crusade

Embarking for the Crusades. European Christians waged a series of wars against the Muslims in Palestine 1096–1291, motivated by the desire to acquire land and goods as well as to deliver the Holy Land.

The Great Seal of King Richard I, who spent most of his reign away from England. He was a notable soldier who fought in the third Crusade 1191–92, defeating the Muslim leader Saladin and capturing Acre.

While knights were bound to honour the vows that created their bond with other knights, many men, while away on the crusades (military expeditions by Christian powers to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims), are said to have forced their wives to wear the chastity belt like the one pictured. In the later middle ages, however, women were also honoured by legend and song, and became an inspiration for courtly love.

The capture of Antioch in 1098 is depicted in this 15th-century illustration from the Miroir Historial by Vincent de Beauvais. The battle for Antioch was one of the most hard-fought of the First Crusade, but the crusaders were inspired by the discovery of a lance said to have wounded Christ on the cross, and were able to win the city.

Crusaders at Damietta during the Fifth Crusade (1217–21), in a 15th-century illustration from the Miroir Historial by Vincent de Beauvais. Damietta, in Egypt, was captured during the Fifth Crusade, but the crusaders did not hold it for long. They eventually abandoned the town in exchange for a truce.

The castle of Rhodes, Greece. Built by knights of the order of St John (Knights Hospitaller) in the 14th century, it was an outpost of Christianity in this part of the Mediterranean, near to the coast of Asia Minor. The Hospitallers held it from 1306 until 1522, when they surrendered to the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

Crusaders and Saracens in battle at Nicea during the First Crusade, 1097. After Pope Urban II's call for the recovery of the Holy Land in 1095, Christian armies from western Europe came together in Constantinople to attack the Seljuk Turkish forces in Anatolia, and the Muslim armies in Syria and Palestine. The First Crusade culminated in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099.

A contemporary portrait of Saladin, c. 1180. Some of his most famous victories took place during the 1170s and 1180s, when he defeated several waves of attack by the crusading Christian nations of western Europe.

Any one of a series of wars 1095–1291 undertaken by Christian Europeans to take control of Palestine, the Holy Land, from the Muslim rulers of the Middle East. Sanctioned by the pope, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the aims and effects of the crusades were varied. The crusaders were motivated by religious zeal and a desire for land and wealth, and the trading ambitions of the major Italian cities were also significant. The term came to embrace any war or campaign for alleged religious, political, or social ends.

The first crusaders wanted to ensure the safety of pilgrims visiting the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and to establish Christian rule in Palestine. They continued for more than 200 years, with hardly a decade passing without one or more expeditions. Later they were extended to include most of the Middle East, and attacks were directed against Egypt and even against Constantinople (Istanbul).

The first crusades In Palestine the mild rule of the Saracens – the first Muslim conquerors – had for centuries allowed a Christian protectorate (first established under Charlemagne) to exist in Jerusalem alongside the practices of Islam, and Christian pilgrims were allowed to come and go quite freely. However, this peaceful relationship ended in 1010 when the Caliph Hakim destroyed the Christian protectorate in Jerusalem. After 1071 the Saracens were driven out by the Seljuk Turks, and Christian pilgrimage became difficult and dangerous.

The right for Christians to visit the birthplace of Christianity, and the holy places related to the life of Jesus, was considered a vital part of Christian worship, and its loss was unacceptable to the Christian rulers of Europe. In 1095 Pope Urban II appealed for protection for the pilgrims, and the first crusades were launched. In the turbulent feudal climate of Europe, many of its kings and knights were keen to focus their energies on a crusade. Apart from considering the campaign a Christian mission, they would have an opportunity to take part in battle and, if successful, the chance of riches and lands in the conquered territory. In the light of these beliefs, knights flocked to the pope's banner for the First Crusade 1095–97.

1095–1148 In 1095 several undisciplined groups of crusaders, such as those led by Walter the Penniless and Peter the Hermit, set out for the East, but died on the way. A more serious expedition was launched 1096–97, when a great army whose leaders included Godfrey de Bouillon, Bohemund of Otranto, and Raymond of Toulouse, fought its way through Asia Minor (modern Anatolia), capturing Antioch in 1098 and Jerusalem in 1099. The victorious crusaders took part in the murder of Muslims in the city, and large amounts of treasure and property were taken.

A number of Christian-controlled states were set up. The County of Edessa was created along the banks of the Euphrates River, and the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli were created on the Mediterranean coast in Palestine. A Christian kingdom of Jerusalem was established, with Godfrey as its first king, his brother Baldwin as Count of Edessa (Upper Mesopotamia), and Bohemund as Prince of Antioch. Godfrey died in 1100 and was succeeded by Baldwin. During the next fifty years, in spite of reinforcements, including fleets from Genoa, Norway, and Venice, the Christians in Syria faced constant threats and attacks from their Muslim neighbours. Two religious orders of knights, the Knights Hospitallers (see Order of St John) and Knights Templars were formed to assist in the defence of Jerusalem.

Edessa was lost in 1144, and the Second Crusade (1146–48), under Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, ended disastrously. Its failure for a time discouraged any similar ventures, while Muslim pressure increased on all sides.

Saladin's conquests and European reaction The crusading spirit was revived toward the end of the 1100s in response to the conquests of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt. Having captured Damascus in 1174 and Aleppo in 1183, he swept down through Galilee with an immense force, defeated a Christian army at the Horns of Hattin, and took Jerusalem in October 1187. Although some small areas in the Holy Land remained in the hands of the Christians, Jerusalem, the greatest prize and the purpose of the First Crusade, had been lost once again to Muslim control.

The news was received in Europe with disbelief and rage. A number of new crusading expeditions were sent, of which the most important was the Third Crusade led by Philip II of France, Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, and Richard (I) the Lion-Heart of England in 1189. The Germans travelled through Asia Minor, losing their emperor on the way when he drowned during a river crossing in Anatolia; the French and English went by sea to Acre, which had already been besieged for nearly two years by Guy de Lusignan. Richard distinguished himself in the Siege of Acre, capturing the city in 1191, but he quarrelled with his allies, who left him to carry on the war alone. After a year of fruitless exploits, he made a truce with Saladin, and returned to Europe, having failed to achieve any part of his original aim to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Christians. The capture of Acre was a success, but Saladin retained control of the most important areas in the Holy Land.

13th-century crusades The Fourth Crusade, starting from Venice in 1202, became involved in Venetian intrigues with the Byzantine Empire. Instead of reaching Jerusalem, the crusaders helped the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac Angelus to recapture his throne. A few months later the crusaders stormed and sacked Constantinople, and established a Latin empire there under Baldwin of Flanders in 1204. The failure of the Fourth Crusade even to reach its destination and fight for the rights of Christians in the Holy Land demonstrates the complex motives of the crusaders. The promise of power and wealth in Constantinople proved more appealing than fighting the Muslims in Palestine.

Perhaps the most tragic of these expeditions was the Children's Crusade. In 1212 several thousand children were allowed to go on a crusade; many died on their way from France and Germany to the Italian coast. The rest boarded ships there, but those who reached Alexandria in Egypt were captured and sold into slavery. Andrew of Hungary led a failed crusade 1217–21 against the Muslims in Egypt.

Emperor Frederick II of Germany led a more successful crusade, the Sixth Crusade, in 1228. He regained Jerusalem and the south of Palestine by diplomatic negotiations with the Muslims and Christians of the area, rather than by fighting, and it remained in Christian hands until 1244. The Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France (St Louis) in 1249 was, like that of 1217, directed against Egypt, and proved even more disastrous. Louis was captured along with the greater part of his army, and had to pay 800,000 pieces of gold as a ransom. Even after this, he headed the Eighth Crusade in 1270, but died at Carthage in Tunisia on the way to Egypt. A few months later Prince Edward of England (who later became Edward I), led his own followers to Acre, but achieved no results.

Diminishing enthusiasm Understandably, after so many failures and only temporary successes, the enthusiasm for crusades died down. In the 14th century several crusades were mounted against the Ottoman Turks, but these were more defensive movements designed to stop the rapid advances of the Turks, who were spreading into the eastern borders of Europe as a result of their superior military strength. Several popes continued to preach about the need for a united Christian holy war against the infidels (Muslim non-believers), but with no success. Even when Constantinople was captured by Muhammad II in 1453, and the Christian Byzantine Empire came to an end, Pope Pius II failed to raise a crusade for its recovery.

The Templars had been suppressed, but the Hospitallers, based at first at Rhodes and afterwards at Malta, continued to provide defence against Turkish advance in the Mediterranean.

Failure and benefits Although the crusades failed to achieve the religious objectives for which they were originally planned, and led to much needless slaughter, they benefited Europe indirectly in a number of ways. Trade between Europe and Asia Minor was greatly increased; the merchants and sailors of the Mediterranean, especially those of Venice and Genoa, found the demand for their shipping greatly increased, both for the transport of armies and for bringing new and rare products from east European craftsmen. The crusaders learned valuable lessons from Saracen skills in art and in war. Sugar, cotton, and many other articles now in everyday use first became known in Europe through the crusades. The cultural contacts that were established between Europe and the East in this period had a stimulating effect on learning in medieval Europe, and to some extent anticipated and paved the way for the Renaissance.

Present-day conflict over the crusades In recent years there has been a campaign by some Muslims for the Christian church to apologize for the crusades. The crusaders' attempts to enforce Christian rule on the peoples of Palestine and the Middle East is seen as based purely on a desire for power and land rather than religious freedom. Most historians regard apology as pointless, as modern Christians and European countries cannot be held to blame for the actions of their ancestors over 700 years ago. The leaders of the European nations and the Roman Catholic Church have also refused to apologize for such distant events. However, some Christians in Europe and the USA have made trips to the Holy Land to apologize for the actions of the crusaders, arguing that doing so helps to heal the splits between Islam and Christianity.