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The Crusades
Al-Balagh Islamic E-Journal
The crusades started in 1095 CE, with the speech made by Pope Urban II. In that speech,
Pope Urban II referred to the Christians as the noble race of the Franks. He encouraged
Christians to join the armies to get Jerusalem from the Muslims. Most of the crusaders
that left Europe to fight the Muslims were actually aiming to form kingdoms and acquire
the wealth found in those lands. That is why the many groups of crusaders were often
quarreling amongst themselves over rule of places when they conquered cities.
The crusaders were against everyone who did not follow their religion and did not
look like them. This included Muslims, Jews, and even dark-skinned Christians, all of
whom were attacked and murdered by them. They even sacked the city of
Constantinople, which was ruled by the Eastern Church (the Byzantine Church).
The People's Crusade
The People's Crusade started before the First Crusade. It was to be a total failure.
More than fifteen thousand people joined the army lead by Walter the Penniless.
Later Peter the Hermit and most of the crusaders took off to Constantinople, from
where they planned to go to Jerusalem. However, Peter the Hermit and his advisors
had not paid attention to how they were going to feed this huge army. As a result,
wherever the crusaders went, they ate up the land like a mass of hungry locusts.
Furthermore, wherever these crusaders went, they plundered the land, burned cities,
and slaughtered people. All of the murdered people were Christians. The crusaders
then went beyond Constantinople and started their looting of Christian lands again.
They were also constantly arguing amongst each other and many people broke off
the main group. Now Peter the Hermit went back to Constantinople to request
supplies and support. But before he could return the Muslims had gathered an army
and attacked the crusaders swiftly, killing most of the invaders.
First Crusade
By now, the first of the five armies of the First Crusade were on their way to
Constantinople. Godfrey of Bouillon arrived first. Soon after him, Bohemond of
Taranto arrived, followed by Count Raymond IV of Toulouse. After that, Count Robert
II arrived. Last came Duke Robert of Normandy. Together, they attacked Muslim
lands. The city of Nicaea was taken first.
Following that, the crusaders attacked and captured Antioch. Nearly all of the
Muslims inside were killed by the merciless crusaders. Then the crusaders attacked
Marrat an-Nu'man where the crusaders slaughtered a hundred thousand people.
(The Templars did the killing even though they were supposed to be kind and
sympathetic because they were of a religious order.)
A year later, the crusaders attacked Jerusalem. Since the crusaders thought that
killing Muslims was very good for the soul, they murdered as many as they could. No
one was given mercy. Old or young, sick or healthy, male or female, all were
beheaded and killed by the invading crusaders.
The city was full of blood that reached up to the knees of the soldiers and up to the
horses' bridles. The Muslims were forced to throw themselves from the tops of
towers and buildings, were burnt alive, and the list goes on.
The crusaders climbed up to the top of the Temple of Solomon, from where they
massacred hundreds and thousands of Muslims. The slaughter was only paused when
the crusaders gave thanks to their Lord. Then it was continued with as much ferocity
as before.
Second Crusade
In 1144 CE, the Muslims recaptured Edessa. This city was vital for the safety of the
Frankish holdings as it guarded their back door. News of the fall of Edessa spread
throughout Europe and a second crusade was called by Pope Eugenius III. The Holy
Roman Emperor, Conrad III and the French king, Louis VII joined it. However, they
failed to capture Damascus and returned home (the crusaders had decided to attack
Damascus, but failed to do so).
Then, in 1177 CE, a great leader of the Muslims named Salahuddin Ayyubi (also
known as Saladin) attacked Palestine and conquered Ghaza and Ascalon. King
Baldwin IV, the ruler of Jerusalem, tried to put up a resistance, but could not face
the attack and retreated.
After his defeat, Baldwin IV, asked the ruler of Karak, Reginald de Chatillon for
assistance. Reginald, sent appeals to the crusaders for help. They agreed and started
sending their troops to Karak to take revenge of Baldwin's defeat. This time,
however, Salahuddin was defeated. In 1179 CE, Salahuddin went with a large force
to fight against the Franks.
A fierce battle followed in which Salahuddin was victorious. The next year, Baldwin
IV and Salahuddin made a two-year truce. According to the terms of the truce, both
parties could not attack each other's territories. However, Reginald de Chatillon, the
ruler of Karak attacked Muslim lands as well as the caravans that were passing by.
He also looted many caravans that were going for Hajj.
At this, Salahuddin was enraged and attacked Reginald's fort. A four-year truce was
made which was signed by Baldwin IV and Salahuddin. Then Salahuddin and his
army went back home.
But troubles awaited the Muslims. Soon after the signing of the truce, Baldwin died.
Reginald then disregarded the truce and attacked a Muslim caravan and arrested the
traders. Despite the many warnings and appeals to stop his cruelties, Reginald went
on. He later looted a caravan of Muslim pilgrims and killed most of them. Now
Salahuddin could not be stopped. He attacked Karak, occupied it, and appointed an
army to guard the Muslim pilgrims.
The crusaders were disturbed by Salahuddin's increasing power and success and
united all of their forces to attack the Muslims. Salahuddin camped outside Tiberiade,
about fifteen miles away from the armies of the crusaders. After a siege of about six
days, he occupied the city.
When the news reached the crusaders, they called a meeting. It was decided that
the crusaders would go and attack the Muslims instead of just defending themselves.
They camped at night in Hittin, sure of an easy victory the next day. However, few
knew about the skill of Salahuddin and his bravery and did not know that they were
going to be utterly defeated by him.
Early the next morning, the crusaders were awoken when Salahuddin attacked. The
Muslims fell on the crusaders with full fury. Although the crusaders fought back with
full force, by the evening the crusaders had been defeated. The battle then continued
the next day. By noon, the battle was in favor of the Muslims. The Muslims attacked
and arrested many of them. The Muslims had won.
With the victory at Hittin, Salahuddin now set out for other areas, not allowing the
crusaders to recover and get reinforcements. Within two months, he had
reconquered Acre, Naplu, Jericho, Ramlah, Caesra, Arsuf, Jafaf, and Beyrut. He also
conquered Ascalon.
Then, in 1187 CE, Salahuddin finally conquered Jerusalem. However, his conquest
was not like what the crusaders had done in 1099 CE. Not one Christian was harmed.
All were allowed to stay or leave the city at their own will. They were also allowed to
take their weapons and property with them. Salahuddin even arranged for their
travelling.
The tribute that was asked from the Christians if they wanted to leave the city was
ten gold coins per man, five gold coins per woman, and one gold coin per child.
However, Salahuddin and his brother themselves paid the tribute for about 17,000
people. In addition, a gate of the city was allocated for the many poor soldiers who
could not pay the tribute. They were allowed to leave the city without paying
anything. Many crusaders had been arrested during the war. When their wives,
sisters, or mothers appealed for their release, they were all released. Many people
who were poor were given money for travelling expenses. In addition, they were
provided with mules to carry their loads.
Many crusaders that left to Christian states were treated cruelly by the rulers there.
For example, many crusaders left to Antioch, the nearest Christian city from
Jerusalem. There the ruler, Prince Bohemond, not only denied them hospitality, but
stripped them. They were forced to come back to Muslim lands, where they were
treated with great sympathy and kindness. In addition, out of respect for the
Christians' feelings, Salahuddin did not enter the city until all those who wished to
leave had left.
Salahuddin then conquered Antioch and its surrounding cities. He also conquered
Karak, the same place from where Reginald de Chatillon used to attack Muslim
caravans.
Third Crusade
The fall of Jerusalem sent a wave of fury throughout Europe. Pope Gregory VIII
declared a third crusade. The kings of Europe, realizing that Salahuddin could not be
dealt by only one or two armies, allied themselves to take revenge.
Many European kings took part including Richard the Lion-heart, Frederick
Barbarossa, Philip II, and King Guy de Lusignan (who had broken his promise to
never interfere in Muslim lands).
This crusade, was called by the famous historian, Gibbon, as "the most stupid and
savage refuse of people". All the crusaders achieved was the city of Acre which was
only conquered after a siege of two years and the death of about one million and
twenty thousand crusaders.
When the city was finally acquired, a treaty was signed in which the Muslims had to
pay 200,000 gold coins within one month and the Holy Cross was to be returned to
the crusaders. Otherwise, the 2,700 captives inside the city (who were to be
released if the payment was fulfilled) would become slaves. However, since
Salahuddin could not pay the price because the distances were far between Muslim
lands and he did not have enough resources to pay it, the Muslims were all
massacred.
The crusaders tried to conquer other cities but failed. At the end, many disputes
arose between the Christians. In addition, Richard the Lion-heart was troubled
because of disturbances at home. Finally, the crusaders left acquiring only the city of
Acre,
which
was
to
be
retaken
by
the
Muslims
in
1291
CE.
Other Crusades
Other crusades include the Children's Crusade that took place in 1212 CE. A French
boy, speaking in the manner of Peter the Hermit, lead several thousands of his
young followers. The young crusaders arrived at Marseilles, expecting the water for
them to open so that they could walk to the Holy Land. However, most of the
crusaders were sold to slave dealers by merchants. This crusade was a great
embarrassment to the Church.
Another crusade, the Fourth Crusade (also known as the Sack of Constantinople)
that took place in 1204 CE was a total failure. Instead of fighting the Muslims to get
Jerusalem, they ended up fighting themselves. They sacked the city of
Constantinople and did a great amount of looting in it.
Conclusion
The history of the crusades is filled with the mercilessness of the crusaders and the
kind-heartedness of the Muslims. The Muslims were massacred everywhere the
crusaders arrived, while the Christians were treated kindly by the Muslims.
The crusaders achieved the main purpose of the crusades and kept Jerusalem for a
while. But the spirit of the people seen before the first crusade took place was never
matched again. Later all of the cities taken by the Christians were to be taken back
by the Muslims (The last city that was taken by the Muslims was Acre. It was taken
in 1291 CE).
The other crusades did not achieve their purposes and a few of them were not even
against Muslims, but against themselves such as the Sack of Constantinople in 1204
CE and the Albigensian Crusade (nothing more than a suicidal debate among fellow
Christians) in 1209 CE. In short, the crusades acquired what they wanted for a short
while, but then lost all of it to the Muslims and instead made one another an enemy.