1. The Summaries of the Crusades 1095-1270
The First through Fourth Crusades and the Children’s Crusade
Emily Stumpf
Mrs. Eckman Wissler
British Literature
20 Sept. 2016
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2. First Crusade 1095
~The Christian armies from West Europe responded to Pope Urban II’s request to war against muslim forces in their ‘Holy Land’.
~Emperor Alexius I of the Byzantine Empire had sent envoys in 1095 to Pope Urban II for mercenaries which was why Christian armies were going to fight against the muslim forces in the first place.
~Four armies of Crusaders were made in preparation for the war, each were made from different western european regions and were led by:
Raymond of Saint-Gilles
Godfrey of Bouillon
Hugh of Vermandois
Bohemond of Taranto along with his nephew, Tancred.
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3. First Crusade of 1095
~The plan was for the Crusaders to go to Byzantium in August of 1096
~ however a less organized army known as the “People’s Crusade” ,which was being led by a preacher known as Peter the Hermit, had gone before it was planned, they trampled through the Byzantine empire leaving much destruction in their wake.
~Against Alexius’s advice they continued into Bosporus in early August where the first major conflict between the Crusaders and the Muslims began.
~It ended with Turkish forces decimating the People’s Crusade in Cibotus.
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4. The First Crusade
~The four main armies converged on Constantinople where Alexius had insisted that the army pledge loyalty to him, which most resisted against.
~The Crusades managed to take over the city of Nicea, the Seljuk capital in Anatolia, and the city of Antioch before going for their main goal of Jerusalem in 1099.
Short Video on the First Crusade
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5. The Second Crusade
~After the success of the first Crusade four Crusader states were made to govern the territory they had conquered; Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch, and Tripoli.
~In 1130 Muslim forces had gained several footholds during their own jihad (holy war) against the Christians. Muslims had managed to capture Edessa in 1144.
~In retaliation to this, those in power in the west had called for another Crusade led by King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of the German people.
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6. The Second Crusade
~The Crusade began in 1147 with it shortly followed by Conrad’s forces being defeated at Dorylaeum.
~Gathering their forces Conrad and Louis assembled their armies in Jerusalem and attempted to attack a Syrian stronghold named Damascus with an army of around 50,000.
~Damascus’ ruler called on Nur al-Din, in Mosul, for aid.
~The combined Muslim forces defeated the Crusaders thus ending the second Crusade.
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7. The Third Crusade
~Nur al-Din’s forces seized Cairo in 1169 after the Crusaders of Jerusalem continuously tried to capture Egypt.
~With Cairo in Nur al-Din’s possession it forced the Crusader army to evacuate. In 1187 Saladin began a campaign against the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem (after Nur al-Din’s death in 1174 Saladin took control). Jerusalem was captured in the end by Muslim forces.
~These crushing defeats led to the Third Crusade led by:
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
King Philip II of France
King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart)
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8. The Third Crusade
~September of 1191 Richard's forces defeat Muslim forces in Saladin in the battle of Arsuf (the only true battle of this Crusade).
~Richard managed to establish some christian control over part of the region and proceeded to Jerusalem.
~Richard refuse to battle in the city and in September of 1192, he and Saladin signed a peace treaty making Jerusalem a part of the Christian empire once more.
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9. The Fourth Crusade
~Pope Innocent III had wanted a new Crusade in 1198.
~In fighting between Europe and the Byzantium had caused the Crusaders to topple the reigning Byzantine emperor, Alexius II and replace him with his nephew, Alexius IV.
~Alexius IV wanted to submit the Byzantine church to Rome which wasn’t a very popular move. He ended up being strangled after a palace coup in 1204.
~This ended up with the Crusaders declaring war on Constantinople
~The Crusade ended with the takeover and looting of the Byzantine capital later that year.
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10. The Children’s Crusade
~In 1187 Muslims had recaptured Jerusalem and had made the Christian armies retreat against the Palestine’s coast.
~Pope Innocent III called upon the knights of Europe to rescue their fellow christians and to save the cause. However they were tired and had not reacted immediately.
~Spring 1212 children in France and Germany had heard the Pope’s call. Stephan, a fifteen year old shepard, said he had a vision that Christian children would part the Mediterranean Sea and march to the open gates of Jerusalem.
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11. The Children’s Crusade
~During the same time a boy by the name of Nicholas, age of ten, had a similar message in the city of Cologne. He as well wanted to amass an army of children to take back Jerusalem.
~Most of the children took no provisions and had expected that God would provide for them as thousands answered the call of Nicholas and Stephan.
~In June 1212 the children began their journey southward and the devotion these children showed stunned many, while Pope Innocent III did not encourage the children he did positively comment on them.
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12. The Children’s Crusade
~Stephan’s Children went to the port city of Marseilles, which led to a gobsmacked king of France to order the legion home.
~They did not go home instead when the seas did not part, they went by boat across the sea.
~However many children died of hunger and disease or by the elements. Some died due to violence or drowning when the boats sailed to North Africa where most children were sold into slavery.
~Nicholas’ father was hung in Cologne by the angry parents of Nicholas’ followers.
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13. Works Cited
History.com staff.”Crusades.”History. A+E Networks.2010.Web. 21 Sept
Kors.”The Children’s Crusade.”Christianity. Salem Web Network.n.d.Web. 21 Sept
Mallet, Jordan,”The Crusades WebQuest”.Historyunits.2013.Web. 21 Sept
Night_Striker. Shera August Digitally drawn. Web. 21 Sept
C N Trueman "The Crusades." historylearningsite.co.uk.5 Mar 2015.Web. 21 Sept
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