Innholdsfortegnelse for Crusades i Crusades

In the 11th century the Christian Byzantine Greeks of the Byzantine Empire were under pressure from the forces of the Seljuk Turks. Pope Urban II, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, called for a great expedition to help relieve that pressure and liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. The subsequent crusades over the next 200 years changed the face of the Holy Land forever, and ruined any goodwill in the relationships between Christians and Muslims, and between Roman Catholic Christians and Greek Orthodox Christians. Discover the historical and religious background to the crusades, the dramatic battles and political intrigue and what everyday life was like in Outremer. Uncover the true stories of crusading heroes and their rivalries, such as King Richard the Lionheart and Sultan Saladin. This is the…

The start of the crusading movement and the course it took in the east was to some extent influenced by historical events that occurred hundreds of years before Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade in 1095. Many questions are raised by the crusades: for example, how did the Holy Land gain a mystique in the Christian imagination and how were the crusades connected with pilgrimage (crusaders saw themselves as pilgrims, albeit armed ones intent on conquest, and would perform religious rituals associated with pilgrimages)? Why were western crusaders chronically suspicious of, and hostile to, their fellow Christians in Byzantium (and vice versa)? How did religious and political differences between Muslims play into the hands of the crusaders? To answer these questions it is necessary to go back to the…

The Chinese sage Laozi once remarked that even the longest journey begins with a short step. The short step from which the epic Christian crusading enterprise in the Middle East proceeded was taken by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in the Massif Central region of France, on November 27, 1095. According to the medieval chroniclers, most of them writing some time after the event, Urban gave a speech that lit the fuse to an explosive keg of religious aspirations and aggression, mixed with fantasies of power and booty, which was subsequently channelled through a succession of Christian expeditions to the east. The immediate result was the First Crusade, the capture of Jerusalem and the foundation of crusader settlements in the Holy Land that would survive for nearly…

Having split off from the main crusader army to indulge in some freelance fighting and pillaging, Baldwin of Boulogne had to hurry back to the main army at Marash to attend to his ominously sick wife and children. Despite their subsequent deaths, he decided to carry on with his ambition to gain a permanent foothold in Outremer and again took his leave of the main army. He headed east into country populated by Christian Armenians, who regarded the Frankish crusaders as glorious liberators from the Turkish yoke. Eventually, Baldwin was invited by Thoros, the Armenian prince of the city of Edessa, situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to be his co-ruler. After the crusader arrived in the city in February 1098, Thoros consolidated their agreement by adopting him as…

Along with the Templars and Hospitallers, the Order of the Teutonic Knights was born in the Holy Land and gained considerable renown for its discipline and fighting ability. Distinguished by their white cloaks and black crosses, the knights not only fought in Palestine but also went on to conquer a vast territory situated in northern Europe that included parts of Russia, Lithuania, Prussia and much of the Baltic coast. By the late twelfth century, a hospital founded by pious German merchants, dedicated to St Mary and intended for German pilgrims, had been established in Acre – similar to the Hospitaller foundation in Jerusalem. After the failure of Henry VI’s crusade, a number of German knights decided to remain in the Holy Land, and their association with the hospital resulted in…

NUMBER OF TROOPS: 20,000 LEADER RICHARD THE LIONHEART Excellent on the battlefield, Richard the Lionheart was a brutal killer and a gifted tactical thinker, leading an army of religious fanatics with ruthless efficiency. Strength Amazing warrior and powerful military leader. Weakness Politically and economically reckless as king. KEY UNIT TEMPLAR KNIGHT The most skilled Christian fighting unit to take part in the Third Crusade, the Knights Templar were wealthy, well-trained and fanatical fighters, driven by a holy purpose. Strength Well-equipped and trained in hand-to-hand combat. Weakness Few in number and fanatically religious, leading to recklessness. KEY WEAPON BROADSWORD The most popular hand-to-hand weapon of all Christian knight orders, including the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, the broadsword was a well-balanced and deadly weapon capable of stabbing and cleaving. Strength Great…

The idea of the crusade is often associated exclusively with the great Christian expeditions to the east to fight the Muslims. There were also, however, crusades aimed at Muslims in the Iberian peninsula, pagans in the Baltic and elsewhere, and heretics. Of the expeditions against the latter, the Albigensian Crusade is probably the best known and most important. The Albigenses, who took their name from the town of Albi in Languedoc in France, were a branch of the Cathars, a sect thought to originate from Bulgaria. The Cathars were dualists, who held that in the universe there were two eternal principles of good and evil. Everything material was considered evil, while spiritual things were good. This train of thought led them to deeply heretical views about the incarnation, passion and…

The meeting between Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Kamil is one of the most intriguing encounters of the crusading period. It pits one of Islam’s most powerful leaders against one of the most attractive figures in the history of Christianity – the man who, through his love of humanity and nature and his profound humility, was widely held to be the saints’ saint. In fact Francis had planned missions to the Muslims in Syria and Morocco on two previous occasions, but the expeditions had to be abandoned because of shipwreck and illness. Although his attempt to convert al-Kamil failed, he set an example for future Franciscan friars, whose missionary endeavours would eventually reach the Far East and the New World. The son of a rich cloth merchant, Francis was born…

The Franks of the Latin east were suffering from the aggressive military policy of the Mamluk leader, Sultan Rukn al-Din Baybars Bunduqdari (1260–77), the most formidable Muslim general since Saladin, as St Louis was preparing for his second crusade, to Tunis, in the late 1260s. The momentum generated by Baybars’ ruthless campaigning and decisive victories would eventually sweep the Franks from the shores of the Holy Land for good, although Baybars himself would not live long enough to see that happen. The Advance of Baybars Baybars came to power in 1260, shortly after the Mamluk victory over the Mongols at Ain Jalut, when, slighted by his master, Sultan Qutuz, he gained his revenge by plunging a sword in his back. His treacherous action was rewarded by his being unanimously chosen…

What happened after death and the prospect of hell, heaven or purgatory was a constant source of speculation and anxiety to the people of the Middle Ages. It was commonly believed that the deceased went to hell if they had died unrepentant, heaven if they were saintly, and purgatory if they fell between the latter two categories. Most people anticipated an extended and unpleasant stay in purgatory, where, as St Thomas Aquinas asserted, its fiery torments were far greater than any pain suffered on earth. The idea of purgatory hinged on the inevitability of unfulfilled penance (the word comes from the Latin for “punishment”). Priests could absolve repentant sinners of guilt, but they were still required to do penance, such as go on a fast. Yet it was a fact…

The Third Crusade (1189–92), prompted by the Muslims’ recapture of Jerusalem in 1187, was notable for bringing together on the field of conflict two of the great adversaries of the crusading period: Richard I, the Lionheart, king of England, one of the most brilliant generals of the Middle Ages, and Sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf, better known as Saladin, the foremost Muslim leader of his time. Both men were brave, shrewd, charismatic commanders, perfectly suited for the stage of war on which history had placed them. By the start of the crusade Richard was in his early 30s and at the height of his considerable physical powers. Tall, fair-haired, strongly built, he was renowned for his courage and energy as well as for his charm and his delight in the arts…

On the south knoll of the Horns of Hattin, the crusader king reformed his surviving knights for a final charge. The smell and sounds of defeat filled the air. Arrows that blackened the sky rained down from Muslim archers, the wails of wounded and dying pierced the air, and Christian foot soldiers tried desperately to keep the Muslims at bay. The crusaders swept down from the high ground. Their objective was Saladin’s yellow banner, protected by hundreds of heavily armed soldiers. The Latin knights crashed into the tightly packed Muslim ranks, which formed a protective barrier around the Ayubid sultan. Lances shattered on impact, and the knights fought on with swords and axes. They swung and slashed as they fought their way towards the sultan’s position. If his banner fell,…

Helmet Decapitation resistance The great helm was the mainstay of the Templar Order and offered excellent protection against blows, as did the sugarloaf helmet. Due to narrow viewing corridors and high temperatures experienced in the Holy Land, many opted for more lightweight alternatives with open faces. Jerkin A guaranteed chafe-free experience Unseen, however often critical in keeping a Knight Templar breathing, was the haubergeon, a padded jerkin that sat against his skin. The jerkin extended over much of the upper body and was the last line of defence from enemy blows. In colder climates, it also helped keep the warrior warm – not an issue in the Holy Land. Broadsword Designed to hack and slash As standard for western knights, the typical Knight Templar was armed with a broadsword, however…

The geographical region of Palestine, between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, was referred to as the Holy Land by Christians and Muslims alike. Both religions claimed ownership due to an association with their faith, with the city of Jerusalem held in particular esteem. Both Islam and Christianity were Abrahamic monotheistic religions and as such, both sides considered the other to be unbelievers in the one true god and considered their presence heretical. By the Third Crusade, Jerusalem and large parts of Palestine and the Levant region had changed hands again and again, with conflicts destabilising the region. Richard, coming from the Christian West, therefore perceived the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin’s forces in 1187 as a direct attack on his faith. From Saladain’s point of view he was…

By the time of the Fourth Crusade, Venice – known as La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic – was one of the largest cities in Europe, with a population of about 70,000 people. Its leadership and success during the crusade ensured that it would be the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean during the first half of the thirteenth century. Bitter enmity between Venice and Constantinople was manifested in the crusade, with Venice plundering many Byzantine treasures, but the two sides had actually been close allies for much of the republic’s history. Situated on small islands north of the Po estuary in north-eastern Italy, Venice came into being in the sixth century AD, after the arrival of Roman refugees fleeing the incursions of barbarian invaders. As the city grew it…

The Fifth Crusade had involved a long bloody conflict and the tantalising, but lost, opportunity to regain Jerusalem from Muslim control, but the crusade of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen, from 1228 to 1229, was exactly the opposite. The emperor negotiated the return of the holy city into Christian hands and a ten-year truce between the Latin kingdom and the Muslims in a relatively short period of time and without spilling a drop of blood. It was a remarkable feat, especially considering Frederick had a relatively small force at his disposal and had carried out his crusade while under the ban of excommunication, rendering him an outlaw of the church and a pariah in the eyes of many of the Frankish barons. Indeed, Frederick’s expedition was one of…

Described by a medieval chronicler as having “an angelic countenance and a gracious person”, Louis IX, king of France, became renowned for his spiritual nature and austere private life, his sense of justice and generosity, and he was widely held to be the embodiment of the ideal Christian ruler. The king’s piety was unusually sincere for a Christian potentate – he is said to have remarked that “there is no leprosy so foul as being in mortal sin”, and he heard Mass twice a day. He was also an inveterate supporter of the crusading movement and an avid collector of holy relics – he built the magnificent Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to house the Crown of Thorns, which he had bought from Baldwin II, the Latin emperor of Constantinople, in 1239.…

The Muslim world that the crusaders entered was not homogeneous either in ethnicity or religion. For example, although the first Muslim armies were at first composed mainly of Arabs, by about 700 onward Persians, Turks, North African Berbers and others who had been converted to Islam were increasingly used. And in matters of religion there was a fundamental divide between two major groups: Sunnis and Shiites. The tension between the two sides was deeply rooted and, in crusader times, contributed to the complex and habitually fractious nature of Muslim politics in the Near East. The Sunnis, the “followers of the tradition”, who comprised the majority of Muslims, regarded themselves as mainstream orthodox believers, as they still do. The Shiites hold that the religious heads, or imams, of the Muslim community…

While Peter the Hermit and his army were marching to Constantinople, back in the west three of his associates, a priest called Gottschalk, a preacher called Volksmar, and Count Emich of Leiningen were still raising small armies to join the main force. They and their troops were to become infamous, however, not for killing Muslims but for murdering Jews, whom they considered to be an enemy much closer to home. Jewish communities had existed in Europe for hundreds of years and had formed close-knit neighbourhoods in many cities, where they were valued as artisans, physicians and moneylenders (especially since Christians were banned from being usurers by the Roman Catholic Church). Yet anti-semitism in Christian societies was never far from the surface. As crusading rhetoric stirred the hearts of Christians, for…

One of the most influential and dangerous Muslim groups relative to their small size, the Assassins were an Ismaili or Sevener Shiite sect. They became known for the ruthless efficiency with which they dispatched their political enemies in cold blood – whether Muslims or Christians. Their name is said to derive from “hashshashin”, the drug which it was claimed they took to help them in their deadly work. The Assassins’ high-profile victims included Conrad of Montferrat, while both Saladin and Nur al-Din only just managed to survive their attacks. The founder of the sect was a Persian Shiite named Hasan ibn Sabah, who was born in about 1048. During his early 20s, Hasan decided to move to Shiite-dominated Egypt to escape the orthodox Sunni regime established by the Seljuk Turks…

White shawl The white shawl served a practical purpose of furnishing protection from the sun, as well as from blowing sand. Kazaghand The kazaghand looked like an ordinary jacket, but it was actually a light coat of armour with mail sandwiched between layers of fabric. Yellow cap Yellow was the royal colour of the Ayubids and Saladin’s wardrobe consisted of items of yellow silk with gold embroidery. Mail coif The sultan wore a mail coif, which saved his life in May 1175 when an assassin tried to stab him in the neck. Helmet A silver-plated turban-style helmet was an essential piece of armoured equipment for a professional Ayubid cavalryman. Bow Although his primary weapons were a lance and sword for close-quarters combat, the cavalryman was also equipped with a composite…

For almost a year the mighty city of Acre held firm. Despite wave after wave of Christian knights pouring all their religious fervour and military might into its ancient walls, it had held back the tide and somehow halted the progress of the foreign hordes that now threatened to overrun the entire Near East. More and more men came, though – the attacks were relentless. When the first army had been held at bay, the city’s inhabitants thought they were safe, that the invasion was defeated. However, then yet another army landed and the city’s main artery, its port, which provided passage in and out of its walls, was taken. The city’s defences were tested once more, with an even more ferocious attack battering at the doors and calling for…

NUMBER OF TROOPS: 25,000 LEADER SALADIN He attained his exalted position as leader of the Ayubid army and founder of the Ayubid dynasty and was a wise and experienced military commander. Strength Respected tactical thinker and powerful politician. Weakness Hands-off leader with little personal combat prowess. KEY UNIT MOUNTED ARCHER The light cavalry of Saladin was feared throughout the world due to its ability to strike quickly and at range, with skilled marksmen riding the world’s fastest horses. Strength Fast units that excelled in ambush and hit-and-run attacks. Weakness Easily cut down by knights in hand-to-hand combat. KEY WEAPON SHORT BOW Saladin’s mamluk infantry and his light cavalry units excelled in bowmanship, with their short bows used to swarm arrows on crusader forces at every opportunity. Strengths Fast to fire…

Swords Straight and deadly The swords the Saracens used in the period of the Crusades were generally straight, unlike the curved blades often depicted in films of the period. Armour For the high-ranking While the lower ranking Saracens wore little or no armour higher ranking warriors and leaders such as Saladin would often wear mail coats or other armour under their robes. Horseback rider Warfare on the move The Saracen army in the Third Crusade had a good number of cavalrymen – more than their Christian counterparts. The soldiers on these horses were normally archers and could be very effective when harassing their enemy. Physical appearance Slight, not scary Most accounts of Saladin make reference to him being quite slight and frail – he did not have the imposing physical…

In the late twelfth century and early years of the thirteenth, the crusading spirit in Europe was promoted and fortified by Innocent III, one of the greatest popes of the Middle Ages. The most dramatic result of his efforts was the Fourth Crusade, planned as an invasion of Egypt, which, after the death of Saladin, was considered to be the most vulnerable spot in the Muslim empire. Instead, however, the campaign ended in Latin Catholic Christians killing Greek Orthodox Christians and the brutal sacking and pillaging of Constantinople, the greatest city in Christendom. The crusade shocked Europe and left a bitter memory in the minds of Greeks, which even now has yet to be expunged. How did this extraordinary situation come about? Mustering the Forces After the failures of the…

The Fourth Crusade had been a disaster for Christendom. Constantinople had been ravaged and the Byzantine Empire dismembered, its long-term prospects for survival weakened. The reputation of the Franks had been irrevocably blackened in the eyes of the Greeks, and the Christians of the Latin east, hoping for reinforcements and support from the west, had not received any substantial assistance. Pope Innocent III also fully appreciated the lasting damage that had been done to his hopes of a reunion between the Latin and Greek churches. Nevertheless, despite his eventual outrage at the crusade’s bloody denouement, Innocent still maintained his enthusiasm for a great expedition to the east. The Lost Children Indeed, the spirit of crusading seemed to be more ubiquitous than ever in the early thirteenth century. Apart from the…

One of the most fascinating characters of the thirteenth century, Frederick II was known to his contemporaries as Stupor Mundi, Wonder of the World, and many stories, some probably apocryphal, describe him and his exploits with awe. A wellbuilt man of middling height, he had the red hair of his German forebears, green eyes and sensual lips. He was a gifted linguist and could speak German, Italian, French, Greek, Latin and Arabic fluently; he wrote poetry in the Sicilian vernacular and authored a book on the art of falconry. Blessed with an intellectual curiosity (he was, appropriately, the founder of the University of Naples), he enjoyed studying philosophy, medicine, geography, natural history and science. A story about two men who had dined at his table suggests that he was a…

One of the great military leaders of all time, the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan built up an empire on the steppes of Asia and China that was so vast it was said it would take two years to traverse it by foot. He accomplished this through ruthlessness, brilliant organisation and force of personality. Genghis could be cruel – one defeated foe had his eyes and ears filled with molten silver; yet he promoted religious tolerance in his territories and established a rule that was just and fair to everyone. Temuchin, the man who was to become Genghis Khan (“Universal Emperor”), was born in 1162 in Siberia and grew up into a tall, tough, determined and charismatic young man. He soon became renowned for his military prowess and, by 1206, he…