Conditions in Western Europe prior to the Crusades were dominated by warring factions and corruption between rival city

states. The Roman Catholic Church was marginalized by medieval leadership and the papacy was essentially powerless in the political realm. In contrast, in the East, the Muslim advance on Constantinople had caused the Eastern Orthodox Church, specifically the Byzantine Emperor felt threatened and his influence greatly diminished. Finally, in Muslim held territory, the religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity lived in mutual respect and peace. What effect did the Crusades have on the relationships in Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire and the religions in the Muslim territories? Prior to the Crusades, Western Europe was in the period known as the Dark Ages. This was a period that immediately followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the central authority, control and peace that it ensured. The time was marked by warfare, intellectual darkness and barbarity. The land was divided between the kings, counts, vassals and the church. The fighting of the invaders of the north and internal wars between the fractured countries left the leaders with little control over their lands and their people. During the Dark Ages, life was violent and it seemed that no one could gain control of the situation. The only entity that could impart any form of change upon Western Europe was the Church. It, however, had neither the political power nor the prestige to enact change. It was during this same time that the Byzantine Empire was encountering problems of its own from the Seljuk Turks. Since the middle part of the first century, the empire and the Persians had been at war. The Persian invaders destroyed the Christian cities of Antioch, Damascus and Jerusalem. However, a new force was about to emerge in the mid-600s. With
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the death of Muhammad the Muslims began their spread through Syria and Palestine taking the cities that the Persians had taken before. Islam viewed itself as the successor to Judaism and Christianity. The city of the people of Moses and the places where Jesus preached was a holy place for the Muslims because they were great prophets in the Islamic faith. The Muslims continued taking territory from the Byzantine Empire and had attacked Constantinople on several occasions under the rule of Seljuk Turk, the Sultan Alp Arslan. The Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes met the invaders at Manzikert and ultimately lost the battle and with it much of the territory east of Constantinople. With the Seljuk Turks taking territories and advancing closer to the gates of the city, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comenus sends a plea to Pope Urban I in 1095 at the council of bishops of Piacenza. Pope Urban I seized the opportunity to increase his authority and political status by declaring a Holy War upon Islam. This move would put Rome back at the center of the world political stage. This Holy War would allow the Pope to increase his authority over the Knights of Western Europe at the expense of the other secular rulers. Holy War directs the violent Knights away from the practice of brutalizing the church or each other and it rolls back the Muslim incursion and allows Christendom to reclaim its most holy places. Pope Urban I put his plan into effect during a sermon at Clermont, France in November 1095. The tales of the Muslim atrocities against fellow Christians in the East and the demonizing of the Turks was a rallying call under the banner of the Catholic Church. Those who would go defend the faith would be assured of prestige, honor, land, riches and a complete pardon of all sins and the promise of eternal life. The pope had united salvation with killing of the Muslims. He had declared a Holy War.

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We find Holy War mentioned in the Old Testament when Joshua was told to take the land for Israel. God established rules for Holy War found in Deuteronomy chapter 7. The children of Israel as they were about to take the possession of the covenant land were instructed by God to destroy every living thing and leave no survivors, to devote all of the plunder to God and not to get rich themselves and to leave the cities for them to inhabit. All of this was to fulfill the covenant promise of God. The Canaanites were wicked and evil were given many years to repent. All the other times, the Israelites were to give every opportunity to make treaties and extend grace before battle. The Holy War that Pope Urban I declared called for the destruction of the Muslim invaders but unlike the rules of Holy War found in the Bible, the promise was for personal riches and glory not Gods glory and to reclaim lands and kill for the purpose of salvation. This Holy War was justified by man. After news of the Crusade began to spread, there was a deep sense of hatred for those outside of the accepted norms of Western Christianity. Those that fell outside of the norm were the Jews, non-Christians and even the Eastern Christians that the Crusaders were going to protect. All across Europe, anti-Semitic sentiment escalated to the massacre of communities of Jews all over Europe. The Crusaders finally arrived at Constantinople to aid the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comedus. Emperor Alexius surrounded by 60,000 crusaders ordered the gates closed to Constantinople and began to strategize how to use the Crusaders to further his goals for his Empire. Upon meeting with the commanders of the Crusade, namely Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, Count Baldwin of Boulogne and Bohemond of Otranto, Emperor Alexius offered to supply the Crusaders with provisions if the commanders would vow allegiance to him and promised to

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return any lands reclaimed to the Byzantines. The Crusaders could keep the spoils of war and the Byzantines could reclaim their territories and solidify their empire. In May 1097, the Crusaders besieged Nicaea. During this time the Byzantines orchestrated a secret surrender that denied the Crusaders a victory or their spoils. They were betrayed by their new found allies. The Seljuk Turk leader, Sultan Kilij Arslan wanted revenge and set an ambush for the Crusaders. The Crusaders won the battle giving them a sense of invincibility as they continued on toward Jerusalem. A group of Crusaders, led by Count Baldwin, whose wife had died along the way and had left him poor once more, separated and moved toward Edessa. Edessa was a Christian city and implored their leader Thoros to invite Count Baldwin for protection. Count Baldwin kills Thoros for rule of Edessa. The main Crusader army travelled on to Antioch the site of the first Christian church that was setup and it was strategic as the gateway to Syria and Jerusalem. The Muslim Turks are in harmony with the Armenian and Greek Christians. The Turkish leader Yagi-sian, afraid of the Christians inside of his walls tricked them to go outside of the walls. The city fell as a result of a Muslim traitor. The Crusaders killed indiscriminately as the Jews, Christians and Muslims, men, women and children were killed to prove their superiority. The worst of the evil atrocities of the Crusade occurred at Maarra an-Numan a city in the northwest corner of Syria. The Crusaders promised the people safety but after pillaging the city they burned and tortured men, women and children massacring everyone. Following the massacre, the Crusaders began to eat the dead bodies and even impaling the children on spits to devour their flesh. This type of treachery was the calling cards for the Crusades.

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The Crusaders travelled on to Jerusalem who was in control of the Egyptians who wanted to settle a peace treaty. By June 1099, over three-quarters of the original force gone the Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem and laid siege to the city. Like the other cities, the Jews and Christians lived at peace with the Muslims. But when the Crusaders finally entered the city the men, women and children of all faiths were killed. The Crusaders pursued the Muslims, burned the Jews alive and killed the Christians. Afterwards, the Christians and Jews that remained were forced to carry the dead outside of the city and to clean the city afterwards. To the Muslims the Crusade was a barbarian incursion in which at Jerusalem over 30,000 Muslims, Jews and Christians were killed. Two of the holiest sites of Islam were defiled. However, in 1099 the Muslim world was too divided to counter-attack. The Muslim world was divided between the Sunni Muslims of Baghdad and the Shia Muslims based in Cairo. The key element of the Islamic faith was Jihad or Struggle. In 1127, in Mosul Imad ad-Din Zengi, a warlord began his campaign to unite the Arab nation-states and to bring Jihad to the Christians. Zengi joined forces with Aleppo for protection thus uniting Northern Syria. In 1144, he successfully attacked and captured Edessa. Just years after the capture of Edessa, Zengi was killed by a slave and his son Nur al-Din came to power. He continued his fathers vision to unite the Muslims in Jihad. Meanwhile, the church began a program encouraging settlement in Jerusalem. Families moved to Jerusalem as it blossomed into a spiritual center. Around the Crusader held territories castles and villages begin to form and the City-States of Edessa, Tripoli, Antioch and the Kingdom of Jerusalem formed. Tourism also grew in Jerusalem and the Crusaders began experiencing the various luxuries found in the East, particularly food, silk, perfumes, tapestries

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among many other new things. The Crusaders also learned medicine, science, mathematics, literature and philosophy and began to broaden their minds. A group of men who took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience and took care of the sick called the Hospitallers became a powerful military force. A second order following a monastic way of life and warfare that protected pilgrims was the Knights Templar, getting their name from their headquarters in King Solomons Temple. Fighting off the infidel became not only an act of charity but a way of salvation. While Jerusalem was developing, in Europe Pope Eugenius III heard of Edessa and sent for help. King Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine responded to the call of Crusade. King Louis VII was a man with little military prowess ventured out to retake Edessa during the Second Crusade. At Edessa, thousands of Crusaders were killed and the force was handed over to the Templars. They took refuge in Antioch. The Crusaders then laid siege on Damascus. The Muslims of Damascus asked Nur al-Din for assistance and he responded. The battle was lost to the Crusaders and King Louis VII returned home a broken and shamed man. As a result of the Second Crusade there were fewer people willing to undertake the Crusade in Europe and the conditions for the Crusaders in the East declined. While, the Muslims world was relieved and believed that Allah had blessed them. Based on this their confidence grew and while the First Crusade was a success the Kings of Europe came and could not succeed. The West was not invincible, Muslims could succeed. Nur al-Din forged an alliance with Damascus. This gave the Arabs a feeling of nationalism and focus on Jihad and driving the Christians out. They consolidated the whole eastern side of the Crusader controlled territory into Muslim control under one leader. The citystates of Mosul, Aleppo, Edessa and Damascus united still lacked one side to fully encircle the

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Crusaders. The most strategic part was Egypt. Both Crusaders and Muslims wanted Cairo. Cairo wanted to stay independent, though it was Muslim. The Shia Muslims of Cairo would rather surrender to the Crusaders than to the Sunni Muslims. However, in 1168, the Crusaders made a terrible mistake. A group of Crusaders massacred a Shia Muslim Egyptian town near Cairo. The Egyptians felt as though they had no choice but to form an alliance with Nur al-Din. Nur al-Din sent in Salah din to help. By the end of 1169, Salah din was the leader of Egypt by some mysterious accidents that befell people between him and the leadership. Salah din wanted to unite all of the Muslims under one leader, himself. Upon the death of Nur al-din, his twelve year old son, Badr Al-Din came to leadership. He refused Salah dins entrance to the city and sent out religious hit men called The Assassins to kill Salah din. Upon a failed attempt, Salah din left. A year later he returned to take Aleppo but a threat on his life caused him to flee once more until the death of Badr Al-Din under mysterious circumstances. Now, Salah din controlled Egypt, Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul and Edessa. The Muslim world was united under one leader and one focus, Jihad. The Crusaders at Jerusalem were at their weakest point. The Kingdom led by King Baldwin IV, who was plagued with leprosy since his youth was terribly ill and in 1183 he appointed King Guy of Lusignan to be his regent. King Guy eager to prove his worth was going to take on Salah din. One of his advisors, Raynald of Chatillon attacked a Muslim trade route in 1187 breaking a truce that was put in place allowing Muslim caravans safe passage through the Christian lands. Salah din responded by declaring war. He summoned soldiers from all over the realm and at Hattin in 1187 the Christians with over 1,300 Knights, Hospitallers and Templars and over 15,000 foot solders met the Muslim army. The Crusaders carried the most holy relic of

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Christendom, the True Cross in which it was purported to contain actual pieces of the cross of Christ. During the days of the battle, the days were hot in the desert and there was little water. The Crusaders suffered severe dehydration and off into the distance they saw their salvation, the lake of Galilee. Salah din recognized this and sent his army between the Crusaders and the lake. The weakened army led by Guy was ordered to charge into battle but their state was no match for Salah dins army. To compound matters for the Crusaders, Salah din ordered fires be built and the smoke further cause the Crusaders to thirst. Then Salah din ordered his army to make noise and play drums to further demoralize the Crusaders. The True Cross was taken and Raynald and all of the Hospitallers and Templars were executed with the exception of King Guy. Losing the battle of Hattin had taken all of the defenders from the Christian city-states and Salah din swept through the Crusader held territories. When he arrived at Jerusalem, the Christians wanted to surrender but Salah din wanted to slaughter them just as the Muslims had done before. The Christians then threatened to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of the most holy sites of Islam. Salah din demanded a ransom and the Christians agreed. Salah din took Jerusalem peacefully. From this, the Third Crusade was about getting Jerusalem back. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbosa set out with 100,000 men but in a freak accident he died crossing a river. The vast majority of his army turned and went home. A new leader arose, a 33 year old, King Richard I who took charge of the Crusade. He raised much money by selling land, castles, towns and lordships and he also instituted the Salah din Tithe to raise money. King Richards selling of his personal property is but an example of how the Crusades helped to undermine feudalism. As the rich knights and barons mortgaged or sold their lands to raise money for their crusading expeditions and then later on died, their estates reverted to the

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crown. These warlords refocused their attention on the Holy Land and as a result of the decline of both their numbers and influence caused a growth of royal authority. This gave power to the Kings and to the people. Industry through the Crusades grew based on a variety of sources. King Richards requirements to have the most well equipped army in the history of the Crusades involved the building of modern siege engines, the best weapons and equipment. A new trade industry boomed as spices, silks, tapestries, foods and perfumes came Westward from the East. This industry became much sought after items of luxury and commonplace in Europe. Other industries such as shipbuilding took pivotal roles during the Crusades and directly influenced the Crusades themselves. Back in the East, Salah din releases Guy and he raises an army to regain his reputation and begins by laying siege upon the port city of Acre. He continued the siege until help arrived in the form of King Richard I. Together, they took Acre and Richard gained the title of The Lionhearted. As the Crusaders continued on toward Jerusalem, the battles continued between Richard and Salah din. However, Richard, when almost to Jerusalem, realized that he did not have the resources to hold Jerusalem so he turned around the army and went back. Later on, upon his leaving for England to gather more resources for the Crusade, a compromise was agreed upon. The city states that the Crusaders owned would stay theirs and Jerusalem would stay with the Muslims. However, Christian Pilgrims would be given safe passage to and from the holy sites. Other Crusades followed but none that were successful. Actually, the First Crusade was the only successful military campaign that met the objectives.

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After the Crusades, the Europeans eyes were opened to a world beyond Europe and their minds were broadened, stirring interest in and tolerance for other cultures. The Crusaders travelled abroad from their castles and cities to great cities with marble palaces, tapestries, silks and with finer tastes for food. This broadened their ideas and widened their sympathies to the world. The influx of Arab texts and translations of classical Greek and Roman literature created a more secular outlook that helped to lead to the Italian Renaissance in the 1400s. Also, the Arabs passed on knowledge of math, astronomy and geography as well as papermaking and the refining of alcohol and sugar. This mental awakening was called the Revival of Learning. The Crusades stimulated an increased desire for luxury goods from the East. When they lost control of their trade routes to the Turks, they embarked on a series of voyages seeking a shorter and cheaper way to get those luxuries. In the process Africa was circumnavigated, Asia was more thoroughly mapped, and the Pacific Ocean, the Americas, and Australia were discovered. During the 4th Crusade, the city of Constantinople is sieged, looted and a Latin king is placed on the throne. This gave the early Christian civilizations of Germany time to acquire sufficient strength to roll back the Muslim invasion of Europe in the fifteenth century. Crusaders after the fall of Constantinople take fiefs for themselves in Greece and Western Anatolia. A Latin Empire is established but the Byzantine court survives which establishes a base in Nicaea and gradually push over the next three centuries the Latin opponents out of Anatolia and finally succeed in recovering Constantinople in 1261. The Byzantine emperors rule for another two centuries in Constantinople but are isolated, weak and helpless against the Ottoman Turks. Finally, in 1453, the city falls to the Ottoman Turks and the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI dies. The

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most spectacular church in Christendom becomes a Muslim mosque and Constantinople is renamed Istanbul. The First Crusade anti-Semitic attacks were held in the communities of the Rhine and Danube and later during the Second and Third Crusades were attacked in France. The Jews of the East fought side by side with Muslim soldiers to defend Jerusalem against the Crusaders and after the fall of Jerusalem were forced to clean the city of the slain. Before the Crusades, the church was powerless and marginalized, however, later the Churches role, wealth and power was substantiated. By the end of the Third Crusade Christian pilgrims safe travel was ensured through Muslim controlled lands to Jerusalem to visit holy sites. Prior to the Crusades the Muslim world was tolerant of diversity among religions. Afterward it became more conservative and less tolerant. The Muslim factions united to fight the crusaders and are still united today. The attacks by the Turks, Crusaders and Mongols hardened the Arab attitude toward other cultures in order to preserve their own. As Western Europe changed and adapted to become more technologically advanced, the Arab world has resisted change and put them at a disadvantage in the modern world. The struggle of whether or not to modernize still divides the Arab world today. The conditions of Western Europe prior to the Crusades were that of lawlessness and violence. The church was the institution that could turn the tide, yet lacked the political power to produce any change. The Crusades solidified the papacy and the church. The knight's hostilities were directed away from the church and from warring among themselves. Western Europe became more organized with the formation of nations as many of the warring knights and rulers died with their opposition to the church. Secondly, the Byzantine Empire, seeking to reestablish

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its glory and extend its reach saw, by the end of the crusades, their power greatly catastrophically diminished. Finally, the peace and mutual respect among the three religions were destroyed through horrors and atrocities committed by both Christendom and the Muslims. After the Crusades, Europe went through a renaissance and a reformation; the Islamic states were united but withdrew from non-Muslim cultures and in time became reluctant to embrace science and mathematics.

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

http://www.catholiceducation.org http://www.history.com http://history-world.org http://www.uwgb.edu http://www.flowofhistory.com http://www.fordham.edu http://www.thehaca.com Howard, Jonathan; Golgotha Press (2011-07-21). The Crusades: A History of One of the Most Epic Military Campaigns of All Time (Kindle Location 113). Golgotha Press. Kindle Edition. 9. Wise-Bauer, Susan; W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. The History of the Medieval World. 2010.

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