The Crusades

Target

• 1. Identify and describe the goal,

important people, and results of each of

the Crusades

• 2. Compare “Crusade” siege tactics to

those used in the film “Kingdom of

Heaven”

The First Crusade• Early 1097

• 3 huge armies of Knights gathered

• Most from France

• Well prepared

• Trek through the desert

• 2 years

• Goal: Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem• 12,000 knights (1/4 the original army)

• Besieged city for 1 month

• July, 1099- The Capture of Jerusalem

• 70,000 Muslim men and women were slaughtered

• Jews were herded into a temple and burned

What did they win?

• 400 mile narrow strip

of land

• From Edessa to

Jerusalem

• 4 feudal states each

ruled by a French

Duke or Count

• Many wanted to

return home

Did the Victory Last Long?

• NO!

• Crusader states were vulnerable to Muslim attack

• 1144- Edessa was re-conquered by the Turks

Second Crusade (1147-1149)

• -Goal: recapture Edessa

• -Crusader states (outposts) fought among themselves; failed to achieve their goal

Saladin

• Muslims wanted to

kick out the Christians

• capable Moslem

leader who vowed to

lead a Holy War

against the Crusaders

• took advantage of

quarrels among the

Crusader states and

re-conquered

Jerusalem

Fortifications

• City Walls

• 2 main features:

• 1. serve as an

obstacle or barrier to

attacking forces

• 2. protection for the

defenders

• Defense

Advantages of Fortifications

• 1. Permanent (earth or stone)

• 2. provided protection

• 3. can be successful with less

men

• 4. cheaper than maintaining a

large army

• 5. costly for enemies to attack

Disadvantages

• 1. Immobile

• 2. Costly to build

• 3. Had to be

maintained and

manned

• 3. Subjected to

effective siege

methods

Siege Tactics• 1. Direct Attack

• -scale the walls with ladders or

towers

• 2. Tunneling under the walls to

cause collapse

• 3. Battering ram, knockdown

the gate or walls

Siege Tactics

• 4. Siege artillery to hurl missiles against and over walls

• -Ballista

• -trebuchets (600 yards)

• Burning objects

• Dead animals or people

• 5. Blockade the target to starve out the defender

Ballista

Trebuchet

Problems with Besieging

• Costly in men, materials, and time

• -logistical nightmare

Third Crusade (1189-1192)

• Jerusalem still held by Moslems

• Inspired the three most powerful rulers in Europe to band together

• 1. Frederick Barbarossa(HRE)

• 2. Philip Augustus(France)

• 3. Richard the Lion Hearted(England)

Third Crusade

• Frederick Barbarossa drowned in river and his men returned home

• Philip Augustus and Richard argued bitterly and Philip decided to return to France

• Richard stayed to fight Saladin alone

Third Crusade• Richard captured Acre (important port

in Palestine) after a 21 month siege.

• Could not capture Jerusalem

• 3rd Crusade accomplished little

• Rivalry between European kingdoms

• Richard did make a political

agreement with Saladin

• giving pilgrims free access to the city

Fourth Crusade (1202-1204):

• Jerusalem still in Moslem hands

• Pope Innocent III called for a new Crusade

• Several thousand French Knights met in Venice

• knights had no $ to pay for passage

Fourth Crusade• agreed to capture

Venetians trade rival Zara

• Zara was a Catholic city

• knights got involved (urged on by the Venetians) in a plot to capture Constantinople

• succeeded in capturing Constantinople and looting the city

• started the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople which lasted only until 1261

• 4th Crusade further split the Western and Eastern Europe

Results of the Crusades

• Europe is different

• things transferred

West

• education

• New ideas and

products

• Ideas of warfare

• Examples:

• fortifications