The Crusaders

HIST 100710/28/13

The Crusader States

A Divided East

• Seljuq Empire– Sultans of Hamadan (western Persia)– Sultans of Kerman (southern Persia)– Sultans of Aleppo (northern Syria)– Sultans/Emirs of Damascus (southern Syria)– Sultans of Rum (Anatolia)

• Fatimid Empire• Assassins

A Divided East• Crusaders

– Western Christians in the Levant to fulfill a crusading vow• Franks (Franj)

– Western Christians living in the Crusader States• Byzantines• Eastern Christians

– Armenians– Melkites– Jacobites– Maronites– Nestorians

The Second Crusade (1145-1149)• Imad al-Din Zengi (d. 1146): Seljuq atabeg of

Aleppo and Mosul• 1143: Zengi takes Edessa• 1145: Pope Eugene III calls for new Crusade• Kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Holy Roman Empire respond

Counter Crusade• Nur al-Din (r. 1146-1174): son of Zengi, inherits rule of Aleppo• What does it mean to be a good Muslim ruler?• Hires religious scholars to write texts on jihad and the benefits of Jerusalem• The righteous ruler is the one who fights the crusaders• Jerusalem is prioritized

Minbar of al-Aqsa Mosque

Nur al-Din• Spends most of his career fighting fellow Muslims• 1154: conquers Damascus• 1163-1169: conquest of Fatimid Egypt• Shirkuh (d. 1169)– Kurdish general– leads conquest of Egypt– uncle of Salah al-Din

• 1171: disbands Fatimid Caliphate

Nur al-Din Madrassa, Damascus

Salah al-Din (r. 1174-1193)• Known as the insolent in Nur al-Din’s court• 1169: de facto ruler of Egypt• 1174: Seizes control of Nur al-Din’s domains after his death• 1187: Battle of Hattin

– Plays the aggressiveness of the crusaders to Muslim advantage– Majority of crusader forces ambushed– Reynald of Chatillon and Guy of Lusingnan

• Capture of Jerusalem

Third Crusade (1187-1192)

• Response to fall of Jerusalem• God’s punishment• Richard the Lionheart (England)• Phillip II (France)• Frederick Barbarossa (Holy Roman Empire)

Richard and Salah al-Din

• Models of chivalry• Salah al-Din as the Virtuous Pagan• Negotiated peace– Salah al-Din retains Jerusalem– Christians allowed to make pilgrimage– Crusaders hold onto Levantine coast

Richard and Salah al-Din in 14th centurymanuscript

End of the Third Crusade

Ayyubid Dynasty (r. 1171-1341)

• Preserve Salah al-Din’s Sultanate• Egypt as new economic center• Egypt as new focus of crusade– 1197, 1217, 1229, and 1249

• Sixth Crusade (1228-1229)– Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II– Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil– Jerusalem given to Frederick by way of treaty

Frederick II and al-Kamil from 14th

century manuscript

Memories of the Crusade

• Crusades are formative to European history• Muslims didn’t much care…• Why not?• Why do they seem to care so much today?

Monument to Salah al-Din, Damascus

Crusades and Modern Middle East

• European interest in the crusades– Sir Walter Scott, The Talisman, 1825

• Meets 19th century colonialism• 1898: German Emperor Wilhelm II repairs tomb of Salah al-Din• Salah al-Din and anti-colonialism• Salah al-Din and Arab Nationalism

Egyptian coat of arms andtomb of Salah al-Din

Crusades aren’t a big deal compared to…

• The Mamluk Sultanate – r. 1250-1517– Ayyubid ghulams turned sultans

• The Mongols– Steppe nomads organized under Chingis (Genghis) Khan– Ilkhanate (r. 1256-1335)– Timurids (r. 1370-1507)

Mamluk Sultan Baybars and Ilkhan Hulagu Khan