The crusade notes
By: Travis Finney
Date: 4-8-13

Decline of Byzantium * Muslim saliqus won an important victory at manzikert in 1071.
Byzantium factions then turned on each other in civil war allowing the saliqus almost free rein in Anatolia. * The Byzantium emperor asked Pope Urban 11 to help him against the Muslim’s.

Pope Urban 11 * Urban’s speech would help launch the first of several crusades.

Reasons for the crusades * The Pope hoped to unite the entire eastern Mediterranean and the divided Christian faith under the banner of the Latin Church. * Italy with large navies supported the crusades for commercial gains and trading routes. * The Byzantine Empire was in severe decline and no longer could act as a butler between the Muslim east and the Catholic west. * Christian pilgrims visiting the holy sites in Jerusalem began experiencing increased harassment and danger.

The First Crusade * The word “Crusade” comes from the Spanish Crusade which means “marked with the cross” * The first Crusaders met the Muslim forces and won victories at Nicaea on June 19, 1097 and Anita on June 3, 1098. * By June 7, 1099 after a three year campaign 12,000 of the original 30,000 crusaders reached Jerusalem. * On July 15, the crusaders went over the city walls and unleashed unbridled carnage.

Moslem counter attack * Most of all the crusaders returned to Europe after freeing Jerusalem creating a manpower shortage. * Moslem refugees retreated to Baghdad and demanded a force retake on Jerusalem. * In 1144, Moslems under Zangi retook the Christian’s eastern-most outpost at al-Ruah and then Edessa. * Such developments would spur the Second Crusade.

The first crusade continued * Urban had appointed August 1096 as the time of departure, but many of the impatient peasants, who were among the first recruits, could not wait. * Led by such personalities as Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, they set out in three groups and quickly devolved into disorder, hunger, and ill-discipline. * They were all but annihilated by a force of Turks at Nicea * Administrative rule of Jerusalem proved problematic. * Eventually the kingdom was parceled into practically independent fiefs and barons assumed all ownership of land, reducing the former owners to the condition of serfs. * The kingdom was further weakened by the ceding of several ports to the Italian city-states in exchange for naval support and seaborne supplies. * The native Christian population came to look back on the era of Moslem rule as a golden age.

Knights * The establishment of new orders of military monks partially offset these weaknesses. * The Knights of the Hospital of Saint John and the Knights Templar began by protecting and nursing pilgrims but gravitated to active attacks on Moslem strongholds. * Both orders would come to play prominent roles in the battles of the Crusades and earned great reputations as warriors.
The second Crusade * St. Bernard appealed to Pope Eugenius II to call for another Crusade, but Eugenius begged Bernard to undertake the task himself. * Bernard persuaded King Louis VII of France and then Emperor Conrad III of Germany to accept the Crusade. * At Easter 1147 the Germans set out and the French followed at Pentecost. * This time the Moslems were ready. * At Dorylaeum, the Germans were defeated so badly that barely one in ten Christians survived. * At Attila, nearly every Frenchman was slaughtered. * Eventually the Crusaders joined forces and lay siege to Damascus, but were soundly defeated. * News of the defeat of the Second Crusade shocked Europe. * Christians wondered how God could allow them to be so humiliated by the infidel. * Bernard explained that the defeat must be punishment for sins. * Enthusiasm for the Crusades waned rapidly. * While the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem continued to be torn by internal strife, its Moslem enemies were moving toward unity.

Saladin * In 1175, Saladin brought Egypt and Moslem Syria under one rule. * In 1185, he signed a four-year truce with the Latin kingdom but the Christians violated it by attacking a Moslem caravan and capturing Saladin’s sister. * He declared a holy war against the Christians and captured Jerusalem in 1187. * His terms were much more generous than those of the Crusaders in 1099.
The Third Crusade * The Christians were able to retain Tyre, Antioch, and Tripoli and the Italian fleets still controlled the Mediterranean. * William, Archbishop of Tyre, returned to Europe to call for a Crusade. * Frederick Barbarossa of Germany set out with his army in 1189 but had little success. * Then Richard I the Lion Heart of England took up the cause and took Philip Augustus, the French king, with him to ensure the French didn’t encroach on English territory in his absence. * The Christians captured Acre and an ill Philip Augustus returned to France, leaving Richard in sole charge of the Third Crusade. * Still Richard would face divisions as the German troops returned to Germany and French troops repeatedly disobeyed orders. * Richard and Saladin embarked on a “unique campaign in which blows and battles alternated with compliments and courtesies”. * The two executed enemy prisoners they held. * Richard proposed his sister marry Saladin’s brother. * They signed peace treaties then rejected them. * Richard conferred knighthood on the son of a Moslem ambassador. * Richard got sick and Saladin sent him his own physician and some fruit. * Saladin saw Richard unmounted in battle and sent him a horse. * In the end Richard and Saladin signed a peace for three years beginning Sept 2, 1192. * Richard would keep the coastal cities he had captured from Acre to Jaffa. * Moslems and Christians could pass freely into and from each other’s territory. * Pilgrims would be protected in Jerusalem. * But… Jerusalem would remain in Moslem hands. * Richard had possessed superior brilliance, courage, and knowledge of the military art, but Saladin’s moderation, patience, and justice had carried the day. * The relative unity and fidelity of the Moslems had once again triumphed over the Christians’ divisions and disloyalties.

The Fourth Crusade * Acre was free but Jerusalem was still in Moslem hands. * Europe was in turmoil with problems such as renewed fighting between France and England, but the death of Saladin and the breakup of his empire renewed hope for another Crusade. * In exchange for its financial support, Venice exacted a promise that the Crusaders would capture the important port of Zara and turn it over to her. * Zara belonged to Hungary and was stiff competition to Venice’s maritime trade. * Pope Innocent III denounced the scheme but to no avail. * The Fourth Crusade would be marked by avarice. * Part of the avarice was the temptation to capture Constantinople which had derived much profit from the Crusades. * Seizing Constantinople would not only provide financial benefit, it would also restore it to the Western Church. * In 1204 the Crusaders captured and looted Constantinople. * The Byzantine Empire was divided into feudal dominions, each ruled by a Latin noble. * Most Crusaders returned home, perhaps thinking that by securing Constantinople they now had a stronger base against the Moslems. * Only a handful continued to Palestine and had no effect there. * The Byzantine Empire never recovered and the Latin capture of Constantinople served to prepare it for capture by the Turks two centuries later.

Collapse of the Crusades * The scandal of the Fourth Crusade and the failure of the Third quenched the greater fire for Crusades but several half-hearted efforts would continue until 1291. * In 1291, the Moslems seized Acre. * Tyre, Sidon, Haifa, and Beirut fell soon afterward.

Crusades and the principals of war * Maneuver * Mass * Surprise * Security * Objective * Economy of Force * Offensive * Unity of Command * Simplicity * Maneuver * Very limited. Heavy reliance on sieges. * Mass * The Germans and French advanced separately on the Second Crusade and were each defeated at Dorylaeum and Attalia, respectively. * Surprise * The Second Crusade advanced along the same route as the First Crusade and the Moslems were ready for them. * Objective- the Crusades meant different things to different people and the various objectives often worked at cross-purposes such as the economic motivations of the Italian city-states. * Economy of force * Offensive- the Christians relative military, economic, and political power allowed them to take the offensive, but extended distances made the offensive difficult to sustain. * Unity of command- The Crusaders seldom achieved this, such as in the Third Crusade when French troops refused to obey Richard’s orders. * Simplicity- Motley crew of Crusaders required simple tactics.

Results of the Crusades * Failures * Jerusalem was in Moslem hands * Christian pilgrims became fewer and more fearful than ever * The Moslem powers, once tolerant of religious diversity, had been made intolerant by attack * The effort of the popes to bring peace and unity to Europe had been thwarted by nationalistic ambitions, avarice, and internal dissension * The influence of the Catholic Church and the position of the pope declined and the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church widened. * Failures * Moslem civilization had been victorious over Christian civilization * Indigenous eastern Christians were caught in the middle between Crusaders and Moslems, and many who were outraged by the excesses of the Crusaders or who wanted to avoid persecution by Moslem leaders who saw them as collaborators with the Crusaders converted to Islam * In fact, the Crusades ironically proved instrumental in making the eastern Mediterranean predominantly Moslem. * Successes * Serfs had used the Crusades to leave their lands and many found new opportunities * The Turkish capture of Constantinople was delayed until 1453 * The Moslems, even though victorious, had themselves been weakened, and fell more easily when the Mongols attacked * Remember from Lesson 21 * Trade and exploration were enhanced.

Trade * Italian traders obviously benefited from supplying the Crusades while they were going on, but they also saw an opportunity to expand their market by establishing direct trade with the Moslem world. * The lucrative trade provided great profit to the Italian city-states and ultimately provided the economic basis for the Italian Renaissance. * The most important trade item were spices * Other items included cotton, linen, dates, coral, pearls, porcelain, silk, and metal goods. * Damascus was a key center for industry and commerce and a stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Mecca. * European Christians also became exposed to new ideas as they traveled throughout the Mediterranean basin * The works of Aristotle * Islamic science and astronomy * “Arabic” numerals which the Moslems had borrowed from India * Techniques for paper production which the Moslems had learned from China. * While the Crusades may have largely failed as military adventures, they helped encourage the reintegration of Western Europe into the larger economy of the western hemisphere.

The Reconquista of Spain * The Christians did have better success wresting Sicily and Spain from the Moslems in actions separate from the Crusades. * Sicily was regained relatively easily * Moslems had conquered it in the 9th Century but in the 1090, after about 20 years of fighting, Norman warriors returned it to Christian hands. * Spain would be a bit more of a challenge. * Moslems invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the early 8th Century and ruled all but small Christian states such as Catalonia. * In the 1060s Christians began attacking outward from these toeholds. * By 1150 Christians had recaptured Lisbon and controlled over half the peninsula. * These successes lured reinforcements from England and France and a new round of campaigning in the 13th Century brought all but Granada into Christian hands. * In 1492, Christian forces conquered Granada and the Reconquista was complete.
Immediate impact of the Reconquista * After the successful Reconquista, the devoutly Christian rulers of Spain and Portugal were eager to dominate the Islamic states in North Africa and to convert non-Christians. He desire to spread Christianity would be one of the motives for the European explorations.

Relevance of the Crusades today * Just days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, President Bush declared, “This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.”

* Bush’s word choice caused significant controversy, especially in Europe and Arab countries.

* Later White House spokesman Ari Fleischer explained, “I think to the degree that that word has any connotations that would upset any of our partners or anybody else in the world, the president would regret if anything like that was conveyed. But the purpose of his conveying it is in the traditional English sense of the word, it's a broad cause.” * Why the fuss?

Clash of Civilizations

* “We have to avoid a clash of civilizations at all costs.” * French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine.

* That expression comes from Samuel Huntington’s 1993 assessment that “The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future…. Conflict along the fault line between Western and Islamic civilizations has been going on for 1,300 years.… This centuries-old military interaction between the West and Islam is unlikely to decline. It could become more virulent.