Download Summary of the Crusades

Summary of the Crusades
THE FIRST CRUSADE
The First Crusade began in the autumn of 1096. Armies made their way to
Constantinople by land and sea, with between 30,000 and 100,000 present, although
the exact numbers are uncertain. The armies were led by Raymond of Saint Gilles,
Godfrey of Bouillon, Hugh of Vermandois and Bohemond of Taranto. A less organized
band of knights and commoners set off before the others, under the command of the
preacher known as Peter the Hermit. They were known as the ‘People’s Crusade’ (or
first wave of crusaders) and were a popular movement that comprised largely
inexperienced soldiers. Peter ignored the Byzantine Emperor Alexis’ advice to wait for
the rest of the crusaders and crossed the Bosporus in early August where they were
easily defeated.
Alexis was reportedly displeased
with the armies he found who
consisted of untrained and
undisciplined enthusiasts, including
the clergy, women and children,
instead of the trained soldiers he
had requested.
On 19th June Nicaea was seized from
the Sultan and the crusaders
continued their journey to the
Promised Land. The journey was
extremely difficult, proving to be a
stark contrast to the conditions the
crusaders were accustomed to in their homeland, leaving them hungry and thirsty as
they made their way through the dry and barren Asian uplands. Many men and horses
were lost along the way.
Antioch was taken after an eight month siege in June 1098, leaving the Christian army
able to approach Jerusalem. Having expected the Holy Land they had read about in the
Bible, the crusaders were shocked by the reality of Jerusalem.
The June of 1099 saw a five week siege of Jerusalem. The crusaders took over many
cities along the Mediterranean coast on the way and built a large number of fortified
castles for protection.
Godfrey of
Bouillon
After the successful capture of Jerusalem much of the army went home leaving Godfrey
of Bouillon, the chosen ruler, with only one or two thousand infantry men.
THE SECOND CRUSADE
The Second Crusade, which took place from 1147-1149, involved the French King Louis
VII who led his army to the Holy Land. He was inspired to take the cross by the
Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux and was accompanied by his queen, Eleanor of
Aquitaine and joined by the German expedition of King Conrad III. This was the first time
that Kings led Crusaders. Along their journey the Crusaders, in particular those from
Germany, burned and pillaged farms, villages and even attacked a monastery, leading to
an unpopular reception from the local people along the way. The armies suffered heavy
losses and the crusade was deemed a failure largely due to a lack of communication
between the two kings. This defeat had a negative effect in Europe, displayed in its
economy, lack of recruits and internal turmoil. Furthermore Saladin now ruled the
Egyptians, meaning that Syria and Egypt now surrounded the Crusaders, with the
common enemy of the Christians uniting them.
THE THIRD CRUSADE
Philip Augustus of France, Richard the Lionheart of England and Frederick Barbarossa of
Germany set out as leaders of the Third Crusade in 1187. They fought against the great
leader Saladin, an interesting character who, when he saw Richard’s horse fall in battle,
sent him a groom and two fresh horses, and then lost the battle himself. He also sent
Richard snow from Mount Hermon to be used as drinking water, peaches and pears
when he was ill. The crusade itself was seen as a moral failure with compromise as the
result. Both sides had to be content with negotiations and the Holy City was opened to
Christian pilgrims once again.
Richard the
Lionheart
fighting
Saladin
THE FOURTH CRUSADE
In 1198 Pope Innocent III promoted another expedition which came to be known as the
Fourth Crusade and took place between 1202 and 1204. The crusaders had made a
contract with the Venetians for transport to the Holy Land for 30,000 men and 4,500
horses but could not afford the service. As a compromise the Venetians offered a
reduced price for the transport, if the Crusaders captured the rival commercial city of
Zara in Dalmatia. The crusaders took Constantinople on 12th April 1204, with the
following three day looting spree considered once of the most profitable and disgraceful
in history. Monasteries, libraries and churches weren’t spared and thousands of
treasures including art works and statues were taken. The Byzantine Empire never fully
recovered. These actions led the Crusaders to become more despised than ever and
because of this the Fifth Crusade was called for.
THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE
The 12 year old peasant boys Stephen from France and Nicholas from Germany led
thousands of children on crusade in 1212. Stephen promised his followers that angels
would follow them and the seas would divide but the reality provided a stark contrast.
Few of the German children reached Palestine with many disappearing along the way.
Even more horribly, the French group was intercepted by the Marseilles ship-owners
known as Hugh the Iron and William the Pig. They offered free transport, which was
unsurprisingly accepted and sold the children as slaves to Arab dealers in North Africa.
THE FIFTH CRUSADE
The Fifth Crusade was called for in 1213 by Pope Innocent III who appealed to regular
Christian citizens, instead of the leaders who were fighting each other. Many did not
want the possibility of another defeat following the failure of the Second, Third and
Fourth crusades so Pope Innocent offered indulgences to those willing to fight. The
Crusaders tried to regain the Holy Land by first conquering the Egyptian state of
Ayyubid. The European armies consisted of that of Oliver of Cologne’s and William I,
count of Holland’s. The Crusaders attacked an important Egyptian settlement called
Damietta, succeeding in entering it after several months. They looted the city and
moved on to Cairo which was their only obstacle before Jerusalem. The Egyptian leader
waited for the Crusaders close to Damietta. They proceeded to attack and the size of
their army caused the Egyptians to flee close to Cairo, next to the Nile. The Crusaders
followed but suffering from a lack provisions, they eventually became trapped behind a
flooded canal. As a result many Christian Crusaders marched home as the Egyptians
attacked. The sultan of Egypt, Al-Kamil captured the remaining army, demanding to
have Damietta back and ending the Fifth crusade.
THE SIXTH CRUSADE
The Sixth Crusade was paid for entirely from Holy Roman Empire funds as a result of the
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II feeling guilty for not leading the Fifth Crusade.
Interestingly Frederick raised an army and sailed to Syria in 1228 without the Pope’s
blessing. Due to the fact he had a smaller army than that of the Fifth Crusade Frederick
decided the wisest option would be to march towards the sultan of Egypt, pretending to
have a larger army, in the hope of gaining Jerusalem through diplomacy. This approach
paid off and the sultan ceded Jerusalem in exchange of a ten year truce. Frederick
marched into Jerusalem on 17th March 1229. The following crusades were similarly all
led by single kingdoms as opposed to the combinations of nations that had
characterized the early crusades.
THE SEVENTH CRUSADE
This crusade was led by Louis IX as a result of the loss of Jerusalem to the Moslems. The
Crusaders focused on Egypt but as they waited until autumn to avoid fighting in the heat
of summer, the Sultan was able to restore the effectiveness of his soldiers. The fighting
took place surrounding the Ashmoun canal with the Battle of Mansura in February 1250
seeing Louis cross the river, although circumstances meant he was later forced to
retreat. The battle of Fariskur in April 1250 saw the Egyptians break the French infantry
and capture Louis. Louis was released after a ransom and then after attempting some
diplomacy in Acre he returned to France, leaving the seventh crusade to be
remembered as a failure for the French army.
THE EIGHTH CRUSADE
Louis XI tried his luck again on the eighth crusade after the Mamluks took Antioch and
Jaffa in 1268. He decided to land in Tunis but his army was immediately surrounded by
the Tunisian forces. Louis died the following month, leaving his brother Charles of Anjou
to conclude a peace treaty and return to France.
THE NINTH CRUSADE
The Final Crusade was undertaken by the future Edward I of England. The year following
his arrival in Acre, Edward was forced to enter negotiations with the Mamluk Sultan
Baybars I who had ordered his assassination. After receiving news of the illness of Henry
III, Edward returned to England and never visited the Holy Land again. In 1291 Acre fell
leaving the Christians with no foothold in the Holy Land, ending the crusades.