THE CRUSADES

Background Western and Eastern Europe had become

increasingly split from one another 1054 – the “Great Schism” – Arguments

between the Western Church and the Eastern Church come to a head, leading to a divide between the Catholic Church (Headed by the Pope) based in Italy and the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Constantinople (Part of the Byzantine Empire)

The Byzantine Empire, after a series of conflicts, had seen it’s power greatly diminished and had an empty treasury.

Causes of the Crusades Jerusalem (and other holy sites for

Christians) were in lands now controlled by Islamic Empire, which had grown rapidly.

HOWEVER Overly simplistic to say that these were

wars about Christianity vs. Islam. If the Catholic Church had been truly

worried about Islamic Expansion they would have attacked far sooner. (like the 8th Century)

In fact, the early Muslim dynasties were happy to have Christians and Jews living in their lands…so long as they paid taxes.

Christians took regular pilgrimages to holy sites which brought a lot of wealth to the Islamic Empire as well.

The Problems started when a new group of Muslims, the Seljuk Turks, took control of the Holy Lands.

They sacked Holy Cities, began to persecute Christians and disrupt pilgrimages.

Also began to conquer some of Byzantine Empire’s territory.

The Start of the Crusades Byzantine Emperor Alexios I sends an appeal to

Pope Urban II and the Western Nations to help them fight off the Seljuks.

The Pope saw this as an opportunity to reunite Europe, so he called on the people of Europe to assemble an army to help the Byzantines and retake Jerusalem to make pilgrimages safe.

Christianity doesn’t really have a belief in “holy wars” so the Pope presented it as a Pilgrimage using military power to get to it’s destination.

Who Answered the Call? The vast majority of crusaders were

peasants.

Also some high ranked lords and nights.

Thought it was their holy duty to defend the land of Christ.

This was not a well organized army. Different groups and factions were marching together.

The First Crusade (1096-1099) The Goal was to help the Byzantine

Empire fight back the Seljuks and to retake Jerusalem, thus making pilgrimages safe for Christians.

By the time they got to the Holy Lands, the Seljuks had been defeated and replaced by the Fatamids, another group of Muslims.

At this point there were only 12 000 men and 1500 cavalry

The initial assault failed, but the crusaders made a second attempt and surprisingly managed to take the city.

This was seen by many to be a miracle.

The Crusaders proceeded to massacre Muslims and Jews within the city walls

The Third Crusade (1187-1192)

The Famous One The Muslims, who had long

been fighting amongst one another, were finally united under the leadership of Saladin, a brilliant military leader.

Islamic Empire took back Jerusalem

Pope Urban III is said to have died of a heart attack when he heard

Fun (but important) FactKnights Templar Rise in 1120 and appear in Subsequent Crusades Initially poorly funded soldiers

sent to protect the peasant crusaders, the order quickly gained support from financiers

The order grew in quality and quantity until it was a formidable force of heavily armoured knights who answered only to the Pope

3rd Crusade 10 days after Pope Urban III’s

death the new Pope, Gregory the VIII, called for a new crusade.

Three Kings responded: Emperor Frederick I (Barbossa) of the Holy Roman Empire, King Philip II Augustus of France and King Richard the Lionhearted of England.

Frederick died on the way, the other two fought a lot.

Outcome of 3rd Crusade Richard, like Saladin was an amazing General

and inspiring leader. Both had mutual respect for the other.

(generosity, truces, etc.) Richard wanted to take Egypt, to provide a

better launching ground for the conquest of Jerusalem.

He was unable to persuade the crusaders of this plan and had to call off the crusade early.

The Crusade ended in a a truce where Christians can visit Jerusalem and holy sites without paying extras fees

4th Crusade is Hilarious…Crash Course in the Crusades (11:46)