The Crusades

Crusades• 11th & 13th centuries, European Christians

carried out a series of military expeditions to take back the holy land from the Muslims

• Seljuk Turks won the battle of Manzikert & threatened Constantinople

• Crusades began when Pope Urban II responded to the request of Alexius I to liberate Jerusalem & Palestine

• Urban II called for crusades @ infidels• Infidels were the non believers = Muslims, Jews

Alexius I AskedFor Help and

Urban II CalledFor the

First Crusade

First Crusades• Mostly French knights = captured Antioch in

1098 & Jerusalem in 1099• Massacred Muslim & Jewish inhabitants• 4 Latin Crusader states were established that

lasted 100 years• 1120’s, Muslims began to strike back which led

to another Crusade

2nd Crusade• The fall of a Latin Kingdom led to the call of

another crusade• Saint Bernard of Clairvaux called for the

crusade & got the support of King Louis VII of France & Conrad III of Germany

• 2nd Crusade was a total failure• 1187, Jerusalem fell to Saladin• 3 important rulers then agreed to begin a third

Crusade

Louis VII and Conrad III RespondTo Bernard of Clairvaux’s Call

For a Second Crusade

Saladin’s Capture of JerusalemSparked the Third Crusade

3rd Crusade• Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Richard I

(Richard the Lionhearted) of England, Phillip II of Augustus of France

• Members of the 3rd arrived in the East by 1189 & encountered problems

• Barbarossa drowned while swimming in a river• English & French had success with their naval

fleets against coastal cities, but failed as they moved inland

• Richard I negotiated a settlement with Saladin to allow Christian pilgrims free access to Jerusalem

Philip II, Frederick IAnd Richard I Responded

4th Crusade• 6 years after the death of Saladin in 1193, Pope

Innocent III initiated the 4th crusade• On their way to the East became involved a

conflict with the Byzantine Empire over the succession to the Byzantine throne

• Crusaders diverted to Constantinople & sacked the city in 1204/ Byzantine empire was reestablished in 1261 but was never as powerful

• Ottoman Turks eventually conquered Byzantine 190 years later

Sultan Mahmet II:Conqueror of

Constantinople

Osman: Founder Of the Ottoman Turks

Results of the Crusades

Increased wealth of Italian city-states like Genoa and Venice.Began Jewish persecution and genocide.Started the breakdown of feudalism and an increase in the power of kings.Improved technology such as better ships and maps, and skills in siege techniques and weapons.

Crusading Kitty