The Crusades Page
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The Crusades were Christian military expeditions between the 11th and 14th century. The purpose of the Crusades were to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Crusaders wore a red cross sewn on their tunics. This cross meant that the Crusaders were soldiers of Christ.
The Crusades were planned and carried out by western European Christians. The crusades started around the year 1095 AD The Holy Land was actually Jerusalem and the Christians believed that gaining control was their fate. The Crusaders were actually a form of militia, sent out to take back what they believed was theirs.
The First Crusade was started by Pope Urban II. On November 27, 1095, he gathered his followers outside the French City of Clermont-Ferrand, and preached to them about what action needed to take place. Pope Urban urged his bishops to talk to friends and get them to join in the Crusade. Small groups formed, they all marched toward Constantinople where they would meet and group together. This was where they would attack the Turkish forces and hopefully gain control of the city.
The Crusaders met and demolished the Turkish army at Antioch. This victory helped raise the troops' moral. After this victory the Crusaders moved on the their main goal Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was ruled by the Egyptians and was heavily guarded. The Crusaders called for reinforcements and eventually took control of the city. The Crusaders murdered all the people of the city. They believed that by killing all of the cities inhabitants the city would be purified. After the defeat of the Egyptians the Crusaders began to colonize. The Latin colonists set up four states. Tripoli, which was located on the Syrian coast. Antioch, was centered near the Orontes Valley. Most of the Christians settled in Edessa, a far east state. Jerusalem, the fourth state, was centered between the three other states.
The Crusaders only held control of the city for about a generation, then the Muslim forces rebuilt and regained control. During the first Crusade the plan was the cut of supplies to the Muslim and Egyptian armies. After the old generation of crusaders died, the new generation did not care as much. This made it much easier for the Muslims to take back the city. Under the leadership of Zangi, the Muslims captured the state of Edessa. The Muslims destroyed the churches, buildings, and killed the crusaders. The Pope saw what was happening and called for a second crusade. This time to take back the territory that had been lost. King Louis, and his men set out to meet the Conrad army. Conrad was the Holy Roman Emperor. He and his men left Germany and met up with King Louis and his men in Jerusalem. Conrad's army was ambushed on the way to Jerusalem and their supplies were depleted. The French army and the remains of the Germans went to Damascus. They failed to take control of the city and were badly defeated. After the defeat the French army went back to the homeland. Meanwhile the states the four states that had been set up were being destroyed.
The Muslims' now had a new leader, Saladin. In 1187, Saladin took his new army to recapture Jerusalem. He crushed the crusaders front line army in Galilee. Saladin and his troops finally regained control of Jerusalem. This lead to the third Crusade. Know was the time for the people to destroy the Muslims once and for all. The army consisted of Frederick the first, the Roman Emperor; Philip the second, the French King; and Richard I, of England. This was one of the strongest armies formed during the middle ages. Disaster struck on the way when Frederick died. His army went back for the funeral. Even with the remaining size of the army they were unable to destroy the Muslims. So again the third Crusade led to nothing being accomplished. There were more Crusades but they all ended like the second and third Crusades so they are not important.
Really the only Crusade to accomplish anything was the first. It was the most organized and the only Crusade that ended in victory. The rest were failures.
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Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East
New Crusades
Medieval Crusades
Crusades
A History of the Crusades