The Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between

Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure
control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups.
In all, eight major Crusade expeditions — varying in
size, strength and degree of success — occurred
between 1096 and 1291. The costly, violent and often
ruthless conflicts enhanced the status of European
Christians, making them major players in the fight for
land in the Middle East.
 The First Crusade

 In the Year 637, Umar ibn Khattab( RA) Muslim armies

captured the city of Jerusalem from the Christians
 Jerusalem is sacred to three religions
 Islam, Judaism and Christianity
 Building of Churches and Synagogues and display of
crosses were not allowed however no existing places of
worship was destroyed.
 Jews and Christians were never prevented from
practicing their religion freely.
 Christian and Jewish pilgrims were allowed to enter
Jerusalem peacefully and worship at their holy sites
under both the Umayyads and the Abbasids.
The Umayyad
Caliphate was the
first Muslim dynasty
from 661 to 750 CE;
founded as an
empire in disarray,
over time it became
prosperous and
expansive
 Umayyads and Abbasids- Two families who became
rulers of Islamic society.
 Bani Umayyah is from the Quraysh family.

The Abbasid Caliphate ruled from

Baghdad and was considered the
Islamic Golden Age, from 750 to
1258, fostering great cultural and
scientific growth
 Seljuk Turks

 The Seljuk turks are a major branch of Oghuz Turks

and a dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and
the Middle east from 11th to 14th centuries.
 The Seljuks migrated from the north Iranian
provinces in Central Asia into mainland Iran
formerly known as Persia.
 In the 11th Century the Seljuk Turks had a powerful
empire in Persia.
 They saw that the Muslim empire with both Abbasid
and the Umayyads in Spain were losing power.
 They felt that they were the inheritors of the Muslim
lands
 Fierce wars overran all that lay in their path and
their empire across Central Asia in the East and
moved westwards towards Constantinople.
 They took over Jerusalem in 1076.
 Seljuks then began their assault on Byzantine ruled
Asia Minor ( Anatolia). It makes up the majority of
the modern day Turkey.

 Byzantine Empire is the continuation of the Easterm

Roman empire
 In 1071, they achieved victory against the Byzantines
in the Battle of Manzikert, in Armenia

Romanos Diogenes

The Seljuk Turks captured the

Byzantine emperor, Romanos
Diogenes and forced him to
accept a peace treaty.
 In 1078, Seljuks took over Nicaea ( ancient Greek
city), near Constantinople and Seljuk sultan,
Suleyman moved his capital there. It was the first
permanent Turkish settlement in Asia Minor and the
Turkish presence in the region has continued since
then.

Seljuk Sultan- Suleyman

 In March 1095, the Council of Piacenza,
Ambassadors sent by Byzantine emperor Alexius I
called for help in defending his empire from the
Seljuk turks. He told the pope that Byzantine
undermanned army could not hold out and
Constantinople (Istanbul), the bastion (institution)
of Christendom in the East would fall to the Turks.
 In response Pope Urban II called a conference at the city
of Clermont, France in 1095 . This was one of the most
influential speeches.
 He told the ones who were gathered there that the Holy
Land is in the hands of the Infidel and that we need to
fight them and take it back. He iterated that God would
absolve them from any sin in doing so.
 His word was accepted by the crowd readily with cries of
“It is the will of God”. Pope Urban not only rallied troops
to save Constantinople but set in action a series of ‘holy
wars’ to free Jerusalem from Muslim rule. These wars
were later called as the Crusades.

Pope Urban
 At the time of Crusades, The standard of life in the
Muslim empire was much better than the Europeans.
The cities of the Muslim empire was paved, had
street lighting and running water. Jerusalem before
the crusades was a place filled with thriving trade ,
scholars and madrasas.
 Responding to the Pope’s challenge, thousands of
peasant rallied to the cause motivated religiously and
also the desire to escape their squalor conditions.
 Four armies of Crusaders were formed from troops of
different Western European regions
 A less organized band of knights and commoners known
as the “People’s Crusade” set off before the others under
the command of a popular preacher known as Peter the
Hermit. Ignoring Alexius’ advice to wait for the rest of
the Crusaders. They marched across Europe to
Constantinople, but were slaughtered by the Turks soon
after crossing Bosphorous into Asia Minor.
Peasants march to Jerusalem
 The other group of nobility raised an army of
thousands made its way through various routes and
reached Constantinople.
 Unfortunately many of these crusaders couldn’t wait
to attack the Muslims on the battlefield that they
demonstrated their religious zeal. As they passed
through Europe , many Jewish communities became
the target of their wrath and thousands were
massacred drawing widespread outrage and causing
a major crisis in Jewish-Christian relations.
 The Crusaders entered the outskirts of Constantinople in
mid 1090’s and proceeded into Asia Minor. They were
harassed by Turks and other tribes. The Crusading Army
overcame all attacks and took over Niceaea, Antioch and
Tripoli in 1097.
 Then they laid siege to Jerusalem.
 The Jews and Muslims fought together to defend
Jerusalem but were unsuccessful and the city fell in
1099.
 The sacking of Jerusalem was brutal. The crusaders
massacred the inhabitants, destroyed madrasas and
libraries and desecrated the places of worship of both the
Muslims and Jews.
Con

Constaninople is
modern day
Istanbul
The crusaders tried to
control Tyre but were
defeated by Muslim. The
people of Tyre asked
Zahiruddin Atabek,
leader of Damascus for
help in defending their
city from the crusaders
with the promise to
surrender Tyre to him.
When the crusaders were
defeated the people of
Tyre did not surrender
the city, but Zahiruddin
simply said, “ What I have
done I have done only for
the sake of God and
Muslims, not out of
desire for wealth and
kingdom”
 After gaining control of Jerusalem

The Crusaders created four Crusader States

The kingdom of Jerusalem
The County of Edessa (Urfa, southeast Turkey)
The Principality of Antioch ( Turkish Antakya)
The County of Tripoli ( libya)

In 1099, Godfrey Buillon was King of Jerusalem.

He ruled for three months until his death when
his brother Baldwin I took over.

Show video
Godfrey Buillon
 The Second Crusade

 Three reasons for success of First Crusade

 Distance between Jerusalem and Baghdad
 Disunity among Muslims
 Unprepared for war

The failure of the First Crusade made them wake up

and regroup. Eventually everyone reunited under the
leadership of Imaduddin Zangi (governor) of Mosul
and Aleppo – He was a remarkable leader
Imaduddin Zangi
 He began by recapturing Edessa in 1144. This was
the first city to fall to the Crusaders and became the
first to be recaptured by the Muslims
 News of the fall of Edessa was spread and a second
crusade by Pope Eugenius III was called.

Pope Eugenius III

 The Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad III and French King Louis VII with
a few important nobles joined this crusade, making it the first crusade
led by European Kings.

Conrad III King Louis VII

 The armies of the empire marched separately across Europe and were
somewhat hindered by Byzantine emperor Manuel I

 While crossing Anatolia, both armies were defeated by Selkjuk Turks.

 Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached Jerusalem,
in 1148, attacked Damascus.
 By 1150, both leaders returned to their countries without any result.
The Second crusade was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory
for the Muslims.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem continued to change
 Arabic became first language of Christians
 They intermarried with Arab Christians
 Trade with Muslims increased
 They adopted the dress of the people of the area
 Third Crusade

 Imaduddin Zangi was assassinated in 1146

 He was succeeded by his second son Nuruddin
 Nuruddin’s dream was to unite the Muslim forces
between the Euphrates and the Nile to make a common
front against the crusaders.

 His dream of a united Syria under single rule came true

when the inhabitants of Damascus helped him capture
the city in 1154
 Before his death, he wanted to recapture Jerusalem.
He even built a pulpit from which he hoped to
deliver the Friday sermon, after regaining the holy
city. However before realizing his goal , he passed
away in Shawwal AH569 (1173 CE)
Among Nuruddins military leaders was YUSUF IBN
AYYUB.
When the Crusaders threatened Egypt in 1168, The
Ubaidi ruler of Egypt appealed to Nuruddin for help.

Nuruddin send his commander Sherkoh and his

nephew Yusuf to Egypt, to head off the crusader
attack on Egypt. The expedition was a success and
the army welcome them as liberators in Cairo.

Soon after this victory the Ubaidi ruler died and

Yusuf ibn Ayyub took control of Egypt.
He took the title Salahuddin , “Salah ad-Din" is a
an honorific epithet, meaning "Righteousness of
the Faith."and took an oath of piety deciding to
seek the pleasure of Allah alone.

He also took an oath to free the Holy land of Salahuddin

Jerusalem.
 When Nuruddin died all his lands came under
Salahuddin.
 Yemen and Hijaz also succeeded to him and
Salahuddin Ayyubi became the sole ruler of all lands
between the Nile and the Tigris.
 During the years Salahuddin strengthened his
position avoiding open warfare till he established
himself.
In 1186, Reginald of chatillon ( place
in Paris) had made it known that he
intended to conquer Makkah itself.
attacked a large caravan travelling
through the desert

For Salahuddin who had been

patient with the Franks when they
repeatedly broke their truces with
him, this was the last straw. He
proclaimed Jihad against crusaders.
 On July 4 1187, A vast force under Salahuddins
banner defeated the Frankish army in the battle of
the Horns of Hattin- in which Salahuddin himself
struck down Reginald.
 90 years after the First crusaders took the Holy City,
came the moment of Saluddins career- The capture
of Jerusalem

Horns of Hattin
 Salahuddin had taken over Jerusalem with little loss
of life on either side and magnanimously ( forgiving,
generous) freed thousand of his prisoners.
 He released the King Guy de lusignan and his nobles
after extracting a promise from them that they would
never bear arms against him again.
 Salahuddin usually wore a simple wool or linen
cloak. His personal retinue- loyal men who were
willing to die for him and often did- followed his
example. In his later years he wore a padded coat
while on horseback to keep off the chill
 After Jerusalem, He attacked and conquered
Antioch(Antakya,turkey) and its surrounding cities.
He also conquered Karak( city in Jordan), the same
place where Reginald used to attack the Muslim
caravans.
 Salahuddin was successful in unifying the Muslims
so that they could more effectively face external
challenges
 The Fall of Jerusalem
 The fall of Jerusalem prompted Pope Gregory VIII to
call for a crusade.

 This crusade was undertaken by Pope Gregory VIII

 King Richard I of England.(Richard the Lionheart)
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I and King Philip II
of France

King Philip II

King Richard I of England Emperor Frederick I

 Before their arrival, Richard captured the island of
Cyprus from the Byzantines in 1191.

 Cyprus would serve as a Crusader base for centuries

to come and would remain in western hands until
the Ottoman empire conquered the island from
Venice in 1571.
 Richard promised to leave non combatants
unharmed if they surrender Acre to him. A few weeks
later the Muslims agreed to surrender.
 In exchange for sparing their lives, Salahuddin had
to pay a ransom of 200,000 gold pieces, release
1500 Christian prisoners and return the Holy Cross
 These actions had to be completed within one month
 Richard would hold 2700 Muslim prisoners as
hostage until the terms were met
 But when Muslims got slow to pay the ransom,
Richard had 2500 captives beheaded.
 From the Frankish point of view, an oath made to a
non Christian was no oath at all. Philip left for home
soon after
 Richard advanced from Acre as a sole leader of the
Crusade fought and won a battle at Arsuf, recaptured
the port of Jaffa and Jerusalem was his next target
 The battles between Salahuddin and Richard were
not conclusive and Richard came to believe that the
crusaders would not be able to hold Jerusalem once
it was captured.
 After negotiating a treaty with Salahuddin, Richard
left for home.
 The treaty allowed unarmed Christian pilgrims to
make pilgrimages to the Holy Land while it remained
under Muslim control.
 Hence this Crusade too was a failure for the
Christians
 Salahuddin was of very noble behaviour
 During one battle, Richards horse was shot from under
him, Salahuddin ordered a ceasefire while he sent him
another
 When Richard suffered a fever, Salahuddin sent his
personal physician along with fresh fruits and cooling
snow from the mountains.
 A year after Richard left for Europe, Salahuddin passed
away at age 55. He left a legacy of one dinar and the
reputation for courage, wisdom and magnanimity.
 Salahuddin was successful in unifying the Muslims so
that they can face external challenges.
 Read more about Salahuddin from the textbook.
 FOURTH CRUSADE

 After death of Salahuddin, The Christians were

waiting to take control of Jerusalem.
 In August 1198 Pope Innocent III called for the
fourth crusade.
 He realized that going through Turkey was a mistake
and he decided to use Egypt as a base.
 All the four European kings were busy in their own
squabbles and so he was able to gather some nobles
to go crusading to Jerusalem
 Venice ( richest city in the west) offered to provide a
fleet but there was a hidden agenda behind this
 Venice and Egypt were trading partners.
 They pocketed a rich bribe from Egypt for diverting
the force.
 The Venetians conspired to use French
arms against its own enemies.
 It was one of the most successful coup
in the history of politics
 The Doge of Venice, the blind 94 yr old
Henry Dandalo, he cunningly set a
price for transporting their troops to
Jerusalem well beyond the ability of the
French to pay, and then generously
agreed to forego the difference if the
French land forces would assist Venice
in the recovery of Zara.
 Zara was a maritime city that was the sole outlet for
Hungary for Adriatic trade. It was once a Venetian
holding but it fought for its independence and now
threated Venice with unwelcome competition.
 So basically this was a golden opportunity for Venice to
attack and capture Zara
 Zara was taken over in 5 days. The Crusaders kept their
loot and turned to attack their second enemy the first
Christian power.
 Their relationship with Constantinople was straining
because The Emperor Manuel of Constantinople had
removed privileges given to Venice and arrested and
imprisoned thousands of Venetian businessman who had
attracted the jealousy of local merchants.
 Alexius the son of the deposed ( removed from office)
Byzantine Emperor Isaac. Alexius pleaded with the
Venetians to restore his father to the throne of
Byzantium
Dandalo and few French barons seized this opportunity
and agreed to put him back in the throne if he would hand
over to the crusaders 200,000 silver marks, equip an army
of 10,000 for service against the
Muslims and submit the Greek
Orthodox Church to Roman rule.

The Crusaders set sail aboard 480

ships of the Venetian fleet and on
October 1, 12o2 sailed to
Constantinople, where they quickly
took over the Greek defenses and
sacked the city

Henry Dandalo also known as Eric Dandalo

 The Doge of Venice annexed Constantinople and
declared himself as ‘Doge of Venice, Lord of One-
Fourth and One- eighth of the Roman empire. His
newfound Latin Kingdom of Constantinople did not
survive long, staying only long enough to weaken the
city’s social and military organization irremediably, so
that in two centuries it would fall easily to the Ottoman
Turks. Of the crusaders, many dispersed, filled with
riches back to their homes in Europe. Some of them went
to Palestine In the end Palestine was never attacked and
Jerusalem continued to remain in Muslim hands.
 The Final crusades

 The 13th century saw 5 more crusades all of which

failed to capture Jerusalem.
 In 1217, Pope Innocent III called for another crusade
which was headed by Andrew of Hungary, they
wanted to continue the discarded battle plan of the
Fourth crusade.
 Fifth Crusade

 Troops from Hungary, Austria and Germany besieged

and took control of Damietta . Egypt lay defenseless in
front of the Europeans
 The Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Al Malik al Kamil tried
to make a peace offering with the crusaders. They agreed
to give different parts of Jerusalem, give back Christian
prisoners of war and return the True Cross.
 Crusaders got greedy and they wanted more money as
compensation for which Malik refused and the war
continued for long time. The Nile flooding led to a
disastrous loss for the Christians who finally traded
Damietta and Egypt for the True Cross.
 Sixth Crusade
 After 150 years from the First
Crusade, Pope Innocent IV
called for another crusade
against not the Turks or
Syrians, it was against the
hero of the sixth crusade
Emperor Fredrick II. When
nothing came of it, pope sent
friar Giovanni de Piano
Carpini to the Great Khan also
known as Genghis Khan Genghis Khan
suggesting a union between
Mongols and Christians
against the turks. Carpini
returned with the Khans
counterproposal for their
submission to the Khan
 Emperor Fredrick had repeatedly vowed a crusade
but failed to live up to his words so he was
excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. He set
sail from Brindisi and landed in Palestine. He was
able to achieve unexpected success: Jerusalem,
Nazareth and Bethlehem were delivered to the
crusaders for a period of ten years. This was the
first Crusade that had no Papal involvement. The
Pope eventually lifted the excommunication.
 Seventh Crusade

 King Louis IX of France embarked on the Seventh

Crusade, captured Damietta and then was stranded
in the city for six months by the annual Nile floods.
Enforced idleness, much eating, disease and
indiscipline weakened the troops to a degree that
when the next battle was fought at Mansura, the
Christians were roundly defeated and 10,000
prisoners, including King Louis himself, were taken
by the Muslim enemy. King Louis purchased his
freedom for a ransom and the surrender of Damietta.
 Eighth Crusade

 In his old age, King Louis tried once again in 1270,

but this Eighth Crusade was doomed from the start.
Europe was finally too bored with crusades to lend
the slightest support and Louis launched his totally
inadequate forces in Tunisia- rather vaguely hoping
to convert the Bey of Tunis to Christianity-only to be
taken ill with dysentery and he died soon after. The
result of this crusade was the loss of Christian rule in
Syria though it achieved a partial success in that
Christians were allowed to live peacefully in the
region.
 Impact of Crusades
The end of the Crusades signaled a new era in European civilization.

The West had sent armies to capture and hold Jerusalem instead they
themselves fell victim to a host of new ideas.
1. Many of the fruits and plants introduced into Europe in crusader
times brought with them their original Arabic names. Eg:
apricot,basil,sumac etc
2. There was also refinement in dress, cuisine and household
furnishing which was unknown in the west and adapted by the
crusaders. Eg: sherbet, attar,muslin etc
3. The Crusaders used their muslim subject in rebuilding the capture
cities which allowed for architectural forms and techniques to
diffuse from the dominant Muslim sphere into the Crusader states.
The pointed arch found in most European gothic cathedrals was an
invention borrowed from Islamic architecture
4. Local builders employed by Crusaders revealed the solutions to
the problems of construction orally or by demonstration
5. Higher learning found its way to the West via the Crusades. The
rise of European universities followed that of the Muslim
universities and the channels of communication were opened by
the crusades
6. The Crusades also introduced into Europe new methods of
warfare. The hand grenade and the canon were transferred to the
west following the crusades.
Ottoman Empire
 The City of Istanbul

Some of the changes brought to the City of Istanbul after being taken over by
the Ottoman empire are listed below:

 The cathedral of Saint Sophia was converted into one of the greatest
mosques in the Islamic world. New mosques were built throughout the city
 Aqueducts were constructed from the surrounding hills to supply the
growing population with water
 Markets were reopened and the city’s defences were repaired
 Mansions, rest houses, religious schools and hospitals were built
throughout the city
 Constantinople’s great bazaars were filled with merchants and travellers
from throughout the empire and places as distant as England and Malaya.
 Coffeehouses also played a major role in the cultural life of
Constantinople as centres where poets and scholars could
congregate, read their latest works aloud and debate about
politics and the merits of each other’s ideas.
 The Turkish language of Ottoman court had become the
preferred mode of expression for poets and historians.
 The authors, artists and craftsmen of the Ottoman empire
have left a considerable legacy particularly in poetry,
ceramics, carpet manufacturing and above all in
architecture.
 The Ottomans made sizeable contributions to medicine,
astronomy and geography too.