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The Crusades

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THE CRUSADES

The crusades are religious wars between the Muslims and the Christians; the main

objective of the crusades is the control of the holy sites that are claimed by the two fighting

groups. The crusades are bloody and violent propelled by the urge by the Christians in the

control of land in the Middle East. Let’s look back at the origin of the crusades; by the end of the

11th century, Western Europe started emerging as a power though it was still behind Byzantine

and the Islamic empires in the Middle East (Ali, 2003). Byzantine lost most of its territory to the

Turks and Pope Urban 11 urged western Christians to help Byzantine so that they could

recapture the holy land from the Muslims.

First Crusade (1096-1099)

The crusade has started, and the Crusaders have formed troops of different European

regions. Report reaching us is that the leaders of the western crusades are Raymond of Saint-

Gilles, Bohemond of Taranto, and Godfrey of Bouillon (Ali, 2003). These groups have already

departed for Byzantine in August this year. Before these leaders departed less organized

commoners also known as the “Peoples Crusade” left under the leadership of preacher Peter the

Hermit. Alexius had advised the two groups to wait for the rest of the crusaders, but the message

was ignored. At Cibotus the crusaders crashed with the Muslims and the Turkish soldiers.

Another group of crusades is said to have massacred the Jews at Rhineland, and this has brought

outrage causing a serious crisis between the Christians and the Jews.

It is reported that the armies of crusaders met at Constantinople and Alexius urged all the

groups to take an oath and recognize him as the as the authority over all the land they will

conquer. All groups agreed, but that of Bohemond refused the oath (Ali, 2003). The Crusaders

have attacked Nicea which has surrendered. The Crusaders have continued to the city of Anatola

THE CRUSADES

and have captured the great city of Antioch in Syria. The Crusaders have occupied the city of

Jerusalem and also the Egyptian Fatimid’s (Ali, 2003). It is claimed that the crusaders have

massacred hundreds of men, women, and children in their entry to Jerusalem.

The Second Crusade (1147-1149)

The Crusaders have said that they have achieved their goals in a shorter period than they

expected. Most of the Crusaders are now returning home. The remaining crusades have

established four territories so that they can govern the conquered territories (Ali, 2003). The

large western territories are Jerusalem, Edessa, Tripoli, and Antioch. The territories are guarded

by formidable castles, but the Muslims have started gaining grounds in what they are calling the

holy war against the Christians whom they called “Franks.” Seljuk general by the name Zangi

has captured Edessa; the crusades have therefore lost the north most Crusader state. When the

news of the collapse of Edessa reached Europe, the Europeans called all the Christian authorities

of the west to call for another crusade. King Louis V11 of France and King Conrad 111 of

Germany has called for the beginning of the second crusade. By October the Turks have

annihilated Conrad’s forces at the site where there was a Christian victory (Ali, 2003). Conrad

and Louis have decided to join their forces at Jerusalem. They have attacked Damascus which is

a Syrian stronghold with an army of more than 50,000 soldiers. The Damascus government

called for aid but had a humiliating defeat to the Crusaders and this and marked the end of the

war.

Third Crusade (1187-1192)

The crusades of Jerusalem have been trying to capture Egypt, but they have failed. Nur

al-Dins forces have captured Cairo and forced the Crusaders to leave. The crusade of Jerusalem

THE CRUSADES

is next, and from the reports reaching our desk, Saladin has begun a campaign against the

crusaders of Jerusalem. Saladin troops have destroyed the Christian army in Hattin and have

taken back the city. The Christian crusades are outraged by these defeats and are focused on

recapturing all the lost cities. Richard forces have defeated the Muslims in the battle of Arsuf.

They have recaptured the city of Jaffa and reestablished control in majority regions near

Jerusalem (Riley-Smith, 2014). Richard and Saladin are reported to have signed the peace treaty

that has allowed the establishment of the city of Jerusalem, and this has ended the war.

From the look of things the battle is far from over as crusades and Muslim soldiers are

planning on other major wars. The war started for the protection of holy religious cities but has

changed into the urge for territorial and political control (Riley-Smith, 2014). The two groups

have been killing and massacring innocent groups in their quest for religious and political

control.

Fourth Crusade: The Fall of Constantinople

Destruction of one

of the cities during the

crusade

Pope Innocent has

called for another crusade,

but there have been power

THE CRUSADES

struggles from within. The Europeans and Byzantium have diverted their attention; they want to

topple the Byzantine emperor, Alexius 111. They want his nephew Alexius to become the new

emperor. The new emperor has tried to make Byzantine church submit to Rome church, and this

was met with a very stiff resistance. It is claimed that the new emperor has been strangled after a

coup in the place. After the strangling of the Emperor the crusaders has declared war on

Constantinople and the war has started (Riley-Smith, 2014). Within few days Constantinople has

collapsed in one of the bloody crusades. There has been reported looting and the destruction of

the Byzantine capital.

The Constantinople is an example of religious control by Rome which had led to war

between allies. Rome has changed byzantine emperor so that the new one would submit to them

both politically and in religion. The crusades have forgotten the war with the Muslims as they are

busy thinking about Byzantine.

Fifth Crusades (1208-1271)

The crusades have stopped the aim of toppling the Muslim but are now concerned with

fighting the enemies of the Christian faith. The Albigensian Crusade main aim is to remove the

heretical Cathari sect of the Christianity in France. The Baltic Crusades wants to remove the

Transylvania who they consider as pagans. The children Crusade is also taking place where

many children have vowed to march to Jerusalem. This group of children has not reached the

Promised Land. Pope innocent is reported to have organized another crusade; they have attacked

Egypt both on land and sea but have been forced to surrender by the Muslim defenders (Riley-

Smith, 2014). Emperor Fredrick 11 has been able to transfer Jerusalem to the Crusaders after

THE CRUSADES

negotiations with al-Kamil. Louis 1X has organized another crusade to Egypt which has been a

failure.

The crusades have been struggling, and a new dynasty called the Mamluks has emerged

from former slaves from the Islamic empire. The Mamluks has attacked and demolished the city

of Antioch, the crusades have tried to respond to the defeat by the Mamluks, but the attack has

been a failure (Riley-Smith, 2014). Edward of England has tried to organize another crusade

which has not achieved its objectives. The crusades started very strong, but the results are poor.

One of the reasons why they fail is because of leadership wrangles in the conquered areas. When

the crusades defeated, the Muslim majority returned to Europe instead of remaining to control

the defeated areas effectively. The idea of the crusade was to protect the holy Christian towns

and cities, but when the crusades conquered these areas, they became more interested in

territories (Riley-Smith, 2014).

Reflection

I decided to look at crusades because they help to explain the current geography of the

Middle East and North Africa. The crusades ended with the defeat of the Europeans although

many historians would argue that they extended the western civilization and Christianity. The

Roman Catholics increased their wealth as they controlled the regions they had conquered

(Riley-Smith, 2014). The power and the influence of the pope increased after the crusades ended.

Transportation and trade improved throughout Europe after the crusades. The war had created

demand for the supply of goods, and this led to shipbuilding.

When the crusades ended there was high interest in learning and travel in Europe, many

historians believes that it is the crusade that paved the way for the renaissance. The Muslim

THE CRUSADES

crusaders were regarded as immoral by the Muslims. The ruthless killings of the Muslims, Jews,

and other non-Christians brought bitter resentment between Muslims and Christians that lasted

for many years. Even today some Muslims still believe that the interference of the west in the

Middle East is a continuation of the crusade (Riley-Smith, 2014). The bloody years of conflicts

between the Muslims and the Crusades had a long-lasting effect on the Western Europe and the

Middle East. The impact of the Crusade is felt even today. This newspaper will be released twice

a month

An image

showing the crusade

fights

THE CRUSADES

REFERENCE

Ali, T. (2003). The clash of fundamentalisms: Crusades, jihads and modernity.

Verso.

Riley-Smith, J. (2014). The crusades: A history. Bloomsbury Publishing.

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