Lecture 19: The Crusades

1
Lecture 19 The
Crusades
2
-- Crusade (cross) was the name given to more
than a dozen campaigns by Christians of Western
Europe against Muslims in the Holy Lands between
1096 and 1291 -- Crusades were possible because
of the creation of new kingdoms and empires in
Europe which produced a large class of
armed warriors (knights) who squabbled amongst
each other -- 1009 the Fatimid Caliph sacked a
hospice in Jerusalem and destroyed the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre -- Unsuccessful in enforcing
the Peace and Truce of God, the
Church encouraged the knights to defend
Christians in the Holy Lands -- 1074 Byzantine
Emperor Michael VII asks Pope Gregory VII
for help against the invading Seljuk
Turks -- 1091 Sicily reconquered by Norman
leader Roger Guiscard
3
-- First crusade requested by Pope Urban II in
1096, who asked French to help the Byzantine
Emperor Alexius I fight Seljuk Turks after they
badly beat him at Battle of Manzikert in
1071 -- Seljuk Turks were nomads from Central
Asia who converted to Islam and acted as
mercenaries for ruling Arab dynasty under
Abbasid caliphate, whom they then
conquered -- Byzantine Empire had also declined
because Normans conquered formerly Byzantine
areas in Sicily and southern Italy -- Byzantines
had asked for only financial aid from but Pope
Urban sees this as an opportunity to mend the
rift between the Eastern and Western Churches
(1054) recruits French knights at Clermont in
southern France in 1095 to join
crusade -- Crusaders were offered immediate
remission of their sins whether or not they died
in battle
4
-- First crusades lead by religious fanatics,
Peter the Hermit who lead crusade of the poor,
then Walter the Penniless -- Crusading mobs
plundered and looted their way through
Europe, killing Jews along the way -- First
professional crusade lead by son of Robert
Guiscard 10,000 knights and soldiers reach
Constantinople in 1097 and defeat Seljuks then
Jerusalem in 1099 where they massacred all the
inhabitants men, women and children -- Four
independent crusader states were established at
Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli and Jerusalem -- Feudal
crusader states were surrounded by hostile
Muslim states, but were supplied by Italian
cities, including Genoa, Pisa and Venice, who
became rich through this trade
5
-- 1144 Edessa is recaptured by Turks St.
Bernard of Clairvaux appeals to businessmen to
enter into a new crusade for profit if not to
rescue Christians -- Second crusade
unsuccessful because goals of the
campaign unclear and knights fought with each
other, rather than Turks -- Third Crusade
(1169) Sunni Muslims of Syria invade Egypt,
lead by famous warrior Saladin, who then
invades Jerusalem and destroys Christian forces
at Battle of Hattin in 1187, but does not
massacre population -- Germans, French and
English then levy taxes to raise revenue
to recover Holy Land Frederick Barbarossa
drowns in Anatolia, Richard the Lionhearted
negotiates a settlement which allows Christians
free access to Jerusalem -- Crusades after 1204
were mainly about the pursuit of wealth
6
-- In 1307 King Philip IV of France accuses
Knights Templar of impieties and after
Inquisition, loots Templar treasuries in order
to continue his war against English -- Crusades
allowed the Church to consolidate its power
against other Christian sects kings to
consolidate power over nobles -- Crusades
unleashed a wave of anti-semitism and violence
against Eastern Christians and smaller
sects -- Because of crusades, Western powers
expanded trade with the East, and both goods and
ideas exchanged -- Need to raise, transport and
supply large armies also created trade within
Western Europe -- Once introduced to goods from
the East, Westerners wanted the spices, ivory,
jade, diamonds, glass, gunpowder, and produce