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The Crusades
For centuries Christians from Western Europe had visited shrines in Jerusalem. Then, in 1070, a People called Seljuk Turks conquered Palestine and took control of the Christian shrines. They began to persecute Christians and keep them from traveling to Palestine. When news of the events in the Holy Land reached Christians in Western Europe, they were shocked and angered. The result was series of holy wars called crusades, which went on for about 200 years.
A Call to War
Even after they had taken Palestine, Turkish armies continued to threaten the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine emperor tuned to Pope Gregory VII for military aid. But the pope was too involved in church reforms to help. After Gregory VII died, a new pope named Urban II took his place. Urban II agreed to help the Byzantines. He believed that together the western Europeans and the Byzantines could defeat the Turks and gain control of Palestine. He hoped that in return for his help, the Orthodox Church would again unite with the Roman Catholic Church and accept his as its religious leader.
In 1095 Urban attended a church council in the town of Clermont in eastern France. After the meeting the pope spoke before a large crowd. He told them that Europe’s lords should stop fighting among themselves. Instead, they should fight in a crusade against the Turks.
Urban reminded the people that Europe was not producing enough food to feed its growing population. Palestine, on the other hand, had rich, fertile land on which any knight could live in comfort. The pope promised that those who went on a crusade would be free of debts and taxes. He also promised that God would pardon the sins of those who died in battle. He encouraged soldiers to go on to Palestine wearing a red cross on their tunics as a symbol of obedience to God.
The Peasants Crusade
Pope Urban II spent nine months traveling from one European city to another preaching a crusade. The people of Europe responded eagerly to his appeal. As a sign of their religious devotion, they adopted the war cry, Des vult, which means, “it is the will of God.” The people felt it was their duty as Christians to win back the Holy Land. But they gain more land for themselves in Palestine. They also wanted the fame a crusade could bring. Peasants wanted to escape from their hard labor on the land.
Urban Ii wanted the nobles to plan and lead the crusade. But whole they were drawing up their plans, the peasants grew impatient and formed their own armies. Even though they lacked training in warfare, they believed God would help them.
In the spring of 1096, about 12,000 French peasants began the long journey to Palestine. They were led by two men, Peter the Hermit and Walter Penniless. The two leaders rode on donkeys and preached to crowds along the way. The peasants traveled behind them. Two-wheeled crafts pulled by oxen carried their belongings. At the same time, two other groups of peasants also set out from Germany and the Rhineland.
As the peasant army marched through Europe, they did a lot of fighting. They attacked farmers, looted cottages, and burned wheat fields. They massacred, or killed, all the Jews they could find. They thought since Jews were not Christians, they were enemies. Frightened villages tried to keep the armies away from their homes. At night they often poisoned wells and attacked Crusader camps.
By the time the peasant armies reached Constantinople, they had lost about a third of their number. Their clothes were in rags, and they had no money. They wandered through the streets of the city attacking passerby and stealing from markets and homes. The Byzantine emperor had expected the pope to send trained warriors, not unskilled peasants. The activities of the western Europeans worried him, and he wanted to get them out of his capital. So he gave them supplies and ships and sent them to fight the Turks in Asia Minor. In Asia Minor the peasant armies tried to take the Turkish capital of Nicea. They were almost completely wiped out by force of Turkish bowmen.
The Nobles Crusade
In 1097 nobles set out on their crusade. Great lords led each army. They brought with them their vassals, wives, children, clerks, cooks, and blacksmiths. The crusade was very costly, as each lord had to provide his own battle equipment, wagons, supplies, and horses. Nobles often had to borrow money or sell their land or jewelry to meet their expenses.
On their way to Palestine the nobles stopped at Constantinople. But they did not get along with the Byzantines any better than the peasants had. The Crusaders’ crude manners shocked the cultured Byzantines. The Byzantines’ wealthy and learning made the Crusaders so jealous that some of them wanted to take Constantinople and its riches. The Byzantine emperor finally convinced the nobles to leave for Asia Minor. The Crusaders took and oath to obey the emperor in return for supplies and military aid.
About 30,000 Crusaders arrived in Asia Minor and defeated the Turks. From there they moved south through the desert to Syria. The Crusaders, however, were not prepared for the heat and did not have enough food or water. As a result, many died of starvation or thirst. Those who survived pushed ahead to Palestine, capturing Syrian cities along the way.
In 1099 the 12,000 surviving Crusaders reached Jerusalem. They captured the holy city, killing Turks, Jews, and Christians alike. They looted the city, taking gold, silver, horses, mules, and houses filled with all kinds of goods.
Saladin and the Last Crusades
In 1174 a Muslim military leader named Saladin became the ruler of Egypt. He united Muslims throughout the near East and started a jihad against the Christians in the East. Saladin’s armies were well organized, and his soldiers were devoted to Islam. Groups of warriors headed by leaders called emir made up the armies. Many emirs were known for their honesty and the courteous way they treated their captives. The emirs often were shocked by the cruelty and greed of the Christian warriors.
Saladin’s soldiers rode into battle on swift ponies. Their weapons were short bows. Crusaders found it difficult to fight the Muslims. The crusaders armor was heavy, their swords were too long to handle easily, and their horses were not protected. They had to learn to rely on a new weapon called the crossbow, which fired an arrow with great force and speed.
In 1187 Saladin’s armies took Jerusalem. Saladin was considerate toward those he defeated. When he refused to massacre Jerusalem’s Christian citizens, he won the respect of many Crusaders.
Crusade of Kings
After Saladin’s victory the Church urged another crusade. This time the western armies were led by King Richard the Lionheart of England, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and King Philip Augustus of France. They were the three most powerful rulers in Europe.
The Crusade of Kings, however, proved to be a failure. Frederick died in Asia Minor, and many of his troops returned home without ever having fought in battle. Richard and Philip were enemies who were always quarreling. They did take a few coastal cities in Palestine together. Then Philip returned home. Richard and his armies had to continue the crusade alone.
Richard was a brave warrior, but could not defeat Saladin. In spite of their differences, Richard and Saladin came to respect one another. Years later stories were told in Europe about the kindness they showed each other. One story tells how Saladin sent Richard two fresh horses when his horse was killed in battle. After three years Richard gave up and signed a truce with Saladin. The Crusaders still controlled large areas of Palestine, but Jerusalem remained in Muslim hands.