The First Crusade
In 1076 the Muslim's took Jerusalem from the Christians. The first crusade was an attempt for the Christians to gain Jerusalem back, or so Pope Urban II, the instigator of the first crusade, said. He also claimed to be able to pardon their sins and help them to escape the drudgery of purgatory and the fiery pits of Hell. He campaigned it as a war against the 'wrong' religion and a chance to win back Jerusalem, a city which the Muslim's controlled at that point, but held major religious significance with the Christians. With the clear vision that hind-sight produces we can now tell that, whist the reclaiming of Jerusalem was a factor also, the crusades were mainly started because the pope was anxious about the growth of the Muslim religion, both the amount of people who were converting to Islam and the technological improvements that they were achieving because of the amount of believers they had.
Pope Urban spoke to a crown in Clermont, France in 1095. In his speech he said "Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned." and the people who chose to go cut out red crosses and sewed them to their tunics. The French word for cross is 'croix', which became 'croisades', and thus the name crusades was born.
10,000 men volunteered to go on the first crusade. There was no main leader of the first crusade. Pope Urban II declared Bishop Adbenar the leader, but he was a poor leader, giving others the power to make decisions and do the work. The First Crusade was separated into four main armies and a large number of smaller armies. There was no proper command structure to any of the armies and no overall controlling leader either. This may be due to the awful state of communications at the time which meant that no one person could be in overall control of the armies.
The journey to the Middle East was a very hard one for the knights of the first crusade. Crusaders did not control the ports on the coast of the Middle East, so they were unable to sail there, forcing them to go overland. Many of the people who went on the crusades were peasants who were unable to afford horses, so they had to make the long and tiring journey through France, Italy and parts of eastern Europe, what is now Turkey, on foot. They covered hundreds of miles and such differing landscapes that they had to march through blistering heat and freezing cold on the way there.
On the way the Crusaders ran out of fresh water and food. To combat the lack of water the men of the crusades were forced to drink their own urine, animal blood or water from sewage. The locals, knowing how desperate the crusaders were for food, charged very expensive rates for any food that the crusaders wanted to buy and, by the end, they were pillaging and plundering towns to get supplies.
The crusaders were also very susceptible to disease that was picked up from all of the local's they came into contact with and would spread quickly throughout the ranks due to the long journey and dirty water. Dysentery was very common among the crusaders and in the hot temperatures many people suffered from heat stroke. Whether or not someone had enough money to buy proper food and water did not affect whether or not they got sick as the poorer people would get sick and then the richer people would catch it.
The Crusaders first targeted the city of Nicea and conquered it without much difficulty. The next target was Antioch, a city that was heavily fortified by a Turkish army. The crusaders took seven months to conquer the city. The crusaders then wanted to conquer Jerusalem. The attack on Jerusalem started during the summer of 1099. Jerusalem had strong defences and high walls around it. The crusaders were short on materials to create siege machines so the first two attacks on the city were crushed before they even began. Once logs arrived, two siege machines were built and the crusaders attempted to take Jerusalem.
It was written by a monk called Fulcher who was on the crusade with the Christians when they tried to take Jerusalem. He said that after the crusaders got over the walls of Jerusalem the Muslims ran away and then crusaders killed anyone they could on the streets and that the whole city was ankle deep in blood. The crusaders who got over the walls then opened the gates for the other crusaders who came in and slaughtered whoever they could find. The Muslims who weren't killed had to go around and collect the bodies of the people who had been killed and dump them outside of the city because they stank. The Muslims later claimed that 70,000 people were killed and that the Crusaders took whatever they wanted from the Dome of the Rock, including many treasures.
The crusaders succeeded in their attempt to take Jerusalem from the Muslims and then created the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The first king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was King Godfrey of Bouillon, a crusader who was elected by the other crusaders into the position. He died in 1100 and was succeeded by his brother, Baldwin of Boulogne. The crusades did not end there as the aim of the Christians was to rid the entire area of Muslims, not just Jerusalem.
Pope Urban spoke to a crown in Clermont, France in 1095. In his speech he said "Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned." and the people who chose to go cut out red crosses and sewed them to their tunics. The French word for cross is 'croix', which became 'croisades', and thus the name crusades was born.
10,000 men volunteered to go on the first crusade. There was no main leader of the first crusade. Pope Urban II declared Bishop Adbenar the leader, but he was a poor leader, giving others the power to make decisions and do the work. The First Crusade was separated into four main armies and a large number of smaller armies. There was no proper command structure to any of the armies and no overall controlling leader either. This may be due to the awful state of communications at the time which meant that no one person could be in overall control of the armies.
The journey to the Middle East was a very hard one for the knights of the first crusade. Crusaders did not control the ports on the coast of the Middle East, so they were unable to sail there, forcing them to go overland. Many of the people who went on the crusades were peasants who were unable to afford horses, so they had to make the long and tiring journey through France, Italy and parts of eastern Europe, what is now Turkey, on foot. They covered hundreds of miles and such differing landscapes that they had to march through blistering heat and freezing cold on the way there.
On the way the Crusaders ran out of fresh water and food. To combat the lack of water the men of the crusades were forced to drink their own urine, animal blood or water from sewage. The locals, knowing how desperate the crusaders were for food, charged very expensive rates for any food that the crusaders wanted to buy and, by the end, they were pillaging and plundering towns to get supplies.
The crusaders were also very susceptible to disease that was picked up from all of the local's they came into contact with and would spread quickly throughout the ranks due to the long journey and dirty water. Dysentery was very common among the crusaders and in the hot temperatures many people suffered from heat stroke. Whether or not someone had enough money to buy proper food and water did not affect whether or not they got sick as the poorer people would get sick and then the richer people would catch it.
The Crusaders first targeted the city of Nicea and conquered it without much difficulty. The next target was Antioch, a city that was heavily fortified by a Turkish army. The crusaders took seven months to conquer the city. The crusaders then wanted to conquer Jerusalem. The attack on Jerusalem started during the summer of 1099. Jerusalem had strong defences and high walls around it. The crusaders were short on materials to create siege machines so the first two attacks on the city were crushed before they even began. Once logs arrived, two siege machines were built and the crusaders attempted to take Jerusalem.
It was written by a monk called Fulcher who was on the crusade with the Christians when they tried to take Jerusalem. He said that after the crusaders got over the walls of Jerusalem the Muslims ran away and then crusaders killed anyone they could on the streets and that the whole city was ankle deep in blood. The crusaders who got over the walls then opened the gates for the other crusaders who came in and slaughtered whoever they could find. The Muslims who weren't killed had to go around and collect the bodies of the people who had been killed and dump them outside of the city because they stank. The Muslims later claimed that 70,000 people were killed and that the Crusaders took whatever they wanted from the Dome of the Rock, including many treasures.
The crusaders succeeded in their attempt to take Jerusalem from the Muslims and then created the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The first king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was King Godfrey of Bouillon, a crusader who was elected by the other crusaders into the position. He died in 1100 and was succeeded by his brother, Baldwin of Boulogne. The crusades did not end there as the aim of the Christians was to rid the entire area of Muslims, not just Jerusalem.
The Second Crusade
The second crusade was called for by the Pope in 1145 as a way to rid the Holy Lands of Muslims that were still threatening to take Jerusalem back after the defeat they suffered in the first crusade. Within months of the initial call to arms there were massive armies from France, Germany and England ready to march on the Holy Lands. For the first time the crusade armies were lead by kings, King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany. The armies congregated at Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, to discuss strategy for the upcoming crusade. They decided to cross the to Anatolia and crush the Turkish armies that had been spotted the previous year. They wanted to secure the pilgrim pass, recover the County of Edessa and provide reinforcements to Jerusalem who was in peril because most of the knights from the first crusade had died and the others were old by the standards of the time, and unable to help defend Jerusalem any more.
There were two main armies led by King Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France as well as many smaller armies spread all over the Mediterranean. The armies managed to obtain Lisbon and some other small settlements throughout the Mediterranean. They marched or sailed to Anatolia and then were defeated separately by the Turks.
The crusade failed mainly because there was very little communication between the two Kings other than the original planning. A consequence of the lack of communication was that King Conrad III attacked Iconium, the Seljuk Turks capital city and King Louis VII kept the French back and attacked a different target. The problem of this was that it allowed the Turks to move between one point and another and ultimately defeat both of the armies.
The defeat of the crusaders had a negative effect in Europe's economy, recruits for the army and the increase of internal turmoil. The negative effects were also found in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where the defenses were weakened and shut off from reinforcements.
There were two main armies led by King Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France as well as many smaller armies spread all over the Mediterranean. The armies managed to obtain Lisbon and some other small settlements throughout the Mediterranean. They marched or sailed to Anatolia and then were defeated separately by the Turks.
The crusade failed mainly because there was very little communication between the two Kings other than the original planning. A consequence of the lack of communication was that King Conrad III attacked Iconium, the Seljuk Turks capital city and King Louis VII kept the French back and attacked a different target. The problem of this was that it allowed the Turks to move between one point and another and ultimately defeat both of the armies.
The defeat of the crusaders had a negative effect in Europe's economy, recruits for the army and the increase of internal turmoil. The negative effects were also found in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where the defenses were weakened and shut off from reinforcements.
The Third Crusade
The leaders of the third crusade were Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. Richard the Lionheart was the leader of the Christians and Saladin was the leader of the Muslims. What we know about these two men was, like everything we know about people from the middle ages, very little and not necessarily reliable.
What we do know about Richard the Lionheart is;
"He was tall in stature, of shapely build, with hair between red and yellow. His limbs were straight and flexible; his arms somewhat long; he had long legs." This was written at the time of the Third Crusade
"Richard was not a good king. He cared only for his soldiers. But he was brave, and loved a brave man." This was written in 1965 by L Du Garde Peach
"A very powerful man, of great courage and spirit. He fought great battles and showed a burning passion for war. The king was indeed a man of wisdom, experience, courage and energy.......excitable, brave and clever." This was written by Baha' ad-Din Ibn Shaddad, a Muslim writer, during the Third Crusade. He lived in the court of Saladin.
"Richard of England, a red-haired giant, generous, incredibly brave, hot-tempered and tactless, won a great reputation in the capture of Acre, but quarrelled with his allies who left him and went home." This was written in 1962 by R Unstead
What we know about Saladin is;
"Saladin made a disgraceful income out of the prostitutes of Damascus. none of them could carry on their filthy trade without first buying a licence from him. He (Saladin) spent the money on entertainers. That king of the brothels, who fought in taverns, and spent his time gambling. He (Saladin) conquered countries by either trickery or force. But the greedy tyrant concentrated all his efforts on an attempt to seize the Holy Land, Palestine." This was written by an Englishman who lived in London and worked for the Church. This may be a bit biased due to the religious animosity between the two religions.
"Saladin did not spend a single gold or silver coin on anything except a jihad (holy war). Out of his desire to fight for God's cause he left behind his family, children, country, home and all the towns under his control. Saladin was well-mannered and entertaining. If anyone was sick, he would ask about their illness, his treatment, food and drink and whether there was any change in his condition. I never saw him insult anyone. he always stuck to his word and was loyal. No orphan ever came to him without Saladin offering to provide the same amount of care as his father had done. He treated old people kindly and generously." This was written by Baha' ad-Din Ibn Shaddad, a Muslim writer who lived in the court of Saladin.
"Saladin used the idea of a holy war to bring the Muslims together. His popularity with the poor people increased when he survived several assassination attacks. Friends and enemies saw Saladin as a man of honour. Even the Crusaders praised him. However, he was criticised for fighting against his fellow Muslims and for failing to capture Tyre. Nevertheless, Saladin continues to be admired today." This was written by Elizabeth Hallam in 1989.
"Richard (the Lionheart) fell ill with a fever and appealed to Saladin to send him pears and peaches. Saladin sent him fruit and snow from the mountains to cool his blood" The was written by Bailey and Wise in 1969
The third crusade was caused by Saladin capturing Jerusalem in 1187. Saladin was a self-declared sultan of Egypt. He united the Muslims of Syria and then marched on the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Muslims were met on the banks of the banks of the lake of Galilee by the Christians inhabiting the Kingdom of Jerusalem and there was a massive battle that the Christians lost. The king of Jerusalem was captured and the holy cross, a relic of the Christian church, was taken as the spoils of war by the Muslims. The Christian cities in Syria quickly surrendered to Saladin and his armies and Jerusalem surrendered after a short siege itself. Little of the land that the Christian crusaders had claimed still remained in the possession of the Christians.
The news of the Muslims taking Jerusalem quickly spread throughout western Christendom and the cry for another crusade took root and grew. King Richard of England taxed all the classes of English people, persecuted and robbed Jews and sold offices, dignitaries and land owned by the crown to raise the money to join the crusade. The three great rulers of Europe, and therefore western Christendom, were King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard of England and the German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. They all amassed great armies, again marked with the red cross of the Christian crusaders, and marched after the original responders to reclaim the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The German crusaders chose to go overland to get to the Jerusalem and were, therefore, the first to leave, but they were confronted with the hardships of the journey and armies of Turks on the way. Emperor Frederick was over seventy years old at this time and, whilst his enthusiasm for crusading was not diminished, his health and strength was. Due to the most reputable accounts he drowned crossing a swollen river and the German crusaders, disheartened by the death of their leader, returned back home without even reaching the Holy Land.
The English and French Kings got their armies to just outside the walls of Acre and attacked the city. It is estimated the upwards of 600,000 men were involved in the battle, including both Christian and Muslim armies. After a siege that was one of the longest and most costly that ever occurred in Asia Minor the Muslims were forced to surrender by the Christians in 1191. King Philip and Richard were very happy with this result, but ended up fighting over what further they were to do. King Philip got so frustrated with King Richard that he returned to France, leaving King Richard and England to continue the crusade on their own.
For two years Richard the Lionheart and Saladin had almost daily battles over the tomb of Christ, but, despite the animosity, they enjoyed the challenge and respected each other, as it noticable by Saladin sending Richard a horse of the finest quality when his horse died and when Richard was sick Saladin sent him a selection of the best fruits of the land. In the end Richard did win the Holy Land back for Christianity, but he was unable to recapture Jerusalem. King Richard and Saladin ended up signing a treaty, but Richard refused to go into Jerusalem to sign it, as was tradition, saying that he would not go into a city as a pilgrim that he could not rescue as a conqueror. The terms of the treaty were that Christians were able to enter Jerusalem without paying taxes, were allowed into all holy places and the Christians were to remain the undisputed possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre. King Richard then left the Holy Lands, his departure signaling the end of the third crusade.
On his way back to England, King Richard was shipwrecked off of the Adriatic coast and was captured by the Duke of Austria, a man he had offended at the siege of Acre, and was only released after paying a huge ransom, equal to more than two years of pay for everyone in England.
What we do know about Richard the Lionheart is;
"He was tall in stature, of shapely build, with hair between red and yellow. His limbs were straight and flexible; his arms somewhat long; he had long legs." This was written at the time of the Third Crusade
"Richard was not a good king. He cared only for his soldiers. But he was brave, and loved a brave man." This was written in 1965 by L Du Garde Peach
"A very powerful man, of great courage and spirit. He fought great battles and showed a burning passion for war. The king was indeed a man of wisdom, experience, courage and energy.......excitable, brave and clever." This was written by Baha' ad-Din Ibn Shaddad, a Muslim writer, during the Third Crusade. He lived in the court of Saladin.
"Richard of England, a red-haired giant, generous, incredibly brave, hot-tempered and tactless, won a great reputation in the capture of Acre, but quarrelled with his allies who left him and went home." This was written in 1962 by R Unstead
What we know about Saladin is;
"Saladin made a disgraceful income out of the prostitutes of Damascus. none of them could carry on their filthy trade without first buying a licence from him. He (Saladin) spent the money on entertainers. That king of the brothels, who fought in taverns, and spent his time gambling. He (Saladin) conquered countries by either trickery or force. But the greedy tyrant concentrated all his efforts on an attempt to seize the Holy Land, Palestine." This was written by an Englishman who lived in London and worked for the Church. This may be a bit biased due to the religious animosity between the two religions.
"Saladin did not spend a single gold or silver coin on anything except a jihad (holy war). Out of his desire to fight for God's cause he left behind his family, children, country, home and all the towns under his control. Saladin was well-mannered and entertaining. If anyone was sick, he would ask about their illness, his treatment, food and drink and whether there was any change in his condition. I never saw him insult anyone. he always stuck to his word and was loyal. No orphan ever came to him without Saladin offering to provide the same amount of care as his father had done. He treated old people kindly and generously." This was written by Baha' ad-Din Ibn Shaddad, a Muslim writer who lived in the court of Saladin.
"Saladin used the idea of a holy war to bring the Muslims together. His popularity with the poor people increased when he survived several assassination attacks. Friends and enemies saw Saladin as a man of honour. Even the Crusaders praised him. However, he was criticised for fighting against his fellow Muslims and for failing to capture Tyre. Nevertheless, Saladin continues to be admired today." This was written by Elizabeth Hallam in 1989.
"Richard (the Lionheart) fell ill with a fever and appealed to Saladin to send him pears and peaches. Saladin sent him fruit and snow from the mountains to cool his blood" The was written by Bailey and Wise in 1969
The third crusade was caused by Saladin capturing Jerusalem in 1187. Saladin was a self-declared sultan of Egypt. He united the Muslims of Syria and then marched on the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Muslims were met on the banks of the banks of the lake of Galilee by the Christians inhabiting the Kingdom of Jerusalem and there was a massive battle that the Christians lost. The king of Jerusalem was captured and the holy cross, a relic of the Christian church, was taken as the spoils of war by the Muslims. The Christian cities in Syria quickly surrendered to Saladin and his armies and Jerusalem surrendered after a short siege itself. Little of the land that the Christian crusaders had claimed still remained in the possession of the Christians.
The news of the Muslims taking Jerusalem quickly spread throughout western Christendom and the cry for another crusade took root and grew. King Richard of England taxed all the classes of English people, persecuted and robbed Jews and sold offices, dignitaries and land owned by the crown to raise the money to join the crusade. The three great rulers of Europe, and therefore western Christendom, were King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard of England and the German Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. They all amassed great armies, again marked with the red cross of the Christian crusaders, and marched after the original responders to reclaim the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The German crusaders chose to go overland to get to the Jerusalem and were, therefore, the first to leave, but they were confronted with the hardships of the journey and armies of Turks on the way. Emperor Frederick was over seventy years old at this time and, whilst his enthusiasm for crusading was not diminished, his health and strength was. Due to the most reputable accounts he drowned crossing a swollen river and the German crusaders, disheartened by the death of their leader, returned back home without even reaching the Holy Land.
The English and French Kings got their armies to just outside the walls of Acre and attacked the city. It is estimated the upwards of 600,000 men were involved in the battle, including both Christian and Muslim armies. After a siege that was one of the longest and most costly that ever occurred in Asia Minor the Muslims were forced to surrender by the Christians in 1191. King Philip and Richard were very happy with this result, but ended up fighting over what further they were to do. King Philip got so frustrated with King Richard that he returned to France, leaving King Richard and England to continue the crusade on their own.
For two years Richard the Lionheart and Saladin had almost daily battles over the tomb of Christ, but, despite the animosity, they enjoyed the challenge and respected each other, as it noticable by Saladin sending Richard a horse of the finest quality when his horse died and when Richard was sick Saladin sent him a selection of the best fruits of the land. In the end Richard did win the Holy Land back for Christianity, but he was unable to recapture Jerusalem. King Richard and Saladin ended up signing a treaty, but Richard refused to go into Jerusalem to sign it, as was tradition, saying that he would not go into a city as a pilgrim that he could not rescue as a conqueror. The terms of the treaty were that Christians were able to enter Jerusalem without paying taxes, were allowed into all holy places and the Christians were to remain the undisputed possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre. King Richard then left the Holy Lands, his departure signaling the end of the third crusade.
On his way back to England, King Richard was shipwrecked off of the Adriatic coast and was captured by the Duke of Austria, a man he had offended at the siege of Acre, and was only released after paying a huge ransom, equal to more than two years of pay for everyone in England.