The world’s history is the history of wars. Since prehistoric times, people have been in perpetual clashes, making a profound impression that they cannot live without war. Several significant reasons triggered these wars, including economic, political, religious, and nationalistic. The Crusades were a series of religious and political wars fought over two centuries between the two most powerful religions in the world: Muslims and Christians. This article will cover what are the causes of the Crusades, what happened during the wars, and what were the impacts of these wars of attrition on the Middle East, and Europe. Are you ready to boost your historical knowledge with the Crusades? Let’s dive in.
Historical Context of the Crusades
Religious Motivations
The religious motivations for the First Crusade were the desire to take back the holy city of Jerusalem from the control of Muslim rulers and the spread of Christian belief. Many Crusaders also believed that participation in the Crusade was the way of achieving spiritual redemption and forgiveness. The first Crusade began in 1096 when Pope Urban ordered an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem in response to a request made by the Byzantine emperor Alexis. The call for a Crusade received enthusiastic support from Western European countries and the war ended with the conquest of Jerusalem by the invading Crusaders. Although religious beliefs motivated most Europeans, the other stakeholders had other interests including political, economic, papal, and Byzantine fear of losing the empire to the Seljuk Turk.
Political and Economic Factors
European kings and nobles seeking territorial expansion and wealth.
While religious zeal influenced general people and monarchs to start a prolonged war like the Crusades, beneath the surface though implicit was Europen aristocrats’ greed for more land and wealth. No Monarch was satisfied with the land they had. They were hungry for the expansion of their existing territory. The Crusades had opened the door of genuine opportunity to grab the swathes of Middle East land.
Power struggles between European kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire
The Fourth Crusade was the result of a power struggle between the Crusaders, and the Byzantine Empire. After the end of the Third Crusade when the Crusaders conceded defeat to Muslims, and the latter group took firm control of Jerusalem, the former group diverted their attention to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III and tried to replace him with his nephew Alexios IV. Alexius IV attempted to make the Byzantine Church submit to the Roman church, however, his attempt met fierce resistance even the loss of his life in a palace coup in 1204. The Crusaders retaliated by ransacking Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Destruction of the Byzantine capital Constantinople was a death blow to the Byzantine Empire which eventually collapsed and was invaded by the Automan Turk in 1453.
The rise of Islamic empires in the Middle East
The Muslim Conquest began after the death of the Prophet Mohammad, in 632 A.D. who was the initiator of the Muslim religion. The conquest started from a humble start from Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, and after several centuries the Muslims conquered vast regions of the world map including the holy land which is commonly known as the Middle East, much of North Africa, East Asia, the Iberian Penisula, and a significant number of regions of Christians. This lightning expansion of the Muslim world was an existential threat to the Roman Church which also acted as a profound reason for inspiring the Western European Christians to embark on a bloody campaign against the Muslims.
The Major Crusades
Call to arms by Pope Urban II
Otho de Lagery, more commonly known as Pope Urban II declared the first Crusade against the Muslims on November 27, 1095. Pope Urban II was a staunch follower of the great reformist Pope Gregory VII who followed his predecessor’s footsteps making reform the main issue and stopping clerical abuses that were frequent during the Middle Ages. He was elected as Pope in 1088 and proved himself an adept, and powerful person for the topmost position of the Roman church. He also sought to weaken the position of his rivals notably Clement III. Since the 6th century, Christians have often pilgrimages to Jerusalem as it was the birthplace of their religion. However, by the end of the 11th century, the Middle East became a region of conflict when Seljuk Turks prevented Christians from entering the holy city of Jerusalem. In addition, the Seljuk Turks threatened the Byzantine Empire with a genuine possibility of the invasion of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
Byzantine Emperor Alexius I became increasingly concerned about losing the Empire and sought help from Pope Urban II. It was not a request that was ever made to the Pope, however, Urban II accepted the request as a wonderful opportunity for him to unite the European Christians, reinforce his papacy, and take back sacred Jerusalem. Several hundred Clerics and noblemen gathered at the council of Clermont France, where Urban II delivered a speech of the centuries appealing to rich, and poor alike urging them to stop in-fighting, launching a religious war to help fellow Christians in the east, and taking back holy Jerusalem. To stir up emotions of Clerics, and noblemen, Urban II criticized the Muslims, sexed up the stories of their anti-Christian acts, and tried to convince them by promising that absolution and remissions of sins are guaranteed who would die in this holy war.
Initial success in capturing Jerusalem.
Urban’s war cry jolted the Clerics presented at the council, and they were mobilized across Europe to shore up support for the Crusades. The number of supporters committed to marching toward Jerusalem was overwhelming accounting for 60,000 to 100,000. However, many of these Crusaders were untrained peasants who were initially conceded defeat by the well-trained Muslim soldiers This initial setback did not deter European Christians in their conquest of Jerusalem, and they eventually recaptured the city in 1099 thanks to their sheer majority over the opponents.
Second Crusade (1147–1149)
During the Middle Ages, violence in the name of religion was a custom rather than an unexceptional act. The First Crusade was a remarkable success for the Western Christians in recapturing Jerusalem from the Muslims thereby establishing their sole authority over the city. After winning the holy land, Latin Catholic leaders divided the land into four feudal states, also called outremer. These four feudal states are the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the counties of Edessa, and Tripoli. These four Western Crusade States also carved out a significant portion of land from the Levant. However, these Crusade states faced several major problems that jeopardized their independent existence. The dwindling support from their founder and main backers of the Western powers was perhaps the number one problem.
After the First Crusade, several Western European countries were busy dealing with their internal problems forcing them to lose their attention on newly formed Crusader States. They were not as interested in winning Jerusalem. Building a powerful security force is another major problem for these countries since they failed to convince skilled forces or people to migrate to these countries. Failure to build a powerful force by the European side cost them a humiliating defeat by the Muslim forces in the Second Crusade.
The loss of support of a close ally of the Crusader States the Byzantine Empire made them vulnerable to attack by surrounding enemies. The Byzantine Empire withdrew its support from the Crusader States because it felt betrayed by the Western European countries who promised the former to get back its lost territories.
All of these problems of Crusader States started to take a toll when the county of Edessa, which achieved prominence as the First Crusader State, was also the first state seized and captured by the powerful Muslim forces. A generally held belief is it was not only Edessa that was lost, the Second Crusade was, as a whole, a shocking, and disastrous defeat for Christians. The defeat was also a sign that the Four Crusaders States or Outremer would collapse.
Third Crusade (1189–1192)
The Third Crusade was led by the three European Christian monarchs- Phillip II of France, Richard I of England, and Frederick I of Holy Roman Emperor- to reconquer Jerusalem from Muslim ruler Saladin. After Christians’s disastrous defeat in the Second Crusade, Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty was able to bring religious, and political harmony among several Muslim countries including Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, and appeared as the Sultan or King of these countries. Saladin planned to exploit the divided leadership of Crusader States and set an ambition for the Muslims’ dream of reconquering Jerusalem.
A sudden turmoil erupted when the prince of Antioch broke out a royal truce between Saladin and him by plundering a huge caravan traveling from Egypt to Damascus. This incident enraged Saladin and instigated him to declare war against the Crusader States, which culminated in the battle of Hattin, in which the Muslim forces recaptured the holy city of Jerusalem.
The Western European Christians were shocked and dismayed by the loss of Jerusalem. Unable to accept the loss, Pope Gregory VIII and his successor Clement III called for the third Crusade. In the Third Crusade, the two major victories of the Crusaders were the city of Acre, Arsuf. However, the Third Crusade failed to achieve its main objective- recapturing the city of Jerusalem from the Muslim clutches. Another undeniable success of the Third Crusade was stopping Saladin’s irresistible forces that posed a genuine threat to Christians.
Later Crusades
After the Third Crusade, although Christians failed to recapture Jerusalem, the re-established Crusader States managed to Survive and consolidate power. Peace prevails in the subsequent decades after the end of the Third Crusade between Crusader states and the Ayyibid regime of Egypt. In this period of calm, even a truce took place between the Holy Roman Emperor of Frederick II and the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil which eventually went in favor of the Christians in terms of re-establishing the controlling power of Jerusalem.
However, situations went bad for Christians in the 1240s when the Mongols, a medieval-time invading force captured much of central Asia, and forced the Khwarazmian Turks from their kingdom to Syria, and northern Iraq. The Khwarazmian Turks then formed a military alliance with the Ayyuibid regime in Egypt. A war broke out between the combined military forces of the Crusader states in Jerusalem, and Damascus versus the military alliance of Khwarazmian Turks and the Egyptian army. The outcome of the war was a comprehensive victory for the Muslim forces with the emotional loss of Jerusalem to the winning force for the next seven to eight centuries. After the third loss of Jerusalem, Pope Innocent IV declared a new Crusade which King Louis IX led. The King successfully organized a well-armed army and tried to occupy Egypt. However, he was forced to surrender and captured by his opposition force. This new Crusade was another failure of the Western Christians with far-reaching consequences of the destruction of the Byzantine Empire, and the opening of a new commercial sea route between the Crusader States, and European cities Venice, and Genoa.
Impact on Europe
Cultural Exchange and Knowledge Transfer
While the Crusades were more or less the sheer absurdity of clashes between two groups of people driven by blind faith, what modern people often overlook or have forgotten is the impacts of these conflicts on the two warring parties. Although Europeans failed to achieve the main objective of the Crusades-recapturing the Holy City of Jerusalem, they can’t deny the profound impacts of the wars on their social, economic, political, and cultural lives.
Like the Second World War, The Crusades were another devasting war resulting in millions of deaths to both the Muslims, and Christians. Surprisingly, thanks to the Crusades, Europeans got a chance to acquire advanced Islamic knowledge of Science, Medicine, Art, Philosophy, Astronomy, and Architecture. This influx of knowledge in the medieval ages was responsible for revitalizing the intellectual life in Europe sparking the Renaissance, and establishing a solid foundation for Europe to rise as a dominant force in the next several centuries.
Influence on European Architecture, Art, and Scholarship
The Crusades significantly influenced European architecture, art, and scholarship due to increased interaction between Western and Eastern cultures.
Architecture
The Crusades had an influential power leading to the amalgamation of the Western styles and the Eastern styles, and the former style owes to the latter for adopting Islamic architectural features like pointed arches, and intricate design. Decoration of the facade of churches might come from several architectural styles including Roman columns, Byzantine Slabs, and Islamic arches.
Art
The Crusades had a lasting impact of blending the Western, and the Eastern artistic styles resulting in the adoption of new styles, themes, motifs, and materials into the former artistic creation.
Scholarship
The Crusades also resulted in the exchange of knowledge between the East and the West, which helped develop science and technology.
However, this exchange of knowledge did not take place peacefully every time. The Crusaders were brutal clashes between the two major faiths-Christians and the Muslims-whose main objective was capturing each other territories. Consequently, many of the exchanges took place aftermath of an invasion or colonization.
Economic Impacts:
Growth of trade between Europe and the Middle East
Despite the Crusades being a war of attrition resulting in millions of deaths in Europe and the Middle East, it also ushered several significant economic benefits that would not have been possible otherwise.
Increased Trade
Connectivity is vital in trade and commerce. This fact has been established since the medieval ages when the Crusades opened many new trading routes between Europe and the Middle East resulting in an increased volume of trade between the two locations.
The rise of merchant cities like Venice and Genoa
Two major Italian cities—Genoa and Venice—became economic powerhouses thanks to two centuries of the Crusades. The war helped open new trade routes between Europe and the Mediterranean. These trade routes helped strengthen trade ties with the ports on the eastern Mediterranean coasts, thereby contributing to a significant increase in trade volume.
Political Changes:
Strengthening of monarchies due to weakened feudal lords
The Crusades had significantly altered Europe’s political dimension transforming it into a new ground reality where monarchs gained unprecedented power at the expense of feudal nobles or lords. Several reasons are responsible for this transformation of the political landscape.
Feudal lords suffered significant losses in terms of wealth and influence.
To finance the Holy War, nobles required money forcing them to sell or mortgage their property resulting in them counting significant losses.
Death of Lords in Conflicts
If a lord died in a conflict leaving no heir, the King became the new owner of his property.
Paying Levy
The King imposed taxes on the nobles to finance the Crusades forcing many of them to sell their property.
The role of the Crusades in consolidating papal power and authority
Pope Urban II called The First Crusade which significantly increased papal power and authority in Christendom. Several factors worked closely thanks to the prolonged war pushing Pope’s power to new heights.
Spiritual Authority
Mobilizing all Europe’s Western Christian States under the Pope’s supreme command to complete a divine duty, freeing Jerusalem, significantly reinforces Papal power over Christendom. To add another feather to the Pope’s wings of power, he received the divine power of indulgence forgiving people for their sins in exchange for participating in the holy war.
Economic
To finance the War costs, the Pope had the power to impose taxes on the Crusaders which helped him earn significant financial gain.
Hierarchical
The Crusades helped the Pope establish a delicate approach to power delegation placing Kings at the top-most position followed by Nobles when all of them would fight together under the church’s command.
Militarization
The Crusades turned the medieval churches into strong military strongholds like a fort.
Financial Innovations
Certain financial innovations would not be possible if there were no Crusades.
The Crusades also enhanced peoples’ loyalty to the Pope which he later weaponized it to attack heretics and the opponents of the churches.
Impact on The Middle East
Political and Social Effects
Short-term Christian rule in parts of the Levant
The Levant is a historical term for swathes of land in the Eastern Mediterranean region of West Asia. In the present-day context, this area refers to Israel, Palestine, South Lebanon, and Western Jordan. The First Crusade was a success for the Crusaders recapturing Jerusalem from the Muslims. The victorious Western European Christians then divided the Levant into four Crusader States. However, the Muslims re-grouped quickly, shrugging off the first defeat, and took revenge in the Second Crusade which ended with a humiliating defeat of Christians. The Third Crusade was a complete disaster for Christians losing Jerusalem to the Muslims for nearly eight centuries.
Long-term unification and strengthening of Islamic states, particularly under leaders like Saladin
The history of the Crusades would be incomplete without the discussion of Saladin, a towering figure of the Medieval Ages, who was the most influential character of his time. A man like Saladin is not born in every century. He was a man with an exceptional personality compounded by inherent military skill, admirable leadership, diplomatic brilliance, and a steadfast believer in his faith
Saladin’s ascendance to power began when he joined the military at a young age and conquered Egypt with his father in 1169. In 1170, he started his glorious journey to power when he became the Sultan of Egypt. However, reaching the topmost position of power in Egypt was not enough for power-hungry Saladin. He had an ambitious plan of capturing the entire Levant and uniting discreet Muslim territories under his fold.
Religious Relations
The deepening of religious divisions between Christians and Muslims
The Crusades were a war of attrition gripping Muslims and Christians in the medieval ages slaughtering and capturing each other’s land, The offshoots of these wars were growing animosity, hatred, and mistrust between Western Christians, and the Middle East Muslims that lasted for several centuries. In essence, the Crusades were religious madness where believers of two major faiths claimed superiority over the other, and were busy with dehumanizing the other group. Christians viewed the Muslims as infidels while the latter group viewed the former as invaders and infidels and desecrators of the holy land. This hollow thinking was the basis of hundreds of years of bloodshed for both groups which till now wrongly motivated many people to commit violence and destruction.
Long-Term Legacy of the Crusades
Shaping of European Identity
The Crusades as a unifying religious and cultural force
The Crusades started cushioning religious sentiment that continued for centuries and no doubt caused the loss of many innocent lives. However, the Crusades were also responsible for several unintended consequences that had lasting impacts on Europe.
The Crusades as a unifying religious and cultural force
Pope Urban II called for the Crusades ignited all Western European Christians’ Roman or Latin sentiment and brought them all under one Umbrella forming unified forces with one objective: freeing Jerusalem from the infidels. Such unity of Christians would not have been possible without that war cry. The Crusades also acted as a platform to exchange cultural traditions and practices of peoples’ of different Western European regions which eventually helped foster a common culture.
The development of chivalric ideals and crusading mentality in European society
The Crusades also spawned a dominant legacy of chivalry in medieval Europe. Chivalric ideology, characterized by a unique lifestyle, mentality, and identity that separated the elites from the general population, persists today.
The Crusades were a religious madness that continued for two hundred years and had several lasting impacts on both Europe and the Middle East. Although Europeans failed to achieve their main objective in the Crusades, there were several lasting impacts of the holy war that primarily benefited Europeans than the Middle East. The Crusades reshaped Europe’s political landscape, increased international trade, brought back preserved Greek historical knowledge from the Middle East, and saw the seed of mistrust, and hostility between Muslims, and European Christians. Although the Muslim World was the apparent winner of the Crusade successfully keeping Jerusalem until the early 20th century, their enmity toward Christians did not completely fade away. We would live in a different world if there were no Crusades.
Reflect on the importance of understanding this history in the context of modern geopolitical and religious relationships
The location of Jerusalem is in a strategically important place. Look at a map of the Middle East and notice the position of Jerusalem. The city is at a juncture connecting different regions of the Middle East. Egypt, for example, is located at the south of Jerusalem up past Sinai. Jerusalem could either be a launching ground to attack Egypt or block any incoming attack. So Jerusalem is a strategically important real estate and the control of the Middle East significantly depends on the control of the city. At present, Jerusalem is controlled by Israel. With the possession of Jerusalem, coupled with Israel’s ultra-modern military hardware, and as the closest ally of the United States, Israel has become a local superpower swaying significant power in the Middle East, and beyond. So the importance of Jerusalem remains the same as in the medieval ages, as it is now both in terms of geopolitics and religion.
The present religious relationship between Muslims, and Christians is not amicable, if not hostile. If you want to understand why they are not on good terms, the answer lies in the history of the Crusades. The enmity between Christians, and Muslims started from the First Crusade back in the 11th century, and it did not heal yet.
