The First Crusade (1095-1099):
This first crusade and the beginning of the crusades as a whole was brought on by Alexius, the Byzantine Emperor, who appealed to Urban II and the west for military aid. Pope Urban II advertised and promoted the crusading movement and he lead a sermon at the Council of Clermont in 1095 in which he portrayed the crusade as a great good, one that would serve as penance for sins. Urban II called for crusaders to free the Christians from Muslim rule and regain the Holy Land. Armies began leaving Europe in mid-August 1096 just as the pope had requested. The common people set out first, but lacked knowledge of the area and proper equipment. Supply lines were never set up either, and many of them either starved or were slaughtered by Eastern Europeans. Those who survived the journey through Europe were killed as the crusaders headed into Asia Minor. Participants knew little of the geography or climate of the Middle East, and although there were several counts with military experience, the crusaders could never agree on a leader. When knights joined them, though, the crusaders fared much better as they were able not only to free major Byzantine centers such as Nicaea from Muslim control, but also to secure Christian settlements along the way. After Nicaea surrendered to Alexius I after a pitched battle in May of 1098, the crusaders moved across Anatolia to Antioch. Bohemod of Taranto, one of the greater lords of the army, gained entry into Antioch by bribery and therefore, the crusaders captured Antioch in June of 1098 When they reached Jerusalem in July 1099, only one-third of the group remained. The attack raged all night and all the next day when Godfrey de Bouillon, another lord, managed to enter the city, and within a few hours it was under crusader control. With the death of Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy at Antioch, there was no strong, rational voice of the church to halt the bloodbath in Jerusalem. The remaining soldiers of the army shortly returned to Europe in triumph. ‘Crusader states’ (Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli) were also established with castles and fortified towns built in them to defend against Muslim reconquest. From a western perspective, it is easily arguable that this first crusade was the most successful of the crusades. The Second Crusade(1145-1148): Though there were numerous crusades in between the first and the second, this crusade was more significant than the others. The second crusade was prompted by the conquest of the County of Edessa (Turkey) in 1144 by the Muslim leader Zenga after too few crusaders were left behind to defend it. Pope Eugenius III challenged the warriors of Christendom to live up to the legendary successes and exploits of the first crusaders. This crusade was vigorously preached by Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the most influential personalities of the twelfth century. Though there seemed to be less enthusiasm for this campaign, Pope Eugenius III’s papal bull Quantum Praedecessores spelled out specific spiritual privileges available to participating crusaders. This eastern expedition was backed by the churchman’s clout and by the participation of King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany. Conrad’s army then joined with the army of Louis VIII, and they lead their armies into Asia Minor. However, they refused to cooperate with each other, leading to their defeat by the Turks as they failed to recapture Edessa. Third Crusade (1189-1192): The third crusade was a defensive response in reaction to the military conquests of the Muslim military warrior, Saladin, who in 1187 recaptured Jerusalem. Though Saladin lead the Muslims in recapturing Jerusalem and most of the Holy Land, the Christian campaign was hampered by the lack of cooperation among its leaders and it also took some time after the failure of the Second Crusade to be able to legitimize another campaign. Although Pope Gregory VII’s appeal motivated numerous European leaders, including Kings Richard I and Henry II of England (who died before the crusade left), Philip II of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (who drowned en route in 1190), the crusade achieved little for those who participated. King Philip II of France went home early in order to scheme against the English King Richard I (“Lion-Hearted”) who remained in the east. After a two-year siege, Richard recaptured Acre. In 1192, Richard I agreed to a truce with Saladin stating that the Christians would keep the Mediterranean Coast and the Muslims would control the interior, but would allow Christian pilgrims to enter Jerusalem. |
The Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade lasted for only a short 2 years (1202–1204). The leader of the fourth crusade was Pope Innocent III and his plan was to go into Jerusalem and conquer it. But his planned went terribly wrong because of a deal made with Venice. The original deal was that Venice would provide transportation for the crusaders and Pope Innocent III would pay for it. Once the summer of 1202 arrived the crusaders all met in Venice. The army was a lot smaller than the Pope thought, and a problem occurred when the crusaders could not pay for the voyage. So Venice said they would provide transportation if the crusaders would help in the siege of the Hungarian city of Zara. The crusaders did not want to since Zara was a Christian city and they thought this would be a sin. The pope also was against the idea but it was the only way for the crusade to be continued, so the pope said that if the attacked the city it would not count as a sin. But then matters got worst when Thibaut of Champagne died and Boniface of Montferrat became the new leader of the crusade. A man by the name of Alexius III diverted the attention of the crusaders to Constantinople. Once the Pope heard about this he tried to stop it but it was too late the crusaders were on their way to Constantinople. Once they reached Constantinople they ransacked the city and took over. The Pope was furious but could not do anything since he was in Rome, he asked that the crusaders would continue to the holy land and some of them did but most of them stayed in Constantinople. But overall the outcome of this crusade was nothing but disastrous. Ultimately Alexius IV became co-emperor but the people assassinated him and the city fell to corruption. All the riches in the city were stolen and most of it ended up in Venice where it was sold .The pope could do nothing about it except watch and hope for the best. |
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