5.2 + 5.3 The Crusades

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

5.2 + 5.3 The Crusades

Write down: "par. 4.2 + 4.3: The Crusades" as the title of your new notes in your notebook.

people in this lesson

Urban II

pope

Rome

Alexios

emperor

Byzantine empire

Saladin

sultan

Egypt & Syria

Richard the Lionheart

king

England

Lesson goals?

• You can explain the causes of the first crusade and how did the first crusade went. 
• You can explain what the effects were of the crusades. 

Timeline Crusades: 

1095: Pope Urban II calls for a Crusade

1096- 1099: First crusade

1099: Crusaders conquer Jerusalem

1147 - 1149: Second crusade

1189 - 1192: Third Cursade

1187: Saladin reconquers Jerusalem for the Muslims

1202 - 1204: Fourth crusade

1289: Muslims have reconquered all Crusader states

1453: Fall of Byzantine Empire

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Word Duty

Buzantine Empire: Eastern Roman Empire

Crusade: Military expeditions to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule

Seljuks: a Turkish Muslim tribe

Holy land: Palestine: According to the Bible, the land that God promised to the people of Israel.

Crusader states: States that were founded by the crusaders in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.

Pope: leader of the Catholic Church

KEY WORDS

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?

Painting

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

Around the year 1000, Muslims led by Caliph Al-Hakim conquered the city of Jerusalem in the former Kingdom of Israel. Jerusalem is a very special city. 

The three great monotheistic religions see Jerusalem as a holy city.

Jews: Jerusalem is a holy city because it is where the famous Temple of Solomon once stood. 

Christians: because Jesus Christ lived in the city and was killed and buried near Jerusalem. 

Islam: because Mohammed ascended to heaven from Jerusalem.

1009: Caliph al- Hakim ordered the demolition of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It became harder for christians to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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

1. The importance of Jerusalem. Drag the symbols and texts to the correct picture

Holy Sepulcher

Wailing Wall

Dome of the Rock

A call for help

Around 1050, a Turkish Muslim tribe called the Seljuks 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. 

Emperor, Alexios I, called on Pope Urban II to help him.

Battle of Manzikert

modern painting depicting the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 AD.

Battle of Manzikert

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

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God wills it !

• Pope Urban II calls for a crusade (=holy war) in 1094.
  

• Goal= Making the Holy Land Christian again.
  

• Holy land =Palestine: According to the Bible, the land that God promised to the people of Israel.

Council of Clermont

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

In 1095, Urban II organized a council in the city of Clermont. It was visited by so many nobles and churchmen that the meeting had to take place outside. In a religious speech called a sermon, he pleaded for the nobility and people to free the Holy Land from the control of the Seljuqs. He told the people that the Seljuqs robbed, tortured or even killed Christian women and children.

Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont was very successful. People were said to have shouted ‘God wills it!’ in response. They were especially eager to take action, because the Pope had promised that all their sins would be forgiven if they took part in the Crusades.

source

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.

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Priest

Crusader

Siege tower

City wall of Jerusalem

Crusaders of the first Crusade

7,000-10,000 knights

35,000-50,000 foot soldiers

70,000-100,000 non-combatants

Motives for people to join the crusades:

Why did so many people join the crusade? Some reasons for going were:

1. To obey the Pope's call to free the Holy city from the infidels and ensure access for pilgrims. 
2. To be forgiven for past sins. The Pope offered forgiveness for anyone who took part. This was important for knights who had killed many people in battle.
3. To get land overseas. This was tempting for a younger son who would not inherit his father's lands.
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.

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11. The six reasons to join a crusade are numbered in the text. Drag the numbers to the correct picture. (1 picture can be linked to two numbers)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

The first Crusade

The pope had hoped for a couple of hundred knights to answer the call. But instead, about 100,000 common men and women, mostly peasants with very little fighting skills, took part in the First Crusade.

Only 15,000 of them eventually reached Jerusalem in 1099. Most of them died of hunger, thirst, exhaustion and disease. Along the way, the Crusaders plundered towns and villages to find food and supplies. Apart from the knights, most of them had no real weapons to fight the Muslims.

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.

Saladin reconquers Jerusalem

After the first crusade, crusaders established Crusader States. These small states were ruled by European nobles and were designed to defend the land they had conquered. 

The most important Crusader state was the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 

Saladin was a Muslim military leader. In 1187 he succeeded in retaking Jerusalem.

This resulted in the Third Crusade under the leadership of King Richard the Lionheart. Saladin suffered major defeats in battle at both Acre and Arsuf. Despite their victories, the Crusaders soon wore down and realized they would not be able to take Jerusalem. 

Saladin and King Richard agreed to a truce. In 1192, they signed the Treaty of Jaffa which kept Jerusalem in the hands of the Muslims, but allowed for the safe passage of Christian pilgrims.

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Effects of the Crusades

• Crusades failed > muslims conquered more and more land. 
• The Byzantine Empire, the strongest Christian state in the middle east weakened due to the crusades.

• A number of crusades followed resulting in more and more bloodshed. 

• The Byzantine Empire eventually was conquered by the Turks in 1453.

• Various economic, cultural and scientific effects.

Economic effects

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

The Crusades did have huge economic and cultural effects. Italian cities such as Venice and Genoa became very rich from shipping Crusaders to the Holy Land. At the same time, trade with the Middle East prospered. Both European and Arab traders made great profits.

cultural and scientific effects

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

Europe also benefited from the Crusades culturally. The Arabs were far ahead of Europeans in terms of medicine and science. They had preserved a lot of knowledge from the ancient Greeks and Romans. This included knowledge that was lost in Western Europe. Christians that came into contact with Arabs learned about new medical practices, astrology, Arabic numbers, navigation techniques and pastimes such as chess.

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What were the causes of the first crusade and how did it go?

What were the effects of the crusades?