was parceled into practically independent fiefs and barons assumed all ownership of land, reducing the former owners to the condition of serfs

• The kingdom was further weakened by the ceding of several ports to the Italian city-states in exchange for naval support and seaborne supplies

• The native Christian population came to look back on the era of Moslem rule as a golden age Godfrey served as the

first ruler of Jerusalem

Knights

• The establishment of new orders of military monks partially offset these weaknesses

• The Knights of the Hospital of Saint John and the Knights Templar began by protecting and nursing pilgrims but gravitated to active attacks on Moslem strongholds

• Both orders would come to play prominent roles in the battles of the Crusades and earned great reputations as warriors

Seal of the Knights Templar

Moslem Counterattack

• Most of the Crusaders returned to Europe after freeing Jerusalem, creating a manpower shortage

• Moslem refugees retreated to Baghdad and demanded a force retake Jerusalem

• In 1144, Moslems under Zangi retook the Christian’s eastern-most outpost at al-Ruah and then Edessa

• Such developments would spur the Second Crusade

The Second Crusade

• St. Bernard appealed to Pope Eugenius II to call for another Crusade, but Eugenius begged Bernard to undertake the task himself

• Bernard persuaded King Louis VII of France and then Emperor Conrad III of Germany to accept the Crusade

• At Easter 1147 the Germans set out and the French followed at Pentecost

Conrad approaching Constantinople

The Second Crusade

• This time the Moslems were ready• At Dorylaeum, the Germans were defeated so badly that barely one in

ten Christians survived• At Attalia, nearly every Frenchman was slaughtered• Eventually the Crusaders joined forces and lay siege to Damascus,

but were soundly defeated

The Second Crusade

• News of the defeat of the Second Crusade shocked Europe– Christians wondered how God could allow them to be

so humiliated by the infidel– Bernard explained that the defeat must be

punishment for sins– Enthusiasm for the Crusades waned rapidly

• While the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem continued to be torn by internal strife, its Moslem enemies were moving toward unity

Saladin• In 1175, Saladin brought Egypt

and Moslem Syria under one rule

• In 1185, he signed a four-year truce with the Latin kingdom but the Christians violated it by attacking a Moslem caravan and capturing Saladin’s sister

• He declared a holy war against the Christians and captured Jerusalem in 1187– His terms were much more

generous than those of the Crusaders in 1099

Saladin: one of the few Crusade personalities generally described

favorably by both Eastern and Western sources

The Third Crusade

• The Christians were able to retain Tyre, Antioch, and Tripoli and the Italian fleets still controlled the Mediterranean

• William, Archbishop of Tyre, returned to Europe to call for a Crusade

• Frederick Barbarossa of Germany set out with his army in 1189 but had little success

“March of the Crusaders” by George Inness

The Third Crusade• Then Richard I the Lion

Heart of England took up the cause and took Philip Augustus, the French king, with him to ensure the French didn’t encroach on English territory in his absence

• The Christians captured Acre and an ill Philip Augustus returned to France, leaving Richard in sole charge of the Third Crusade

• Still Richard would face divisions as the German troops returned to Germany and French troops repeatedly disobeyed orders

The Third Crusade

• Richard and Saladin embarked on a “unique campaign in which blows and battles alternated with compliments and courtesies” – (Durant, 599)

• The two executed enemy prisoners they held• Richard proposed his sister marry Saladin’s brother• They signed peace treaties then rejected them• Richard conferred knighthood on the son of a

Moslem ambassador• Richard got sick and Saladin sent him his own

physician and some fruit• Saladin saw Richard unmounted in battle and sent

him a horse

The Third Crusade

• In the end Richard and Saladin signed a peace for three years beginning Sept 2, 1192– Richard would keep the coastal

cities he had captured from Acre to Jaffa

– Moslems and Christians could pass freely into and from each other’s territory

– Pilgrims would be protected in Jerusalem

– But… Jerusalem would remain in Moslem hands

The Third Crusade

• Richard had possessed superior brilliance, courage, and knowledge of the military art, but Saladin’s moderation, patience, and justice had carried the day

• The relative unity and fidelity of the Moslems had once again triumphed over the Christians’ divisions and disloyalties

The Fourth Crusade

• Acre was free but Jerusalem was still in Moslem hands• Europe was in turmoil with problems such as renewed

fighting between France and England, but the death of Saladin and the breakup of his empire renewed hope for another Crusade

• In exchange for its financial support, Venice exacted a promise that the Crusaders would capture the important port of Zara and turn it over to her– Zara belonged to Hungary and was stiff competition to

Venice’s maritime trade– Pope Innocent III denounced the scheme but to no

avail– The Fourth Crusade would be marked by avarice

The Fourth Crusade

• Part of the avarice was the temptation to capture Constantinople which had derived much profit from the Crusades

• Seizing Constantinople would not only provide financial benefit, it would also restore it to the Western Church

• In 1204 the Crusaders captured and looted Constantinople

The Fourth Crusade

• The Byzantine Empire was divided into feudal dominions, each ruled by a Latin noble

• Most Crusaders returned home, perhaps thinking that by securing Constantinople they now had a stronger base against the Moslems

• Only a handful continued to Palestine and had no effect there

• The Byzantine Empire never recovered and the Latin capture of Constantinople served to prepare it for capture by the Turks two centuries later

Collapse of the Crusades

• The scandal of the Fourth Crusade and the failure of the Third quenched the greater fire for Crusades but several half-hearted efforts would continue until 1291

• In 1291, the Moslems seized Acre

• Tyre, Sidon, Haifa, and Beirut fell soon afterward

Among the ineffective latter crusades was the “Children’s

Crusade” of 1212 in which thousands of children ended up

drowning or being sold into slavery

Results of the Crusades• Failures

– Moslem civilization had been victorious over Christian civilization– Indigenous eastern Christians were caught in the middle between

Crusaders and Moslems, and many who were outraged by the excesses of the Crusaders or who wanted to avoid persecution by Moslem leaders who saw them as collaborators with the Crusaders converted to Islam

– In fact, the Crusades ironically proved instrumental in making the eastern Mediterranean predominantly Moslem

– Jerusalem was in Moslem hands– Christian pilgrims became fewer and more fearful than ever– The effort of the popes to bring peace and unity to Europe had been

thwarted by nationalistic ambitions, avarice, and internal dissension• Successes

– The Turkish capture of Constantinople was delayed until 1453– The Moslems, even though victorious, had themselves been weakened,

and fell more easily when the Mongols attacked

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CRUSADES

• This led to a rise in trade in commodities from the East like silk and spices and thus the reintroduction of currency/money economy as well as International Banking. The rise of the merchant class and the growth of towns occurred as well as the creation of powerful city –states particularly in Italy. Some European serfs found new opportunities by travelling to the east as part of the various Crusader entourages.

• Increased social mobility and access to goods helped create a rise in the overall standard of living. The manorial system as the economic aspect of the feudal system began to die.

• This same interest ushered in the Age of Exploration helping to motivate explorers to take extraordinary risks in the hopes of making a fortune.

• Trade in that area also introduced the Black Plague.

Significance Cont’d

• The Moslem powers, once tolerant of religious diversity, had been made intolerant by attack and defeats galvanized the rift between the two faiths. This was a driving influence behind the strengthening of Spanish attempts to retake southern Spain (The Reconquista). Spanish nationalism subsequently flourished making it the preeminent power of the day and also saw it become the most fervent inquisitional state.

• The influence of the Catholic Church but more specifically the position of the pope declined as the failure of the Crusades undermined the infallibility of the Pope. The schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church widened as many Crusaders had attacked Orthodox Christians and wounds from the failure of the Crusades continued to fester. Also taxes used by the Church to finance the Crusades continued to be expected but were not surprisingly resented by the people who had to pay them.

Significance Cont’d

• Classical knowledge maintained in the Byzantine and Islamic world led to increased questioning of the Church.

• The majority of that knowledge first found its way to the Italian merchant states who were responsible for transportation of crusaders and goods. Thus the Renaissance was first seen in Italy and the area became very powerful

• The failure of the Crusades undermined the prestige of the knightly class and many troublesome nobles were killed off. Those same knight and the castles around them began to become obsolete as gunpowder and other technological developments were introduced from eastern merchants and eastern thought.

• Ultimately all these various effects would bring about the end of The Medieval Era.

Trade• Italian traders obviously

benefited from supplying the Crusades while they were going on, but they also saw an opportunity to expand their market by establishing direct trade with the Moslem world

• The lucrative trade provided great profit to the Italian city-states and ultimately provided the economic basis for the Italian Renaissance we’ll discuss in Lesson 24

Lorenzo de Medici was part of a family that ruled Florence and

served as bankers for the Crusades and patrons of the

Renaissance

Trade

• The most important trade item were spices– Other items included

cotton, linen, dates, coral, pearls, porcelain, silk, and metal goods

• Damascus was a key center for industry and commerce and a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Mecca Egyptian scarf or garment

fragment ca 1395

Trade

• European Christians also became exposed to new ideas as they traveled throughout the Mediterranean basin– The works of Aristotle– Islamic science and astronomy– “Arabic” numerals which the Moslems had borrowed

from India– Techniques for paper production which the Moslems

had learned from China• While the Crusades may have largely failed as military

adventures, they helped encourage the reintegration of western Europe into the larger economy of the western hemisphere

The Reconquista of Spain

• The Christians did have better success wresting Sicily and Spain from the Moslems in actions separate from the Crusades

• Sicily was regained relatively easily– Moslems had conquered it in

the 9th Century but in the 1090, after about 20 years of fighting, Norman warriors returned it to Christian hands

• Spain would be a bit more of a challenge

The Reconquista of Spain

• Moslems invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the early 8th Century and ruled all but small Christian states such as Catalonia

• In the 1060s Christians began attacking outward from these toeholds

The Reconquista of Spain

• By 1150 Christians had recaptured Lisbon and controlled over half the peninsula

• These successes lured reinforcements from England and France and a new round of campaigning in the 13th Century brought all but Granada into Christian hands

• In 1492, Christian forces conquered Granada and the Reconquista was complete

Immediate Impact of the Reconquista

• After the successful Reconquista, the devoutly Christian rulers of Spain and Portugal were eager to dominate the Islamic states in North Africa and to convert non-Christians

• The desire to spread Christianity would be one of the motives for the European explorations

1492 was the year of both the completion of the Reconquista and

Columbus’ voyage to the New World