4.2 The Crusades - P -

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 4: The Time of cities and states

4.2 The Crusades

texts

people in this lesson

Urban II

pope

Rome

Alexios

emperor

Byzantine empire

Saladin

sultan

Egypt & Syria

Richard the Lionheart

king

England

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• why the Pope called for the Crusades
• why people took part in the Crusades
• explain the positive and negative effects of the Crusades
• explain the difference between short and long term effects of the Crusades
• make a difference between intended and unintended causes of the Crusades

Important dates in this lesson:

1054: the Great Schism 

1095: Pope Urban II calls for a Crusade

1099: Crusaders conquer Jerusalem

1178: Saladin reconquers Jerusalem for the Muslims

1192: Treaty of Jaffa

1289: Muslims have reconquered all Crusader states

Word Duty

Crusade: Military expeditions to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule

Seljuqs: a Turkish Muslim tribe

Holy land: Jerusalem and its surroundings

Great Schism: split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of the Eastern Orthodox

Crusader states: small states formed by crusaders to defend their conquered lands

KEY WORDS

In this lesson:

• Jerusalem is a holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims.
• 1054: Schism between Catholic and Orthodox Christians
• By 1080 the Muslim Seljuks threatened the Byzantine Empire
• in 1095 the pope called for a Crusade to liberate Jerusalem
• In 1099 the First Crusade ended with the conquest of Jerusalem.
• During the Crusade, many Jews in European cities were massacred.
• People had different reasons to join a crusade.
• The lands taken by the Crusaders in the Middle East became "Crusader States".
• The most important Crusader State was the "Kingdom of Jerusalem"
• In 1187 Saladin reconquered Jerusalem from the Christians.
• In 1192 Saladin and Richard the Lionheart signed the Treaty of Jaffa.

• The Crusades had failed, but they had big cultural and economic effects.

In 1095, Pope Urban II asked all Christians in Western Europe for help. He wanted to organise Crusades: military expeditions to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Why did the Pope ask his followers to fight? And why did so many people respond to his plea?

4.2.1

Painting by Frederic Schopin (1804-1880) depicting the First Crusade — "Battle delivered under the walls of Antioch between the crusaders led by Bohemond and the army of Karbouka, general of the Sultan of Persia, June 1098" 

Jerusalem: a divided city

Conquest of Jerusalem

• Around 1000 AD, Muslim forces led by Caliph Al-Hakim conquered Jerusalem, formerly part of the Kingdom of Israel.

Religious Significance of Jerusalem

• Judaism: Site of King Solomon’s Temple
• Christianity: Jesus lived, died, and was buried near the city
• Islam: Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven from Jerusalem

Change in Pilgrimage Access

• Before 1000: Pilgrims from all three religions could visit Jerusalem
• After Muslim conquest: Access restricted for non-Muslims

The Wailing Wall: the remains of the Jewish Temple of Salomon

the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre built on the site where Jesus was crucified

the Dome on the Rock, built on the place where Muhammad ascended into heaven

A call for help

• Around 1050, a Turkish Muslim tribe called the Seljuqs had conquered large parts of the Arabian world. 
• By 1080 the Seljuqs threatened to attack the Byzantine Empire. 
• This Christian empire was the eastern continuation of what was once the Roman Empire. 
• Its Emperor, Alexios I, called on Pope Urban II to help him.

4.2.2

modern painting depicting the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 AD.

4.2.3

In this 15th-century French miniature depicting the Battle of Manzikert, the combatants are clad in contemporary Western European armour.

Catholic and orthodox church

Goal of the Pope

• Make Jerusalem and the Holy Land Christian again
• Ensure safe travel for Christian pilgrims

• Supporting Byzantine Emperor Alexios I could increase the Pope’s power

The Great Schism (1054)

• Split between Catholic Church (West) and Eastern Orthodox Church (East)
• East: Spoke Greek, led by Patriarch of Constantinople
• West: Spoke Latin, led by the Pope in Rome

Pope Urban II’s Ambition

• Saw the Crusades as a chance to reunite all Christians
• Hoped to become spiritual leader of both Churches

4.2.5

In 2016 Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill have held the first meeting of a Catholic pope and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in almost 1,000 years. 

4.2.4

Medieval map of the (flat) earth with Jerusalem at the center.

God wills it !

Pope Urban II’s Council in Clermont

• Held in 1095, attended by many nobles and churchmen
• Took place outdoors due to the large crowd > Call to Crusade

Urban II gave a sermon urging Christians to free the Holy Land from Seljuq control

• Accused Seljuqs of robbing, torturing, and killing Christian women and children
• Crowd reacted with cries of “God wills it!”
• Urban II promised forgiveness of sins for those who joined the Crusade

4.2.6

Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont. Painting from 1474 (Bibliothèque nationale).

4.2.7

Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont, according to an eyewitness called Fulcher of Chartres. His chronicle about the First Crusade was published around 1106.

The first Crusade

• Pope Urban II expected a few hundred knights > about 100,000 people joined—mostly peasants with little military training
• Only 15,000 reached Jerusalem in 1099 > Many died from hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and disease
• Crusaders looted towns and villages for food and supplies
• Most had no real weapons; only knights were properly equipped for battle

Women enthusiastically took part of the Crusades. An Arab historian called Imad al-Din (1125-1201) even wrote that they wore men’s clothes and joined the front lines.

What were the different motives for the Crusades?

1. To obey the Pope's call to free the Holy city from the intruders and ensure access for pilgrims. 
2. To be forgiven for past sins. 
3. To get land overseas. 
4. Kings encouraged troublesome knights to go on Crusade because it got them out of the country.
5. To see the world, have an adventure and prove their bravery.
6. Serfs, peasants who belonged to their lord, joined the Crusades because the Pope promised them their freedom if they went.
7. To gain wealth.

Effects of the Crusades

Religious and Political Failure

• The Holy Land did not become Christian > The Byzantine Empire was not saved
• Christians remained divided
• Tens of thousands were killed or enslaved

Economic Effects

• Italian cities (e.g., Venice, Genoa) grew rich from Crusader transport
• Trade with the Middle East increased; European and Arab traders profited

Cultural Exchange

• Europeans learned from the more advanced Arab world > 

Medicine and science, Ancient Greek and Roman texts

Arabic numbers, navigation, astrology, chess

4.2.....

Cities like Venice became very rich during the Crusades. Miniature from the 15th century.

4.2.....

Science in the Islamic world. Image from the 16th century.

congratulations