The Medieval Period  

The Crusaders

1143 to 1301 A.D.

Although the "Holy Land" and Jerusalem had been under Muslim control since the 7th Century, Christian pilgrims had usually been allowed to visit. However, in 1009, the Fatamid Caliph destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and soon after, the area was invaded by Seljuk Turks from the east. Devout and zealous Christians had to act. The first campaign in 1096 was an amateur affair, led by the hermit, Peter of Amiens. The would-be crusaders were easily dispersed by the Turks. In the same year the First Crusade officially started when Pope Urban called upon the kings of Europe to wrest the Holy Land from the Turks. Most responded, whether out of piety or desire for land. Jerusalem was captured and several Crusader kingdoms set up. Several campaigns followed, the most famous being those of Richard I of England, in the Third Crusade.

The Byzantines, who controlled Greece and Asia Minor and were devout Christians, might have been expected to support the Crusades whole-heartedly. However, the eastern (Greek) Church had long separated from the western (Roman) Church and at best only grudging permission to pass over Byzantine territory could be expected. The Crusaders exacted a revenge by capturing Constantinople and establishing a "Latin Empire" (1204 - 1261).

Medieval Bibliography

Click on image for more details and history
Crusaders - Jerusalem
Balwin III
1143 - 1162 AD
Crusaders -Antioch
Boemund IV
1201 - 1232 AD
Crusaders -Tripoli
Boemund VII
1275 - 1287 AD
Crusaders -Cyprus and Jerusalem
Henry II
1285 - 1306 AD
Crusaders -Achaea
Isabella De Villehardouin
1297 - 1301 AD
England
Richard I, the Lionheart
1189 - 1199 AD
Ayyubids
Saladin
1169-1193 AD
Holy Roman Empire
Friedrich I Barbarossa
1152-1190 AD
Crusaders
Kingdom of Jerusalem
12th-13th cent.






Medieval and pre-modern Europe
The Crusaders