Download First Crusade(1096-9)

First Crusade(1096-9)
Proclaimed by Urban II to aid the Greeks against the Seljuk Turks in Asia
Minor, liberate Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Seljuk domination, and safeguard pilgrim routes to
the Holy Sepulcher.
Bohemond I; Godfrey of Bouillon; Raymond, Count of Toulouse; Robert,
Count of Flanders; Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy; Stephen, Count of Blois
Capture of
Nicaea in Anatolia (Jun 1097); Turks vanquished at Battle of Dorylaeum (Jul 1097) capture of Antioch
in Syria (Jun 1098), Jerusalem (Jul 1099). Godfrey of Bouillon became ruler of the new Latin Kingdom
of Jerusalem, and defeated the Fatimids of Egypt near Ascalon in Palestine (Aug 1099). Three other
crusader states were founded: Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli.
Second Crusade(1147-8) Proclaimed by Eugenius III to aid the crusader stakes after the Muslim
reconquest of Edessa (1144).
Conrad III of Germany; Louis VII of France German army heavily
defeated by Turks near Dorylaeum (Oct 1147), and the French at Laodicea (Jan 1148); Damascus in
Syria invested, but siege abandoned after four days (July 1148). The crusaders' military reputation was
destroyed, and the Syrian Muslims united against the Latins.
Third Crusade(1189-92) Proclaimed by Gregory VIII after Saladin's defeat of the Latins at the Battle
of Hattin (July 1187) and his conquest of Jerusalem (Oct 1187). (By 1189 all that remained of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem was the port of Tyre.)
Frederick I Barbarossa; Philip II Augustus of
France; Richard I of England
Cyprus conquered the Greeks (May 1191), and established as new
crusader kingdom (survived until 1489); capture of Acre in Palestine (Jul 1191); Saladin defeated near
Arsuf (Sept 1191); three-year truce guaranteeing safe-conduct of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem. Most
cities and castles of the Holy Land remained in Muslim hands.
Fourth Crusade(1202-4) Proclaimed by Innocent III to recover the Holy Places.
Boniface of
Montferrat
Despite papal objections, crusade diverted from Egypt or Palestine (1) to Zara, a
Christian town in Dalmatia, conquered for Venetians (Nov 1202); (2) to Byzantium, where
embroilment in dynastic struggles led to sack of Constantinople (Apr 1204) and foundation of Latin
Empire of Constantinople (survived until 1261). The crusading movement was discredited; the Latins
in Palestine and Syria were hardly helped at all; the Byzantine empire never fully recovered; and the
opportunity was lost of a united front between the Latins and Greeks against the Muslims.
Fifth Crusade(1217-21) Proclaimed by Innocent III when a six-year truce between the Kingdom of
Jerusalem and Egypt expired.
Andrew II of Hungary; John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem;
Leopold, Duke of Austria Three indecisive expeditions against Muslims in Palestine (1217); capture of
Damietta in Egypt after protracted siege (May 1218-Nov 1219); further conquests attempted, but
crusaders forced to relinquish Damietta (Aug 1221) and withdraw.
Sixth Crusade(1228-9)
Emperor Frederick II, who first took the Cross in 1215, married the heiress
to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1225. Excommunicated by Gregory IX for delaying his departure, he
finally arrived at Acre in Sept 1228.
Frederick II
Negotiations with Egyptians secured
Jerusalem and other places, including Bethlehem and Nazareth (Feb 1229); Frederick crowned King of
Jerusalem in church of Holy Sepulchre (Mar 1229). Jerusalem was held until recaptured by the
Khorezmian Turks in 1244.
Seventh Crusade(1248-54) Proclaimed by Innocent IV after the fall of Jerusalem and defeat of the Latin
army near Gaza by the Egyptians and Khorezmians (1244). Louis IX of France
Capture of
Damietta (June 1249); defeat at Mansurah (Feb 1250); surrender of crusaders during attempted
withdrawal; Damietta relinquished and large ransoms paid (May 1250). Louis spent four years in
Palestine, refortifying Acre, Caesarea, Joppa and Sidon, and fruitlessly attempting to regain Jerusalem
by alliances with the Mameluks and Mongols.
Eighth Crusade(1270-2) Proclaimed after the Mameluk conquest of Arsuf, Caesarea, Haifa (1265),
Antioch and Joppa (1268). Charles of Anjou, King of Naples-Sicily; Edward of England (later Edward
I) Louis IX of France
Attacked Tunisia in N Africa (July 1270); Louis died in Aug; Charles
concluded treaty with Tunis and withdrew; Edward negotiated 11-years' truce with Mameluks in
Palestine. By 1291 the Latins had been driven from the Holy Land.
Taken From: Webster's World Encyclopedia - 1998. Published by Webster Publishing, 1998.
Copyright Webster Publishing, and/or contributors.