The Crusades
Chronology: The Crusades
Event
Dates
Pope Urban II calls for a crusade
1095
First Crusade
1096–1099
Fall of Edessa
1144
Second Crusade
1147–1149
Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem
1187
Third Crusade
1189–1192
Latin Empire of Constantinople
1204–1261
Children’s Crusade
1212
Surrender of Acre and end of Christian presence in 1291
the Holy Land
The Crusades
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The background
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Islam and the Seljuk Turks
 Nomadic people from Central Asia
converted to Islam; flourished as military
mercenaries for the Abbasid caliphate
 Turkish leader captured Baghdad and
assumed command as sultan
The Byzantine Empire
 Schism in two branches of Christianity
 External threats from Seljuk Turks
 Battle of Manzikert 1071 AD
Pope Urban II
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Pope from 1088 to 1099
Set up the Modern Roman
Curia in the manner of royal
ecclesiastical court to help
run the Catholic Church
Best known for initiating the
first crusade
At the Council of Piacenza, in
March 1095, he received an
ambassador from
the Byzantine
Emperor Alexios I
Komnenos asking for help
against Muslim (Seljuk) Turks
who had taken over most of
formerly Byzantine Anatolia.
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Council of Claremont
Main purpose was to discuss reforms
to the church
Pope Urban II in 1095 at the this
council called for a crusade to reclaim
the holy land from the Muslim
invaders
The Pope promised a remission of sins
for those who would participate
“Undertake this journey
for the remission of your
sins, with the assurance of
the imperishable glory of
the Kingdom of Heaven!”
“Deus lo Vult!” (God Wills
It)
Certain portions of his speech
condemn the Muslim Turks and
lionized the Christian knights
This was also addressed in letters sent
to the nobles of other lands such as
Flanders
Jerusalem as
the Center of
the World
The First Crusade
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Peter the Hermit preached to the
people after Urban’s
announcement to go to the holy
land to initiate the “People’s
crusade” which ended in disaster
Many crusaders arrived from
various European countries, first
traveling to Constantinople and
then onwards to Jerusalem
Although they were sent to rid
the Muslims out of Anatolia, their
primary objective became to
recapture Jerusalem
King Philip I of France and
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
did not participate in this
endeavor because they were at
odds with the Pope
Knights in the crusade consisted
mostly of French and Norman
Knights
Siege of Antioch
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First siege lasted from October
1097 to June 1098
Its capture was important
because of its strategic location
on route to Palestine
It’s supply base was useful to the
crusaders
They besieged the city,
blockading many of the gates
despite the Byzantine walls being
a formidable challenge
Many of the gates were by rivers
and others by the nearby
mountains which spread the
crusader forces thin
They stripped the land bare of
food which made certain foraging
parties go to find food
One party ran into a Muslim army
which led to death on both sides
Capture of Antioch
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Muslim Commander was shaken
by the casualties and retreated
and the reinforcements to
Antioch were gone
Bishop Adhemar made many of
them fast to regain God’s favor
A third relief force for the Muslims
came
A guard commander in the city
was bribed and led the crusaders
into the city
This led to the Crusaders
capturing the city and the
massacre of many inhabitants
The slaughter was merciless
The Holy Lance
Siege of Jerusalem
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By this point many crusaders had
left due to Starvation and
exhaustion, The Byzantines
abandoned them but the
remaining crusaders did not give
up
Genoese sailors came to help
and used their timber to make
siege equipment
Raymond and Godfrey led
separate assaults on the walls
Raymond’s assault failed but
Godfrey succeeded and defeated
an unprepared part of the wall
The crusaders opened the city
gates and assaulted the city
This was the biggest slaughter by
the crusaders as Muslim men,
women, and children were killed
The First Crusade: The Capture of
Jerusalem
Recruited from the noble class of western Europe, the first crusading army reached
Constantinople in 1097. By 1098, the crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.
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Outremer
Knight Templars
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Established in 1119 by King
Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Their mission was to protect
Christian pilgrims who journeyed
to the Holy Land to worship
freely
Set up headquarters at the
Temple mount of Jerusalem
Dedicated to a strictly pious and
chaste behavior
Apparently engaged in
commercial banking and
pursued economic interests
Eventually accused of heresy:
spitting, tramping, and urinating
on the cross, sodomy, and
contempt of Holy Mass
A number of Templars were
publicly executed
Knight Hospitaller (Knights of St.
John)
Nur ad-Din
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Came to power with his brother following the
assassination of their father Zengi
Created unification among the different Muslim
rulers in the middle east who did not work
together to defeat the crusaders in previous
encounters
Waged war on the crusaders to retake Syria and
Palestine
After his accession his forces retook Edessa
Took Antioch and killed the Christian population,
enslaved population and destroying fortifications
They took Damascus by 1154 AD
1169-1171 the Muslim forces took Egypt
Used spoils of war to build schools, hospitals,
mosques, and other sites
“A mighty persecutor of the
Christian name and faith, a just
prince, valiant and wise, and
according to the traditions of his
race, a religious man.” - William of
Tyre
The Second Crusade
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Initiated in response to the fall of Edessa
Pope Eugene III announced the beginning of the this
crusade: “Whoever devotedly
undertakes and performs this most
holy journey...shall have the
enjoyment of eternal reward from
the repayer of all men.”
Became the first crusade to be led by European kings
like Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux preached the crusade as a
means of redemption for sinners
While the kings went to the middle east to fight, other
crusaders went to Spain to fight the Muslims there
The crusaders in Spain recaptured much Spanish
territory after the siege of Lisbon
Crusade in the East was a huge failure for the
crusaders
“And by their arrogant and
uncontrolled behavior, they had fired
the anger of Almighty God as well
against them.” –William of Newburgh
King Baldwin IV
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Became known as the Leper
King, who came to power at the
age of 13
Educated by Medieval Chronicler
William of Tyre
Led a few military assaults
against Saladin: Battle of
Montgisard was his biggest
victory
Eventually made Guy de
Lusignan his regent after Guy
married Sibylla, Baldwin’s sister
Put down siege at Kerak led by
Saladin during wedding festival
Eventually disagreed with some
of Guy’s policies and tried to
annul his marriage to Sibylla
Baldwin’s weakened condition
led to his death in 1185
Saladin
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Born to a Kurdish family
Nephew of Nur Ad-Din
Became Sultan of Egypt and
Syria
Renowned as a warrior king;
fierce in battle and was
generous to his enemies
United many lands in the
middle east under Muslim
control
Strict and ruthless in
maintaining his power
By 1177, he had created an
army large enough to counter
the Crusaders
Battle of Hattin
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1187, battle between Saladin and
the forces defending Jerusalem
Jerusalem by this point had been
divided between a number of
factions, such as Guy, Sibylla
and Reynald de Chatillon
Reynald attacked caravan
Balian of Ibelin was one of the
main commanders of this battle
Ultimately, the Muslim forces
demoralized the Crusaders and
Jerusalem is soon laid siege to
Muslim forces
Muslims stole the True Cross
from Christian Army
Saladin marched on Jerusalem
Saladin Captures Jerusalem
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After a three day siege, Jerusalem
fell to the Muslim forces
Balian surrendered the city to
Saladin’s control
Saladin was merciful to the city’s
inhabitants, allowing them to leave
the city peacefully
“Then he caused the Temple
of the lord to be washed
with rose water, inside and
out, above and below, and,
with an astonishing
commotion, had his law
acclaimed from on high in
four places.” – Terricus,
acting Commander of the
Knight Templars
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Now that the city was back in the
hands of Muslims, This initiated the
Third Crusade
Richard the Lionheart
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Son of Henry II and Eleanor
of Aquitaine
1173 AD, he joined his family
in a rebellion against his
father
1183, after his brother Henry
died, Richard was heir to the
throne
Henry II wanted to give
Aquitaine to his son John
Richard refused and joined
forces with Philip II of France
against his father in 1189,
which led to a premature
death
The Third Crusade
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Reaction to the fall of the Holy
City of Jerusalem in 1187 to
Muslim forces under Saladin
Pope Gregory VIII announced the
beginning of this crusade
Philip II, Fredrick Barbarossa and
Richard sent knights to the middle
east
Death of Barbarossa
Philip landed at Acre, where Guy
had already besieged the city and
Richard endured a storm and
landed on Cyprus which was
controlled by an ally of Saladin
named Isaac
Richard conquered Cyprus and
chained Isaac
Cyprus was now used as a
supply source for Richard
Richard eventually reached Acre
and came to Philip’s aid
The Third Crusade continued
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Richard’s siege engines dealt a
blow to the walls and the Muslim
inhabitants eventually asked for
terms
Philip and Richard agreed to
release the defenders in return
for 200,000 dinars
Saladin was expected to make
payment but he kept delaying
The crusaders executed the
Muslim prisoners because of the
delay
Philip II returned to France and
left the bulk of his army behind
under Richard
Richard moved against Jaffa
His army was harassed by
Saladin but remained strong
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They came to battle in an open area
Battle of Arsuf, Richard’s forces
crushed Saladin’s lines with a
cavalry charge and won
This damaged Saladin’s reputation
as a great conqueror
Jaffa and Arsuf fell to Richard and he
began to exert control of the region
Arranged Marriage Between Joan
and Al-Adil did not go as planned
Richard next planned to assault
Jerusalem although the Templars
and other knights that fought with
him advised against it because of its
fortifications
He moved at Ascalon to harass
Saladin’s supply lines
Saladin moved against Jaffa and
sacked the city
Siege of Jaffa
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Richard went to
defend Jaffa and
managed to defeat
the Muslims at Jaffa
The victory at Jaffa
marked the end of
the major battles of
the Third Crusade
A peace treaty
ensued
Treaty Between Saladin and Richard
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Treaty recognized the
crusader territory from
Jaffa to Acre to Tyre to
Cyprus and a 3 year
peace with Saladin’s
kingdom
Saladin allowed
unarmed Christian
pilgrims to come to
Jerusalem
Both sides agreed on the
demolishment of Ascalon
The Fourth Crusade
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Pope Innocent III declared the
recapture of Jerusalem
Many knights including Baldwin
IX of Flanders
They wanted to capture Egypt as
a means to carry on Richard’s
original plans of capturing
Jerusalem
Venice also sent fleets of ships
towards Egypt
After only been able to amass
10,000 soldiers they refused to
pay the full price for the ships
Venice agreed to drop the debt if
the crusaders helped take Zara
Venice moved on Zara and laid
siege to the city
Pope Innocent condemned
Venice and excommunicated
them
The Fourth Crusade continued
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Alexios, son of the deposed
Byzantine emperor Isaac II
There was dispute over Alexios’
ascension to the Byzantine
throne
If Alexios was put on the
Byzantine throne, he would
agree to join their crusade and
provide lucrative funds from the
treasury
Many signed a treaty to restore
him to Constantinople
Simon of Monfert and other
knights abandoned the army
disagreeing with this act
Pope Innocent III sent a letter
forbidding the crusaders from
landing at Constantinople
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Alexios was paraded in the city,
but many cursed him and threw
objects including arrows
Crusaders decided to attack
Constantinople in 1203
They managed to assault the city
and put him on the throne
Alexios failed to give the troops
and funds to the crusaders as he
promised
Mourtzouphlos a Byzantine
Nobleman, seized control of the
city, killed Alexios and proclaimed
himself emperor
Now the Crusaders besieged the
city in 1204 and killed the
Byzantine ruler
The entire city was sacked and
pillaged by the Crusaders, whom
the pope later condemned for
this act
The Fractured Eastern Roman
Empire
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Shroud of Turin at Constantinople
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Shroud (at the time
known as the Mandylion
of Edessa) was in
Constantinople since
944
Robert D’Clari gave the
Shroud to Geoffrey
D’Charni who escaped
with it
Knight Templar martyrs
died with the secret
location of the shroud
The Crusades of the Thirteenth
Century
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Fourth Crusade leads to Latin Empire of
Constantinople
Children’s Crusade to the Holy Land led by
Nicholas of Cologne
Four more Crusades of adult warriors
failed over the next half century
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What Were the Effects of the
Crusades?
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Little long-term impact in Asia Minor and
the Middle East
May have enhanced the revival of trade,
but certainly did not cause it
The massacre of Jews became a regular
feature of medieval European life
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