The Crusades Islam, Byzantium and the Church

Crusades of the 11 th and 12 th  Strengthened the papal claim to leadership of Christian society  The Christian warrior class as a new nobility New prestige in the knightly class

Leading up to the Crusades  Pilgrimages to the holy land  Mid 11 th Seljuk Turks, from central Asia took control over most of middle east  1085 they captured Jerusalem  Byzantium appealed for help from the west

1 st Crusade  1091 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I requested aid from Pope Urban II Protection from the Turks Protection for pilgrims  Urban speaks to crowds claiming that “God wills it!”  Hundreds sign up to fight

Motives for the Crusaders  Personal Wealth  Christian Obligation  Dreams of Adventure  The pope hoped to extend his influence over the east

Jerusalem  Crusaders reached Jerusalem in the spring of 1999  Godfrey of Bouillon broke through the city walls  Crusaders were merciless and contemporary accounts say they were wading through blood up to their knees  Thousands of Moslems and Jews were killed

Military Orders  1118, a group of knights stationed in Jerusalem organized the Knights of the Temple or the Knights Templar Headquartered on the site of Solomon’s Temple  Started off as a group to protect the holy lands  Eventually lost sense of original purpose, became extremely wealthy and served as a large-scale banking organization  A second order – the Knights of St John, later known as the hospitalers – founded in 1083 at the Benedictine abbey of Amalfi  3 rd order – the Knights of St Mary of the Teutons, or Teutonic Knights – organized in 1127 by the crusaders from Germany

2 nd Crusade –  Moslems set out to drive the crusaders back into he sea  They recaptured Edessa in 1144  Pope Eugenius III ordered Bernard of Clairvaux to call a crusade Spoke to a large group of knights: “forgiveness of sins and absolution we grant…so that he who has devoutly undertaken so holy a journey and finished it or died there shall obtain absolution for all his sins” King Louis VII of France and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II responded to the call  The siege failed and Edessa remained in Moslem control

3 rd Crusade –  The gifted leader Saladin conquered Iraq, Syria and Egypt so he surrounded the crusaders on 3 sides  In 1187 he invaded and recaptured Jerusalem, defeated the crusaders and captured King Guy of Lusignon  Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, Phillip Augustus of France, and Richard the Lionhearted of England took on the crusade Frederick drowned in a river and his army went home Phillip and Richard got into a beef in Sicily and again in palatine and Philip went home Richard fought but lost and made an arrangement with Saladin that Christians could still visit the Holy Land  On his way home, Dickie was taken prisoner by Leopold of Austria, whom he had insulted during the war  England had to pay a ransom

4 th Crusade –  Pope Innocent III called a new crusade  Several thousand French knights responded and met in Venice  Crusaders didn’t have money to pay for the voyage  The Doge offered to pay if the crusaders would capture Zara, a trade rival in the Adriatic The crusaders did so but were in trouble with the Pope because Zara was a Catholic city They went on to attack Constantinople which fell  It had never fallen before major disaster for all involved  Latin Kingdom only lasted until 1261 when Byzantine empire got it back only to fall to Ottoman Turks in 1453  This embittered relationship between east and west churches

Later Crusades  By 1217 Italian cities were fighting for trade routes  5 th crusade- invasion of Egypt did nothing and they all came home  6 th crusade- Emperor Frederick II negotiated without fighting to gain some control in the Holy Lands  7 th Crusade- 25 year old King of France Louis IX took up the cause but was not supported by fellow monarchs He was taken captive and ransomed by the Moslems in 1254 He tried again in 1270 but died  In the End, the holy land remained in Moslem control

Results  Introducing thousands of Europeans to the larger world  Increased trade between Europe and the eastern Mediterranean  Awestruck by luxuries and advanced civilizations  Increased the pace of economic changes – new systems of money, credit, and banking practiced were introduced  Growth of shipping put Italy back on top