BECK index

Crusaders, Greeks, and Muslims

Crusade for Jerusalem 1095-1100
Jerusalem Kingdom of the Baldwins 1100-1131
Crusaders, Manuel, and Nur-ad-Din 1131-1174
Saladin and Crusading Kings 1174-1198
Crusades to Constantinople and Egypt 1198-1250

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Crusade for Jerusalem 1095-1100

Germans and Eastern Europe 1002-1095
Italy, Normans, and Reform Popes 1045-1095

After the Byzantine empire suffered a major defeat in 1071, fear of continuing Seljuk conquests stimulated Byzantine emperors to write to the West for military help. Pope Gregory VII considered leading a crusade himself but his reforms brought him into serious conflict with Germany's Heinrich IV, whom he had wanted to protect the Church while he was gone. Normans led by Robert Guiscard had tried to overcome the Byzantine empire militarily and had failed. After defeating the Norman threat, Emperor Alexius Comnenus again asked the West for assistance.

At the Council of Clermont in November 1095 Pope Urban II met with about 300 clerics and described the plight of the Byzantines facing the Seljuk Turks and the suffering of pilgrims going to Jerusalem. He proposed that the rich and poor go to save the East, and he promised remission of the penance for sins, absolution, and protection of their property by the Church while they are gone. Shouts of "God wills it!" erupted, and the Bishop of Le Puy was the first to kneel down and volunteer. Each crusader should wear the sign of the cross and vow to go to Jerusalem. Any taking the vow who failed to set out or turned back were to be excommunicated. Clerics and monks must get permission of their bishop or abbot. The elderly and weak were discouraged from attempting the challenging adventure. This crusade was not intended to be a war of conquest, as all Eastern churches recovered were to have their rights restored. The plan was to leave following the harvest the next summer and to assemble at Constantinople. The crusade was intended to supplement the Truce of God, which the Clermont council endorsed, by removing warriors from Europe. Floods and pestilence had ravaged Europe in 1094, followed by drought and famine in 1095. Urban had argued at Clermont that they were fighting among themselves, because they could not feed people. Prophets argued that the Christ would not come again until the Holy Land had been recovered.

Adhémar de Monteil, Bishop of Le Puy, was elected the leader, and Count Raymond of Toulouse soon joined. In his travels Pope Urban preached the crusade at Limoges, Tours, Toulouse, and Nimes. Urban wrote to Flanders, and Genoa offered twelve galleys for transport. Adhémar and Raymond were joined by Hugh of Vermandois, Robert II of Flanders, Duke Robert of Normandy, Count Stephen of Blois, Duke Godfrey of Lower Lorraine, Count Eustace III of Boulogne, and his brother Baldwin. Normans from Italy were led by Guiscard's son Bohemond. Pope Urban commissioned Robert Arbrissel to preach the crusade in the Loire valley; but the greatest inspirer was a monk called Peter the Hermit, who wandered around barefoot and on a donkey. Peter already had a following of those devoted to helping the poor as he had traveled around the Ile de France, Normandy, Champagne, and Picardy for years. Peter also converted nobles and the wealthy, who contributed some or even all of their possessions so that his ascetic community had its own resources for its charitable work. Peter had provided many dowries to prostitutes so that they could reform their lives. Peter began preaching the crusade, and his following quickly grew as he moved through the French provinces. He obtained a letter from the chief rabbi at Rouen to the Jews of Mainz, urging them to contribute.

Byzantines had expected a few mercenary soldiers to cross the Adriatic Sea and travel through Thessalonica when suddenly they learned that massive armies had come by way of Hungary and had arrived in their empire at Belgrade. The Byzantine empire had just suffered a plague of locusts, which ate the vines but left the grain. Some interpreted this to mean the crusaders would kill the Saracens and protect the Christians; but the Byzantines were not so sure. According to the history of his daughter Anna Comnena, Emperor Alexius believed that the Franks' greed for money caused them to break their agreements.

Proud Franks composed the first group led by Walter Sans-Avoir. They were ridiculed by Germans at first but had money to buy food as they passed through Hungary. Sixteen stragglers crossing a river at Semlin had been robbed of their weapons and clothes, which were displayed on the wall as a warning to other crusaders. Unable to buy food, Walter's crusaders foraged, and sixty were burned to death in a church. Walter quickly moved his band on to Nish, where they could buy provisions. Byzantine officials came there to escort them to Constantinople, where they arrived in mid-July 1096.

Peter's preaching in Germany increased this largest group of crusaders to at least 20,000 and maybe 40,000. He promised Hungary king Coloman his people would not pillage or fight in the markets. At Semlin a quarrel over a sale of shoes escalated into a riot and a battle, as Geoffrey Burel led an attack on the town that killed 4,000 Hungarians. Belgrade was not expecting them, and the Byzantine governor of the Bulgarian province, Nicetas, evacuated the city. Pechenegs keeping imperial order tried to restrict crossing the Save River to one place and were attacked by Peter's crusaders, who captured and put some Pechenegs to death. Crusaders pillaged Belgrade and set it on fire. At Nish Peter asked Nicetas for food; but he required Peter to give him Walter of Breteuil and Geoffrey Burel as hostages for their good behavior. Some incidents did occur, and the baggage train in the rear was attacked, capturing some crusaders and pilgrims, who may have spent the rest of their lives as slaves. When Peter gathered his band, one witness estimated a quarter had been lost. At Sofia Byzantine officials promised them free markets the rest of the way through Philippopolis and Adrianople, and Peter's band arrived safely at Constantinople on August 1, 1096.

Some of the popular armies that formed in Germany were not as well led. The need for money exacerbated the resentment that had built up against Jewish money-lenders, who were not inhibited by the Christian condemnation of usury. Jews in Mainz and Cologne offered five hundred silver coins to Godfrey, Duke of Lower Lorraine, and King Heinrich IV urged the protection of Jews. However, an ambitious robber baron named Emich of Leisingen led a gang that murdered twelve Jews in Spier before the bishop stopped them by cutting off the hands of several murderers. At Worms Emich's men overcame the bishop and slaughtered about 500 Jews in his palace. Mainz closed its gates; but Emich took seven pounds of gold from a Jew and then attacked the archbishop's palace. Only a few Jews, who renounced their faith, were saved from the massacre of about a thousand, and some of the apostates later committed suicide. Anti-Jewish riots had already occurred in Cologne, and the Jews hid except two who died when the synagogue was burned. Most Jews in Trier were protected in the palace of the archbishop, but in Metz and other cities the persecutors killed more in June 1096.

Volkmar's soldiers attacked and massacred the Jewish community in Prague, as religious hatred became an excuse for plundering. A small group with German priest Gottschalk killed Jews at Ratisbon; after foraging and robbing Christians in Hungary, they were eventually surrounded by Hungarian troops and massacred. Hungary's king Coloman refused to let Emich and his men cross the river to Wiesselburg. After six weeks of skirmishing by the bridge, the Germans built another bridge; but in a battle the crusaders were defeated, though Emich and other knights escaped on horses. A group led by Godfrey of Bouillon also took the northern route, and he had to give his brother Baldwin and his family as hostages to pass safely through Coloman's Hungary. Godfrey announced that any violence would be punished with death.

Peter's crusaders were conveyed across the Bosphorus to Asia, where the Germans and Italians quarreled with the French and elected Rainald as their leader. Both groups stayed near the coast as they traveled and raided the countryside, where Christians lived. From Civetot the Franks led by Geoffrey Burel headed south and approached Nicomedia, the capital of Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan, son of Suleiman. Anna Comnena reported that they sacked villages and massacred Christians, even their babies. A Turkish force was driven off, and they returned to Civetot with their booty. This aroused 6,000 Germans, and Rainulf led them to capture the castle Xerigordon though they avoided killing Christians. A Turkish army survived an ambush and withheld their water supply for eight days until Rainulf surrendered. Only those who renounced Christianity were spared, while the others were enslaved. Peter had gone back to Constantinople to get aid from the Emperor. In October 1096 the entire army of 20,000 crusaders marched toward Nicaea and was ambushed by the Turks. Most of the crusaders' leaders were killed or seriously wounded, as the army panicked and fled. About 3,000 managed to take refuge in an old castle and held out; but all the rest were slaughtered by the Turks. Emperor Alexius sent warships, and the Turks lifted the siege of the castle.

Hugh of Vermandois was the brother of Frank king Philip, and his band was so small after sailing across the Adriatic that they were escorted by imperial officials to Constantinople. When Godfrey heard that Hugh of Vermandois was being held by Emperor Alexius, he allowed his men to forage in Byzantine territory. Normans led by Bohemond knew the route from Dyrrhachium, and in January 1097 they destroyed a village because it was inhabited by heretic Paulicians. Bohemond won the gratitude of local citizens after he restrained young Tancred from looting, though after Bohemond went ahead, Tancred's men resumed foraging. Alexius feared most the ambition of the Norman Bohemond, whom he had previously defeated, and he refused to appoint him the crusaders' commander. Count Raymond of Toulouse and Bishop Adhémar of Le Puy led the largest real army and marched by land through northern Italy. Adhémar was wounded by Pecheneg mercenaries. After an ambush these crusaders attacked Byzantine troops; but a letter from Emperor Alexius calmed things down. The refined Raymond was the crusader most admired by Alexius and his daughter Anna, and he was allowed to make a modified oath that he would serve under the Emperor if he chose to lead the Christian forces.

Hugh of Vermandois swore allegiance to Emperor Alexius and persuaded most other crusaders to do so; but Godfrey held back. When Alexius shut off his supplies, Baldwin raided the suburbs until Alexius ended the blockade. Alexius wanted these crusaders to move on, because more were coming; so in March 1097 he began reducing supplies of horse fodder, fish, and then bread. Crusaders raided the villages and fought with the Pecheneg police. Baldwin's men captured and put to death sixty Pechenegs. During holy week Godfrey attacked Constantinople, and according to Anna, Emperor Alexius ordered his forces to shoot arrows but not kill their fellow Christians. Finally he sent in his imperial guards, and the crusaders fled. Godfrey acknowledged the Emperor as overlord of any Byzantine territory they might reconquer, and his army was transported across to Asia. The fourth great crusading army was led by Duke Robert of Normandy and did not arrive in Constantinople until May 1097. The total number of crusaders was estimated by the chroniclers at 600,000 by Fulcher of Chartres, 300,000 by Ekkehard, and 100,000 by Raymond of Aguilers; but modern scholars believe there were probably about 7,000 knights and about 60,000 infantry.

Greek engineers led by Manuel Butumites joined the crusaders, who made decisions by a council of their leaders. The armies of the crusaders surrounded the walls of Nicaea before a relieving Turkish force arrived. The Sultan's army attacked Raymond's forces on the south side and after a day's battle retreated, wounding almost all the crusaders they encountered. Nicaea still gained supplies by the lake until Emperor Alexius sent Byzantine ships that enabled Manuel Butumites to win their surrender before the crusaders attacked. Alexius ordered a gift of food to every crusader, and shared the ample treasure taken with the leaders, though Tancred demanded a larger portion and delayed giving the homage all the other crusading leaders pledged. The crusaders were surprised that the Emperor allowed the Turkish captives to buy their freedom, and Alexius even returned the Sultan's daughter without ransom. A small detachment of Byzantine troops led by Taticius joined the crusaders as they marched to Dorylaeum. The crusaders marched in two armies a day apart, and the first army led by the Normans was attacked by Turks and surrounded; but the second army arrived at mid-day, causing the Turks to flee to the east and leave their camp and treasure behind as they ravaged the country to make it hard for the crusaders.

A Turkish army led by two governors (emirs) in Cappadocia also fled when they were attacked at Heraclea. The crusaders found Caesarea deserted, but they kept their agreement by establishing Byzantine governors there and in Placentia, Marash, Artah, and other places. Meanwhile Emperor Alexius sent a force led by his brother-in-law Caesar John Ducas to fortify Nicaea and to reconquer Ionia and Phrygia. The emir of Smyrna surrendered and was allowed to withdraw to the east. After taking Ephesus the army of John Ducas captured the Lydian cities of Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea in the fall of 1097.

Both Godfrey's younger brother Baldwin and Bohemond's nephew Tancred were younger sons without property and wanted to find a place to rule. Tancred led about 300 soldiers and besieged Tarsus, the chief city of Cilicia. Tancred sent for help, but Christians opened the gates before Baldwin's army arrived. Tancred reluctantly transferred authority to Baldwin and departed. When 300 Normans arrived to relieve Tancred, Baldwin would not let them in the gates, and they were massacred at night by the former Turkish garrison. Other crusaders blamed Baldwin for this. Turks fled as Tancred took Adana and Mamistra. When Baldwin's forces arrived, Norman prince Richard persuaded Tancred to punish Baldwin with a surprise attack; but they had to retreat, and Baldwin and Tancred were reconciled.

Baldwin learned that his wife and children had died of illness. Advised by Bagrat, Baldwin gained the support of the Armenian Christians as Turkish garrisons either fled or were massacred. Baldwin conquered as far as the Euphrates by taking Ravendel and Turbessel. The Armenian Bagrat was suspected, tortured, and escaped to the hills. At Edessa Baldwin was adopted as the son of Thoros. Edessene militia helped Baldwin's forces discourage Turkish raids in the area. The Orthodox Christian Thoros was so unpopular with the Armenians for his high taxes and poor protection that a mob broke in and murdered him. Baldwin became Count of Edessa and used its treasure to buy the emirate of Samosata for 10,000 bezants. Other crusaders joined Baldwin, were given fiefs, and were encouraged to marry Armenian heiresses as he had. Baldwin allowed the Muslims freedom of worship, but he did not trust their leaders and beheaded Balduk for not cooperating. Others plotting against him were blinded or mutilated, and complicit Armenians had to buy their freedom for as much as 60,000 bezants apiece.

The main army of crusaders arrived at the important city of Antioch in October 1097; but Bohemond, who wanted the city for himself, persuaded the leaders to reject Raymond's proposal to attack immediately. In November Bohemond's forces destroyed the garrison of Harenc, and thirteen Genoese ships arrived at St. Symeon. Turkish sorties made foraging dangerous, and by Christmas food was scarce. Bohemond and Robert of Flanders led 20,000 men into the Orontes valley. After they left, Antioch governor Yaghi-Siyan attacked Raymond's Franks, and losses were heavy on both sides. Dukak of Damascus and Yaghi-Siyan's son Shams led forces that attacked Robert's army. Bohemond's troops helped defeat them; but they returned to the camp by Antioch with little. The winter was cold and wet, and one out of seven crusaders died of hunger. Most of the horses died. Bishop Adhémar got a message to Jerusalem patriarch Symeon on Cyprus, and he sent some food. Many deserted and were brought back by Tancred, including Peter the Hermit. The Byzantine Taticius left and told Emperor Alexius that Bohemond had told him he was in danger, though Bohemond called Taticius a coward, hoping that Antioch would not be restored to the empire.

In February 1098 the Frank cavalry attacked the approaching army of Aleppo's Ridvan, forcing them to flee. In March a fleet sailed into St. Symeon with the English prince Edgar Atheling and siege equipment sent by Alexius. Raymond and Bohemond went to get the equipment and were attacked; but Godfrey came to their aid, and together their armies defeated the raiders, who had 1500 men killed and drowned, including nine emirs. Now the crusaders could blockade Antioch, and castles were built and ruled by Raymond and Tancred. Fatimids from Egypt brought a proposal to recognize the crusaders in northern Syria if the Fatimids could have Palestine; but this was rejected. Alexius was campaigning in Asia Minor; but Bohemond got the leaders to agree to let him have Antioch if the Byzantine emperor did not arrive. The army of Mosul atabeg (regent) Kerbogha was delayed for three weeks trying and failing to take Edessa from Baldwin. Stephen of Blois deserted, but the next day on June 3, 1098 Antioch was secretly betrayed by a Christian named Firouz to Bohemond, and all the Turks in the city were massacred. The Patriarch John was released, and the cathedral of St. Peter was restored.

Shams ad-Daula remained in the citadel, and within four days Kerbogha's army was camped around Antioch in a blockade. The crusaders hoped that Emperor Alexius would relieve them, but he was told by Stephen of Blois that the crusaders at Antioch were probably destroyed. So the Byzantine army retreated to the north, devastating the land to protect their recently increased empire from the Turks. A peasant named Peter Bartholomew claimed that he had a series of visions in which Saint Andrew revealed to him that the lance which wounded Jesus could be found beneath the floor of the cathedral. Bishop Adhémar was skeptical; but Raymond ordered a search that dug up an iron weapon. A priest named Stephen said he had a vision in which the Christ warned the Bishop about the fornication of the crusaders.

Then Peter Bartholomew had another vision in which the crusaders were advised not to pillage the enemy's tents in a coming battle. Many Turks were deserting, and Peter the Hermit was sent to negotiate their withdrawal; but Kerbogha demanded surrender. On June 28, 1098 six armies of crusaders marched out of Antioch to fight the Turks. Dukak of Damascus was the first to retreat, and gradually more Turks left until the rest fled in panic. The crusaders did not stop to plunder the camp but instead slaughtered the Turks. Raymond was ill and commanded those left in Antioch; but by pre-arrangement the Turks surrendered the citadel only to Bohemond, who welcomed the converted Turks into his army.

While Bohemond and Raymond argued over who should govern Antioch, Bishop Adhémar sent Hugh of Vermandois to explain the situation to Emperor Alexius. While Raymond and Adhémar were ill, Bohemond gave the Genoese a charter for a market and a church. When Bishop Adhémar died during an epidemic, the crusaders lost their top spiritual leader. Peter Bartholomew's next vision included a message from Adhémar and Andrew that Bohemond should be given Antioch, and the crusaders should repent and march to Jerusalem; but Raymond still believed that Antioch should be given to the Emperor. Meanwhile Bohemond took in Cilicia by getting Tancred's homage, while Godfrey was given Turbessel and Ravendel by his younger brother Baldwin. Robert of Normandy took over Latakia (Laodicea) from Edgar Atheling; but he governed so badly that he was forced out after a few weeks and was replaced by a Byzantine governor from Cyprus. The crusaders sent a letter to Pope Urban. While gathering supplies in the Orontes valley, Raymond captured Albara; even though they had capitulated, all the Muslims were either killed or sold as slaves. Peter of Narbonne was made the first Latin bishop in the East.

Raymond's and Bohemond's forces besieged Maarat an-Numan. Bohemond promised the defenders refuge; but the men were slaughtered, and the women and children were enslaved. Bohemond tried to spread terror by killing prisoners and roasting their heads. Raymond tried to buy the other leaders with offers of money. Meanwhile the troops of crusaders resented the bickering of their leaders and demanded that they march on Jerusalem, or they would destroy the coveted walls and towns. Finally on January 13, 1099 the army of crusaders was led out of Maarat an-Numan by the barefoot Count Raymond as the town was burned behind them. Godfrey and Robert of Flanders followed them a month later, while Baldwin governed his county of Edessa, and Bohemond ruled at Antioch.

After learning the Turks had been defeated at Antioch, the Cairo vizier al-Afdal for the Fatimids in Egypt invaded Palestine and took Jerusalem from Emir Sokman, who surrendered after a 40-day siege and was allowed to leave. By autumn 1098 the Egyptians had occupied all of Palestine as far north as Beirut. Raymond's crusaders were guided through the Sarout valley, where herds had been driven. The local commander paid for immunity, and knights used that to buy a thousand horses. Wanting to extort money from wealthy Tripoli, Raymond attacked Arqa, while he sent Raymond Pilet and Raymond of Turenne to capture the port of Tortosa. Toulouse count Raymond of Saint-Gilles summoned Godfrey and Robert of Flanders to help with the siege.

Emperor Alexius wrote to the crusaders, whose numbers had greatly dwindled, that he would bring an army if they would wait until the end of June. Yet the Emperor secretly told the Egyptians he was not supporting the crusaders. The Fatimids offered the crusaders free access of pilgrims to holy places; but they rejected that offer too. When Peter Bartholomew urged an assault on Arqa, Arnulf Malecorne of Rohes challenged him to undergo a fire ordeal while carrying the holy lance which resulted in Peter dying twelve days later. In May Raymond abandoned the siege of Arqa, and the Emir of Tripoli got immunity by releasing 300 Christian captives with 15,000 bezants and 15 horses. The crusaders found Ramleh abandoned and left the priest Robert of Rouen in charge of the new see with a garrison.

On June 7, 1099 the crusaders camped by the walls of Jerusalem. The Fatimid governor Iftikar ad-Daula had rebuilt the walls. Before the Franks arrived, he filled in or poisoned the wells outside the city, expelled all the Christians, and sent to Egypt for military help. An old hermit urged the crusaders to attack immediately; but lacking ladders and siege engines, they were repulsed. Six ships brought supplies to Jaffa, which had been abandoned by the Muslims. After learning that a large army was coming from Egypt, the priest Peter Desiderius claimed that the spirit of Adhémar had told him that if they proceeded barefoot around the walls of Jerusalem in repentance they would capture Jerusalem within nine days. As they did so, the Muslims on the walls offended them by desecrating crosses. Preaching by Peter the Hermit and Arnulf of Rohes excited the crusaders.

On July 14, 1099 about 1300 knights and 12,000 soldiers attacked Jerusalem. Tancred pillaged the Dome of the Rock, and some surrendered to him, promising ransoms. Iftikhar surrendered to Raymond in the Tower of David, and his men were escorted out of the city. However, other crusaders were slaughtering everyone, including those in the al-Aqsa mosque under Tancred's banner. Jews gathered in the chief synagogue, which was then burned. Nearly 40,000 people in Jerusalem were massacred, including all the unarmed women and children. Accounts of this barbaric fanaticism by the crusading Christians awakened the zeal of Muslim fanatics.

The exiled Jerusalem patriarch Symeon had died a few days earlier at Cyprus, and Pope Urban II would die in Rome before news arrived that Jerusalem had been taken. Knowing that his leadership was no longer generally accepted, Raymond of Toulouse declined the crown. Since Robert of Flanders and Robert of Normandy were planning to return to their homes, Godfrey of Lorraine was elected to rule Jerusalem. He declined to be king in the city where Jesus had worn a crown of thorns and was called Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. Raymond balked at turning over the Tower of David to Godfrey but was persuaded to relinquish it to the Bishop of Albara. Arnulf of Rohes was elected patriarch, and he banished the eastern priests. All the main leaders of the crusaders mounted a surprise attack on the Egyptian army led by vizier al-Afdal near Ascalon. Their victory assured the security of Jerusalem as af-Afdal escaped to Cairo, and much booty was captured. Muslims in Ascalon would only surrender to Raymond because of what happened at Jerusalem; but Godfrey resented this, causing the Roberts of Normandy and Flanders to depart in disgust with the result that Ascalon was not taken, and the same thing happened at Arsuf.

Before he died, Pope Urban had appointed Pisa archbishop Daimbert as his legate to replace Adhémar. Daimbert had been legate to King Alfonso VI of Castile and had been accused of enriching himself with the treasure sent to the Pope. On his way to the East the Pisa fleet raided the islands of Heptannese, Corfu, Leucas, Cephalonia, and Zante. Emperor Alexius sent a fleet led by Taticius that could not catch up with them. Bohemond left Antioch to besiege the port of Latakia and there gained the assistance of the Pisan fleet. Raymond and the two Roberts persuaded Daimbert to withdraw the Pisan fleets' blockade, causing Bohemond to abandon his siege. The Cyprus governor provided transport for Robert of Normandy and Robert of Flanders to Constantinople, where they refused to stay on and serve Alexius but headed home.

While Raymond was at Latakia, Daimbert joined Bohemond in Antioch, and they planned a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Christmas. Baldwin joined them, and Fulcher of Chartres reported that their numbers amounted to 25,000. Godfrey welcomed them and distributed estates in Palestine to the knights. Tancred with only 24 knights had conquered Galilee and fortified Tiberias. Arnulf was deposed, and Bohemond got Daimbert elected patriarch of Jerusalem. Daimbert then showed his feudal authority by investing Godfrey with Jerusalem and Bohemond with Antioch. Tancred was called the Prince of Galilee. Baldwin of Edessa did not pay homage to the Patriarch. Bohemond and Baldwin marched north together and drove off an attack by Dukak of Damascus. The Pisan ships helped Godfrey blockade the Palestinian coast, and Italian shipping began trading. Envoys from Ascalon, Caesarea, and Acre brought gifts to Godfrey and agreed to pay 5,000 bezants per month tribute for peace.

Tancred with Godfrey's help attacked an emir east of Galilee called the Fat Peasant. While they were returning with booty, Tancred in the rear was attacked by Dukak. In revenge Tancred raided the territory of Damascus and sent six knights, who demanded that Dukak become a Christian or leave Damascus. Dukak replied that they must become Muslims or die; one renounced his faith, and the other five envoys were murdered. Godfrey reluctantly turned over two cities to the demanding Daimbert. When Godfrey became ill, he let his cousin Warner of Gray act for him. Venetians were given trading rights and a church and market in every town they helped capture, plus Tripoli for which they would pay tribute to Godfrey. While the Venetians were there to help, Warner of Gray led Godfrey's troops with Tancred in a campaign against Acre; Daimbert chose to join them. One year after Jerusalem was taken, Godfrey died. Warner of Gray was also dying, and he sent word to Godfrey's brother Baldwin. Jews in Haifa held out; some Jews and Muslims escaped, but most were massacred. Tancred agreed with Daimbert's plan to offer the government of Jerusalem to Bohemond.

Jerusalem Kingdom of the Baldwins 1100-1131

Byzantine emperor Alexius sent his admiral Eustathius to recapture the Cilician ports of Seleucia and Corycus, and Cilicia was soon brought back into the Byzantine empire. Raymond accepted an invitation to visit Constantinople. At Latakia Raymond's men captured Daimbert's letter to Bohemond and arrested Daimbert's secretary Morellus. Before going on a campaign against the Danishmend emir, Bohemond increased the schism in the Christian church by replacing Antioch's eastern patriarch John IV with the Latin Bernard of Valence. Bohemond's forces were ambushed, and his army was annihilated. Armenian bishops were killed; Bohemond and Richard of Salerno were captured by Malik-Ghazi and taken to the mountains of Pontus. Baldwin aided Gabriel of Melitene and received news of his brother Godfrey's death. Baldwin marched south and was welcomed in Jerusalem. Tancred returned the fief of Galilee and was given Antioch, and Baldwin of Le Bourg gained the fief of Edessa. On Christmas day 1100 Baldwin paid homage to Daimbert and was crowned king of Jerusalem.

The brothers of Seljuk sultan Berkyaruk, son of Malik Shah, had revolted against him. The youngest brother Sanjar was given Khurasan, and in 1099 Berkyaruk went to war with his brother Muhammad, who gained rule of Iraq in 1104. In Anatolia Kilij Arslan had already lost his capital at Nicaea to the crusaders; but his rival emir Malik-Ghazi Gumushtekin of Danishmend held the captured Bohemond. In 1102 Mosul atabeg Kerbogha provoked a civil war in the Jazira. The crusaders had enabled the Byzantine empire to regain much of Asia Minor.

Pope Paschal II (1099-1118) encouraged more crusaders to launch new campaigns to the East. In autumn 1100 a Lombard army led by Milan archbishop Anselm of Buis and Count Albert of Biandrate traveled through Hungary. After pillaging some villages in the western Byzantine empire they arrived at Constantinople in March 1101. Once again Emperor Alexius did not want them to be joined by the next group of crusaders and cut off their supplies. Raymond of Toulouse made peace though, and they crossed over to Asia. Stephen of Blois, urged by his wife to redeem himself from the disgrace of deserting Antioch, led a group of Frank knights that crossed the Adriatic and then were joined by Germans under Conrad, Constable of Henrich IV. All these crusaders with some Byzantines led by General Tsitas accepted the command of Raymond; but many pilgrims had come, and Raymond had to yield to the pressure to go rescue Bohemond. Their army took Ankara, as Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan retreated; but the crusaders could not take the fortress at Gangra. The crusaders had a large army of perhaps 100,000; but the Danishmends joined forces with Kilij Arslan's Seljuks. Suffering from hunger and thirst, the crusaders were badly beaten at Mersivan, losing about four-fifths of the army; Raymond by ship and the remainder on land returned to Constantinople.

More crusaders led by Count William II of Nevers had crossed the Adriatic but failed to catch up with the others at Ankara. They attacked Konya (Iconium) but failed. As they approached Heraclea they were ambushed by a large Turkish army, and only William and a few knights escaped. A third army of crusaders led by the Frank troubadour, Duke William IX of Aquitane, was joined by Duke Welf of Bavaria as they passed through Germany and Hungary; after some unruly behavior they were escorted by Pechenegs to Constantinople. They too were surrounded by a Turkish army and slaughtered, and only Welf and a few knights made it to Antioch. Hugh of Vermandois had returned and died of his wounds. Tancred welcomed the straggling knights at Antioch, but he had Raymond arrested for fleeing the battle of Mersivan. Tancred's forces once again invaded Cilicia and recaptured Mamistra, Adana, and Tarsus from the Byzantines. Antioch's Latin patriarch Bernard persuaded Tancred to release Raymond, who had to promise not to interfere in northern Syria. After Raymond withdrew his troops from Latakia, Tancred besieged the port for nearly a year until it capitulated. Edessa count Baldwin of Le Bourg married an Armenian princess and got 30,000 bezants from her father by threatening to shave off his beard, an important symbol of masculinity to Armenians.

Byzantine emperor Alexius offered 260,000 bezants for Bohemond; but Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan demanded half of it from the Danishmend emir holding the renowned prisoner. Instead Edessa count Baldwin II and Patriarch Bernard got Bohemond released for 100,000 bezants. Bohemond returned to Antioch and with Joscelin of Courtenay raided the region around Aleppo. In 1104 Sokman of Mardin and Chokurmish of Mosul put aside their quarrel to join in an attack on Edessa. Baldwin II appealed to Bohemond and Joscelin; but a dispute whether Baldwin's flag or Bohemond's should be raised first resulted in the crusaders failing to take Harran when a Turkish army arrived. In the ensuing battle on the banks of the Balikh, the army of Antioch escaped while most Edessa troops were killed or captured. Baldwin and Joscelin tried to flee but were captured by Sokman's men. Once again Tancred took over for a captive and ruled Edessa. When the Turks quarreled over the booty, the troops of Chokurmish stole Baldwin from Sokman's tent. Bohemond's forces helped Tancred's Armenians turn back Chokurmish's attack on Edessa. Tancred captured a Seljuk princess; but instead of trading her for Baldwin, he ransomed her for 15,000 bezants.

King Baldwin of Jerusalem gained 50,000 bezants ransoming captives to Dukak of Damascus. An alliance with the Genoese enabled Baldwin to take Arsuf and Caesarea, where another massacre occurred. Baldwin banished Patriarch Daimbert. An Egyptian army led by emir Sa'ad ed-Daula al-Qawasi was defeated by Baldwin's 260 knights and 900 infantry at Ramleh in September 1101, though nearly half the knights were killed. The next year his 200 knights took on an army of 20,000 led by the Egyptian vizier's son Sharaf al-Ma'ali, and in the defeat among the dead was Stephen of Blois. Baldwin himself escaped alone; but two weeks later new crusaders reinforced his army, and they defeated Fatimid forces from Egypt. In asking help from Tancred, Baldwin had to reinstate Daimbert; but a synod of bishops condemned Daimbert's crimes of taking money, attacking Christians, and provoking a civil war between Bohemond and Baldwin; so he was exiled again. Daimbert went to Rome with Bohemond and got Pope Paschal to cancel his deposition; but Daimbert died at Messina in 1107. Emperor Alexius pleased King Baldwin by paying the ransom to release Frank knights from Egypt. The Byzantine army in 1104 took back the Cilician cities of Tarsus, Adana, and Mamistra, while their navy pursuing Genoese raiders regained Latakia. Bohemond sailed west to get reinforcements, as Tancred governed Antioch, leaving Richard of Salerno as his deputy in Edessa. Tancred expanded his territory around Antioch by defeating Aleppo's Ridvan in 1105. Cilicians must have tired of war's changing fortunes as Tancred yet again recaptured Adana and Tarsus and got Latakia by promising the Pisan fleets trading privileges. Bohemond recruited Normans in Apulia, and at Rome he persuaded Pope Paschal II to send his legate Bruno into France to preach a holy war against the Byzantines. In France Bohemond married King Philip's daughter Constance in 1106. Revisiting the Normans' pre-crusade war with the Byzantines, Bohemond's 34,000 crusaders besieged Dyrrhachium in 1107; but they were blockaded by the Byzantine navy and had to surrender a year later. In the treaty Bohemond was allowed to be Prince of Antioch but only as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor, and the Latin patriarch was to be replaced by a Greek. Instead Bohemond chose to retire on his land in Apulia, where he died in 1111.

In 1107 Joscelin was released by Il-Ghazi for 20,000 dinars and his military help in taking Mardin. Joscelin then got Baldwin of Le Bourg ransomed for 60,000 dinars, getting half the money from those in Edessa who disliked the rule of the Norman prince Richard. Tancred joined with Ridvan's Turks of Aleppo to attack Count Baldwin of Edessa, who was supported by his former captor Jawali and got 300 Pecheneg mercenaries from the Armenian Oshin, the Byzantine governor of Cilicia. In the battle 2,000 Christians were killed. Tancred besieged Baldwin and Joscelin in the Dulak castle while the Armenians revolted against Richard of Salerno. Jawali's army helped Baldwin escape, and at Edessa Baldwin arrested many Armenians and had some blinded.

According to Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, Count Raymond with an army of only 300 knights killed about 7,000 Muslims in a battle near Tripoli but could not gain the important port. Raymond died in 1105, and a struggle over his wealthy estates ensued. In Toulouse his eldest son Bertram was considered illegitimate and so was challenged by the infant son Alfonso-Jordan, whose cousin William Jordan was in Lebanon. Dukak of Damascus died in 1104 and was succeeded by Tughtigin, who battled the forces of William Jordan. Tripoli's governor Abu'l Manaqib Ibn Ammar traveled to Baghdad to ask Seljuk sultan Muhammad for help but got none. So besieged Tripoli asked Egypt's al-Afdal to send a governor, and he sent Sharaf ad-Daulah with a fleet of supplies in 1108. That summer Bertram departed with an army on forty galleys aided by a Genoese squadron, and they were well received by Emperor Alexius. Bertram wanted Tancred's help but refused to fight the Byzantines in Cilicia. William Jordan would not relinquish his authority to Bertram and agreed to be the vassal of Tancred for his help. Bertram then appealed to King Baldwin. In 1109 the crusading princes assembled near Tripoli. Tancred was reconciled with Baldwin II of Edessa, and the Toulouse inheritance was divided as Bertram pledged fealty to King Baldwin. William Jordan kept Tortosa and Arqa, which he had conquered. When Tripoli surrendered after a five-year siege, Genoese sacked the city, burning the finest library in the Muslim world. Bertram became count of Tripoli. When William Jordan was mysteriously shot by an arrow, Bertram inherited his lands.

King Baldwin captured Acre in 1104 and the next year again defeated an Egyptian army at Ramleh. The governor of Sidon bought peace from Baldwin in 1106; but two years later marched against the city. Sidon's governor hired Turks from Damascus for 30,000 bezants but refused to let the victorious Turks enter the city and paid them only 9,000 to leave. A Venetian squadron commanded by Doge Ordelafo Falieri rescued Norwegian ships led by King Sigurd from an attack by a Fatimid flotilla. The Venetians also helped Baldwin take Sidon and were given property at Acre. Baldwin then immediately taxed Sidon 20,000 gold bezants. After Baldwin helped Bertram gain Tripoli, Bertram's forces helped Baldwin take Beirut in 1110. Baldwin made a ten-year truce with Tughtigin of Damascus in 1108 though it lasted only five years.

Muhammad succeeded his older brother Berkyaruk as Sultan of Persia in 1110. He organized a holy war against the crusaders with an army led by Mosul atabeg Sharaf ad-Din Maudud that included troops of Khilat emir Sokman and the Artukid emir Il-Ghazi. When they besieged Edessa, King Baldwin and Bertram of Tripoli supported Count Baldwin; but after Tancred's Normans withdrew from the effort, King Baldwin also left to fight the Egyptians attacking Palestine. The Frank forces attempted to evacuate Edessa but crossed the Euphrates River first and watched as the Turks massacred the civilians, sparing only the young women and children for slavery. Edessa had been depopulated and would never fully recover. Maudud's forces attacked Antioch in 1111; but it was defended by Baldwin of Le Bourg and King Baldwin's army as well as by Tancred, who died the next year. Richard of Salerno acted as regent of Antioch until the arrival of Tancred's nephew Roger, who accepted the sovereignty of King Baldwin. Bertram died a few months later; his son Pons married Tancred's widow and also accepted King Baldwin's guardianship, unifying the crusader domains. Also in 1111 Emperor Alexius made a treaty with the Pisans, giving them trading privileges in Constantinople.

Jerusalem king Baldwin broke his truce with Damascus when he invaded that territory in 1113; but he was defeated when Tughtigin got help from Maudad and the Artukid Ayaz. Maudad was murdered in a mosque, and Tughtigin was suspected even though he immediately killed the assassin. Ridvan of Aleppo also died that year and was succeeded by his son Alp Arslan, though the eunuch Lulu governed. Alp Arslan issued a warrant for Abu Tahir and other leaders of the Shi'i Assassins, whom Ridvan had protected, and many were killed. Malik Shah captured and pillaged Pergamum; but Byzantine forces led by Emperor Alexius during a campaign against the Turks caught up with them at Cotyaeum and after a victory recovered the loot and prisoners. After two plots to turn over Edessa to the Turks, Count Baldwin Le Bourg expelled the Armenians to Samosata in 1113, though he allowed them to return the next year. Count Baldwin conquered the Armenian princes in eastern Cilicia by 1115. That year Seljuk sultan Muhammad sent a large army led by Hamadan governor Bursuk; but they were defeated at Danith by the Frank forces led by Roger of Antioch. Count Baldwin had helped, and in the next few years he annexed territories and replaced several Armenian leaders in the Euphrates valley.

King Baldwin had no children by his Armenian queen. Although he did not divorce her, in 1113 he wed the wealthy Adelaide, who wanted her son Roger in Sicily to inherit Baldwin's kingdom. Baldwin spent her money fighting wars for Jerusalem, but after being ill he sent her back to Sicily in 1117, causing resentment in the Sicilian court. She died the next year just before Jerusalem patriarch Arnulf, who had presided over the bigamous wedding. A comet in 1118 was believed to portend the death of kings. King Baldwin died in April while invading Egypt, and Seljuk sultan Muhammad died the same month. Byzantine emperor Alexius and Caliph Mustazhir at Baghdad both died in August. Jerusalem patriarch Arnulf and Pope Paschal II also died in 1118. Barons in Jerusalem elected Baldwin's cousin Baldwin of Le Bourg to succeed him as king, as he had as count of Edessa; Joscelin of Courtenay had nominated Baldwin II and became count of Edessa. In his last year Emperor Alexius had persecuted the Manichaean Bogomils by imprisoning many of them and burning to death in the Hippodrome their leader Basil. Alexius had also adopted feudal ways by granting military vassals estates called pronoia that allowed them to tax the peasants living on those lands, and he had greatly debased the imperial coins.

A military order to protect and help pilgrims in the holy land known as the Hospitallers of St. John had started at Jerusalem in 1070, and in 1119 they were recognized by Pope Calixtus II. Baldwin I always needed dedicated soldiers and in his last year had urged Hugh of Payens to recruit knights for a new order of the Temple that was authorized as the Templars by Pope Honorius II in 1128. These orders combined the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience with the chivalry of knights and rapidly gained wealth as their numbers increased. Though the Hospitallers also helped the poor, the Templars had only military duties.

Muhammad's son Mahmud chose to pursue hunting and allowed his uncle, Khurasan king Sanjar (r. 1097-1156), to take over as sultan in 1119. That year bold Count Roger of Antioch did not wait for the forces of King Baldwin II and Pons of Tripoli, and his army was trapped by Il Ghazi's Turks and massacred on what was remembered as the Field of Blood. Roger was killed, and many captured Normans and their allies were tortured to death in the streets of Aleppo. Numerous battles were fought over this city and others in the region. In the north Christian Georgians almost destroyed the army of Il Ghazi. King Baldwin II took this opportunity to challenge Aleppo and made a treaty with Il Ghazi's son Sulaiman. In 1122 Edessa count Joscelin and sixty men were captured by Belek, one of the successors to the realms of the dying Il Ghazi. Belek also massacred an army of Baldwin and captured the king. Georgia king David (r. 1089-1125) defeated the armies of Azerbaijan and the Artukids, making the reconquered Tiflis his capital in 1122.

John Comnenus (r. 1118-1143) had succeeded his father Alexius as Emperor in Constantinople; he continued his father's war against the Turks in Asia Minor, and he alienated the Venetians by reducing their trading privileges. In 1122 a Venetian fleet of more than a hundred ships attacked Byzantine Corfu before defeating the Egyptian navy off Ascalon and capturing ten loaded merchant vessels. Jerusalem patriarch Gormond gave the Venetians trading privileges in exchange for their help in taking Tyre, which was starved into submission by July 1124. Emperor John Comnenus made a treaty with the Pisans in 1125 and ended the war with Venice by restoring their trading privileges the next year. Hungarian king Stephen (r. 1114-1131) sent his troops to take Branicevo and invade the Greek empire in 1128; but they were defeated by the Byzantine army, which the next year subdued the Serbians.

After Belek died, Il Ghazi's son Timurtash ransomed Baldwin II for a payment of 20,000 dinars and promises for more while he retained a few hostages. However, Baldwin broke the agreement by helping the Bedouin leader Dubais he was supposed to suppress, and Antioch patriarch Bernard would not let him give away territory he had promised. The Franks won a bloody battle at Azaz in 1125 and gained enough booty to pay the remaining 60,000 dinars Baldwin owed for his ransom so that his daughter was released. In 1126 eighteen-year-old Bohemond II arrived from Sicily to inherit his father's Antioch, and the next year he married Baldwin's second daughter Alice. A quarrel developed between Bohemond II and Joscelin of Edessa; but King Baldwin came north to reconcile them. King Baldwin sent to France's Louis VI to choose a wife for his oldest daughter Melisend, and Count Fulk of Anjou was sent with newly recruited Templars.

Zengi became ruler of Mosul in 1127 and quickly defeated his rivals and occupied Aleppo the next year. After Tughtigin of Damascus died, Zengi allied himself with his succeeding son Taj-al-Muluk Bori in a holy war against the Franks but betrayed him by imprisoning his son in Aleppo. Bori tried to suppress the Assassins. Their protector, vizier al-Mazdaghani, had plotted with the Franks to surrender Damascus for Tyre; but he was discovered and executed along with all the Assassins found at Damascus. To save himself from this, Isma'il surrendered Banyas to the Franks, who were nevertheless defeated near Damascus in 1129. The next year Bohemond II invaded Cilicia and was killed when his army was massacred. Ambitious Alice tried to gain rule of Antioch by plotting with Zengi; but her father Baldwin came with his son-in-law Fulk, intercepted her messenger to Zengi, and forced her to accept Latakia and Jabala, which she had gained as dowry. Zengi, who controlled Syria as far south as Homs, defeated the Franks at al-Atharib, and they concluded a treaty that would last several years while Zengi was busy fighting caliphate rivals and the Kurds. Joscelin was entrusted with Antioch, but he died soon after Baldwin II died in August 1131.

Crusaders, Manuel, and Nur-ad-Din 1131-1174

Three weeks later Patriarch William of Messines crowned Fulk and Melisend king and queen of Jerusalem. Despite the continuing ambition of Melisend's sister Alice, Fulk retained the regency of Antioch by appearing there with his army. Melisend was not attracted to Fulk, and her intrigues with Hugh of Le Puiset led to his being tried for treason and resulted in Hugh's banishment and murder. The Queen became so angry that Hugh's enemies were afraid to walk the streets unarmed.

A succession struggle followed the death of Sultan Mahmud in 1131 in which Tughrul was supported by Sanjar at Baghdad; but they withdrew from the contest. Mas'ud, Seljuk sultan of Rum (r. 1116-1155), and his ally Zengi were defeated by forces of Seljuk-Shah and Caliph al-Mustarshid. Then Sanjar and the Arab Dubais supported Zengi; but for a while al-Mustarshid re-asserted Abbasid rule. Eventually attacks by Zengi forced the Caliph to retire from political power, and Mas'ud became the next sultan of Iraq. In 1135 his army defeated and captured Caliph al-Mustarshid, who was banished to Azerbaijan and murdered by Assassins. The Caliph's son and successor ar-Rashid failed to gain support and was deposed by qadis (judges) in Baghdad. In Egypt the Fatimid caliph al-Hafiz appointed his son Hasan vizier in 1135; but Hasan beheaded forty emirs and after a revolt was poisoned by his father. The next vizier was an Armenian named Vahram who appointed so many Armenians that violent riots broke out in Cairo. To the west in the Maghrib of North Africa the Berber preacher 'Abd Allah Ibn Tumart was accepted as the prophetic Mahdi but died shortly after an attack on Almoravid rule at Marrakesh in 1130. However, his successor 'Abd al-Mu'min led a long war that established Almohad rule in the central Maghrib by 1152 and in Ifriqiya by 1160.

The Byzantines campaigned annually against the Danishmends for five years, reconquering all their lost territory by 1135. Mistrusting the Normans, Emperor John Comnenus sent an envoy to get Germany's emperor Lothair to attack Roger in Sicily, which he did in 1137. That year Emperor John led his army into Cilicia, reconquering Mersin, Tarsus, Adana, Mamistra, Anazarbus, and threatening Antioch. Raymond rushed back from Montferrand and promised to give Antioch back to the empire if together they conquered Aleppo, Shaizar, Hamah, and Homs, which he would rule. In 1138 the Christian alliance failed to take Aleppo and besieged Shaizar. Zengi lifted his siege of Damascene Hamah and sent for help from Baghdad, where riots persuaded Sultan Mas'ud to dispatch forces. Meanwhile Raymond of Antioch and Joscelin of Edessa were doing little to aid John's military efforts. When John demanded the citadel of Antioch, Joscelin started a rumor that caused a riot against the Greeks; John decided to take his army back to Constantinople. In 1139 John's army drove the Danishmends out of Bithynia and Paphlagonia.

When Antioch patriarch Bernard died in 1135, the people made the Latin Ralph of Domfront his successor without a canonical election. To forestall the regency of Alice, Raymond came secretly from Poitiers and took power in Antioch by marrying Alice's nine-year-old daughter Constance while Ralph led Alice to believe she would marry Raymond. Atabeg Mahmud of Damascus accepted as his chief minister Beza-uch, the murderer of his mother's lover, and they invaded Tripoli in 1137. The army of Count Pons was ambushed, and Pons was killed by the Muslims after he was betrayed by a Christian peasant. Mahmud did not attack Tripoli itself but returned to Damascus with much booty. Raymond II, the son of Pons, had married Melisend's sister Hodierna, and he took revenge by massacring men and enslaving women and children from the villages of Lebanon. Mosul's Zengi was besieging Homs when he noticed the Tripoli army of Raymond II and besieged them at Montferrand in 1137. Raymond sent word to Fulk; but his army from Jerusalem was so weary that they were slaughtered, and Raymond was captured. King Fulk escaped and appealed to Edessa and Antioch. In a treaty Zengi was satisfied with the castle at Montferrand and let the Franks go. In 1139 the cantankerous Patriarch Ralph was deposed, imprisoned, and escaped to Rome; but he died in 1142.

Zengi besieged Homs in 1137 but gained it as dowry when he married the mother of the atabeg of Damascus the next year. She complained that Baalbek's former governor Muhammad replaced the murdered Mahmud, and so in 1139 Zengi captured Baalbek and crucified the garrison after swearing to spare them; the women were sold as slaves. Zengi offered Baalbek or Homs for Damascus; but Unur would not agree. After Muhammad died, Unur offered King Fulk 20,000 bezants a month and Banyas if the Franks would help him protect Damascus from Zengi. When the Jerusalem army arrived, Zengi withdrew; then Fulk installed Rainier of Brus as governor of Banyas. Meanwhile Fulk had strengthened his southern defenses by building three major castles. In 1141 the Kara-Kitai Mongols, who traded with China and adopted their culture, defeated Seljuk sultan Sanjar and conquered the Oxus basin. The Kara-Kitai chief Gur-Khan was believed by some in the West to be the legendary Christian Prester John. In 1143 Queen Melisend bought the village of Bethany and founded a convent that elected her sister Joveta abbess.

Byzantine emperor John attacked the Seljuks as far as Attalia in 1142; but the next year while preparing to attack Antioch he died after a hunting accident. He chose as heir his youngest son Manuel (r. 1143-1180), who led the imperial army back to Constantinople. In November 1143 King Fulk also died after falling from his horse while hunting near Acre. Queen Melisend acted as regent for her 13-year-old son Baldwin III (r. 1143-1163). Manuel refused to give back Cilicia, and so Raymond of Antioch invaded the province. However, in 1144 the Byzantine army drove him out of Cilicia and once again threatened Antioch.

In autumn 1144 Zengi attacked Joscelin II's Artukid ally Kara Arslan. When Joscelin marched his forces to help, Zengi sent a force to besiege Edessa. Raymond of Antioch refused to assist his rival Joscelin. Joined by Kurds and Turkomans, Zengi's army stormed Edessa. Zengi tried to stop the massacre of native Christians; but all the Frankish men were slaughtered, and their women were sold as slaves. Zengi then took Saruj, the other strong fortress the Franks had east of the Euphrates. Raymond went to Constantinople for aid but was rebuffed by Manuel. In 1146 Zengi had an Armenian revolt at Edessa suppressed and replaced those banished with 300 Jewish families. On September 15, 1146 Zengi was murdered in his sleep by a servant he had threatened to punish. Zengi's oldest son Saif-ad-Din Ghazi inherited Mosul while his second son Nur-ad-Din ruled Aleppo. Unur's Damascus army took control of Baalbek, Homs, and Hamah. While Raymond of Antioch threatened Aleppo, Joscelin regained Edessa; but after a siege by Nur-ad-Din's army, the Frankish army fled, leaving the native Christian men to be massacred while the women and children were enslaved. Michael the Syrian estimated that in both sieges of Edessa 30,000 were killed, and 16,000 were sold into slavery.

After learning that Edessa had fallen, Jerusalem queen Melisend and Antioch barons sent Jabala bishop Hugh to Pope Eugenius III to ask for another crusade. On December 1, 1145 Eugenius sent a papal bull to King Louis VII of France urging his kingdom to rescue the Christians in the East. Louis decided to take up the cross but was not able to persuade many people to join him until Clairvaux abbot Bernard spoke to a mass meeting during Easter at Vézélay. Bernard then preached the crusade in Burgundy, Lorraine, and Flanders. Cluny abbot Peter the Venerable complained that Jews were not contributing enough, and the Cistercian monk Radulf aroused anti-Semitic feelings in northern France until Bernard arrived to stop the persecution. Then Radulf incited massacres of Jews at Cologne, Mainz, Worms, Speyer, and Strasburg. Bernard ordered this fanatical monk back into his monastery and went to Germany to preach the crusade himself. Germany's Conrad III had been crowned Emperor by the Pope and had promised to protect him from Roger's Normans; yet Bernard persuaded the reluctant German king in his Christmas sermon of 1146. The following March at Frankfurt Bernard also encouraged a crusade to convert Slavs east of Oldenburg.

Conrad's vassals, King Vladislav of Bohemia and King Boleslav IV of Poland, also made the expedition with an impressive array of nobility that included Duke Friedrich of Swabia (later known as Barbarossa). Poor soldiers and pilgrims joined in great numbers that swelled the army to 20,000 or more. In June 1147 the German crusaders traveled through Hungary as Emperor Conrad promised the Byzantine emperor they would do them no harm. Fights over food began at Sofia and were worse at Philippopolis, where Archbishop Michael Italicus persuaded Conrad to punish the leaders of the riots. Manuel sent his imperial troops to keep the crusaders on the roads; but at Adrianople Friedrich burned down a monastery and slaughtered its residents in revenge for the murder of a sick German noble. A slightly smaller army of French led by Louis followed about a month later, and he assured Manuel he was coming as a friend; but already conflicts were erupting between the Germans and the French as well as between the Westerners and the Byzantines, who were resented because Emperor Manuel made a treaty in spring 1147 to stop the expanding hegemony of the Seljuk sultan Mas'ud. Conflicts might have become worse had not Conrad's sister, who was married to Manuel, made peace between the two emperors.

Manuel advised Conrad to send home the pilgrims and march along the coast; but Conrad disregarded his advice and went east into Anatolia, although he divided his forces at Nicaea by sending many of the pilgrims with Otto of Freisingen. Near Dorylaeum on October 25, 1147 Conrad's forces were attacked by a large Seljuk army and massacred, losing nine-tenths of their soldiers and their entire camp. The rich booty rapidly lowered the value of precious metals in the Muslim world. Meanwhile King Louis VII promised Emperor Manuel that he would restore the parts of his empire they would recapture; his barons paid homage and received imperial gifts. At Nicaea Louis consulted with the fleeing Conrad, and together they headed south to the coast. At Ephesus Conrad was too ill to go on and returned to Constantinople, where he was nursed back to health by Manuel. After much suffering and many losses the crusaders were welcomed at Antioch by Raymond, uncle of Queen Eleanor of Aquitane. That fall Roger's Normans captured Corfu from the Byzantine empire and plundered the Greek cities of Thebes and Corinth, removing expert silk weavers to Palermo. Raymond wanted the crusaders to attack Aleppo; but Louis had his heart set on Jerusalem and became jealous of Eleanor pleading for her uncle.

Conrad joined the large crusader army at Jerusalem. Without the barons from Antioch, Edessa, and Tripoli, they decided to attack Damascus even though that city had been the Franks' ally against other Turks; this stimulated Unur to appeal to his enemies Saif-ad-Din of Mosul and his brother Nur-ad-Din. After a five-day siege in late July 1148 Conrad persuaded the crusaders to withdraw so that the armies of the Turkish brothers would not take Damascus, and the crusaders retreated in a humiliating defeat. Conrad returned to Constantinople, where his alliance with the empire was confirmed by the wedding of his brother Heinrich of Austria to Manuel's niece Theodora. Louis returned to Europe with a Sicilian squadron that was attacked by the Byzantine navy. Louis blamed Manuel for their disastrous crusade and persuaded Bernard and other prelates to preach a crusade against the Byzantines; but this scheme faded after Conrad refused to help. Young Bertram of Toulouse suspected that Raymond II of Tripoli had murdered his father Alfonso of Toulouse and tried to win his inheritance at Tripoli; but Raymond got aid from Unur and Nur-ad-Din, whose forces destroyed the castle of Araima; Bertram and his sister remained the prisoners of Nur-ad-Din at Aleppo for twelve years.

After Nur-ad-Din's forces invaded, Raymond of Antioch went to meet them; but his army was massacred in 1149, the courageous Raymond fighting until he was killed. The next year Joscelin II was captured; when he refused to abjure his religion, Nur-ad-Din had him blinded and imprisoned at Aleppo, where Joscelin died nine years later. Baldwin III with Templar knights rode north to protect Antioch. He approved of Joscelin's widow Beatrice selling the remaining towns of the Edessa county to Manuel and escorted her and the refugees back to Antioch. The Byzantines lost this territory to the alliance of Nur-ad-Din and the Seljuk Mas'ad in 1151. Further east in 1153 Oghuz tribes captured Seljuk sultan Sanjar, destroyed his army, and looted Khurasan.

After Count Raymond of Tripoli was killed by Assassins, his widow Hodierna assumed the regency for their twelve-year-old Raymond III. She allowed Baldwin to give Tortosa to the Knights Templar. In Jerusalem Queen Melisend did not want to relinquish the power of her regency, but Baldwin III had himself crowned alone. They divided the territory and quarreled until the citizens turned against her, and she yielded. In 1149 Baldwin made a two-year truce with Unur of Damascus. Unur soon died, but in 1151 Baldwin helped defend Damascus from Nur-ad-Din's army. Baldwin tried to find a husband for Antioch regent Constance; but she rejected his choices and one of Manuel's, marrying instead an undistinguished but bold young knight named Reginald in 1153. Baldwin agreed to recognize Reginald as prince of Antioch if he would help fight against the Armenian Toros II. Reginald did so and turned conquered land over to the Templars, who got him to take Toros as an ally. Reginald tortured Patriarch Aimery to get money to invade wealthy Cyprus. Baldwin got the Patriarch released, and the prelate took refuge in Jerusalem. Reginald and Toros led a brutal attack on Cyprus of murder, pillaging, and rape that lasted three weeks.

In Fatamid Egypt al-Hafiz died in 1149 and was succeeded by his son al-Zafir during a civil war that made vizier the winning general Amir Ibn Sallah, who was murdered three years later; but Caliph al-Zafir was assassinated in 1154. In 1153 King Baldwin III besieged the Fatimid fortress at Ascalon; but an Egyptian fleet of seventy ships relieved the blockade. Forty Templars decided to penetrate a breach in the wall alone, and all were killed. After eight months Ascalon capitulated, and Baldwin allowed the residents to depart. Baldwin's brother Amalric became governor of Ascalon. Mujir of Damascus agreed to pay the revitalized Franks an annual tribute; but the following year Mujir had to surrender Damascus to Nur-ad-Din, who continued the truce with Jerusalem and even paid the tribute. The religious Nur-ad-Din promoted orthodox Sunni Islam by founding colleges, convents, and an impressive hospital. Nur-ad-Din was also known for dispensing justice by hearing complaints twice a week concerning his army and administration whenever he was at Aleppo or Damascus. After Sultan Mas'ad died in 1155, a succession struggle enabled Nur-ad-Din to gain more Euphrates territory. In 1157 Baldwin broke his treaty with Nur-ad-Din when the king was tempted to steal large herds of sheep and horses which Turkomans had brought near Banyas.

Also in 1155 Emperor Manuel sent the Byzantine navy to Ancona to invade Italy; but Venice turned against them, and the next year Norman king William II led forces that defeated the Greeks at Brindisi, driving them out of Italy. In 1158 Patriarch Aimery married King Baldwin III to Theodora, niece of Emperor Manuel, who marched his army into Cilicia. The infamous Reginald had to humiliate himself in penance in front of Manuel, who forgave his Cyprus war crimes in order to place a Greek patriarch in Antioch and control its citadel. At Antioch Manuel treated Baldwin's broken arm, and their alliance forced Nur-ad-Din to release 6,000 captives, including many Germans who went home after a decade in prison. Reginald was captured while raiding in 1160 and was left in prison for 16 years. Baldwin declared young Bohemond III the prince of Antioch and appointed Patriarch Aimery as regent. The Byzantine army led by John Contostephanus defeated the Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II (r. 1155-1192), who did homage to Manuel at Constantinople in 1161. Raymond II of Tripoli offered his daughter Melisend in marriage to Manuel, and both were crushed when the Emperor rejected her to marry Princess Maria of Antioch.

King Baldwin became ill at Tripoli and died at Beirut in February 1163. Since Baldwin III had no children, his younger brother Amalric became king of Jerusalem. When Constance appealed to the Byzantine general Coloman against her 18-year-old son Bohemond III, a riot resulted in her being banished. Egypt continued to be unstable as vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik was murdered in 1161 as was his son and successor Ruzzik two years later. King Amalric invaded Egypt in September 1163 and besieged Bilbais but had to withdraw. Shavar went to Nur-ad-Din, who opened the Qur'an at random for advice and sent his army led by Shirkuh. Dirgam was defeated and killed as Shavar was restored to power. When Shirkuh refused to leave and seized Bilbais, Shavar appealed to Amalric by offering gold and gifts to the Knights of the Hospital. While Amalric traveled from Antioch to Egypt, Nur-ad-Din besieged Harim. Forces from Tripoli and Antioch with Armenians and Greeks from Cilicia marched against Nur-ad-Din's army but were defeated on the plain of Artah in 1164. Bohemond III, Raymond III of Tripoli, Coloman, Hugh of Lusignan, and Joscelin III were captured. Bohemond was soon ransomed, because Nur-ad-Din did not want the Byzantines taking over Antioch.

Nur-ad-Din raided Lebanon, and in 1167 Shirkuh invaded Egypt again with his nephew Saladin (Salah-ad-Din). Shavar offered King Amalric 400,000 bezants if the Franks would drive Shirkuh out of Egypt. After an inconclusive battle with losses on both sides, the Franks joined the Cairo garrison while the Syrian Turks blockaded Alexandria. Shirkuh proposed that they and the Franks could both leave if Shavar would not punish those supporting the invaders. Amalric agreed and entered Alexandria as Saladin's army left; but Shavar's officials began arresting collaborators. Saladin complained, and Amalric got the prisoners released. Shirkuh and Saladin led their army back to Damascus, and Amalric made Shavar promise to pay an annual tribute of 100,000 gold coins.

Also in 1167 King Amalric married Emperor Manuel's grand-niece Maria Comnena. Amalric gave Andronicus Comnenus the fief of Beirut; but the adventurer fell in love with the widow Theodora living on her dowry at Acre. They could not marry because they were related; yet they ran off to the East and were excommunicated. Historian William of Tyre negotiated a treaty with Emperor Manuel to divide conquests in Egypt; but before he returned, Amalric with avaricious knights left to invade Egypt again. Bilbais was plundered, and Copts as well as Muslims were slaughtered, uniting the Egyptians in hatred against the Franks. Shavar's son Kamil sent a message offering Nur-ad-Din a third of Egypt. Shirkuh and Saladin with 8,000 cavalry from Damascus marched past the Franks, who departed at the beginning of 1169. When Shirkuh died in March, Saladin became the master of Egypt by arresting his opponents and burning antagonistic Nubian guards in their barracks. Saladin was much influenced by his friendship with Nur-ad-Din and later married his widow. He followed Nur-ad-Din's policies by abolishing in Egypt all taxes not in accord with Islamic law, and he also founded colleges. Saladin made lucrative trade agreements with Pisans, Genoese, and Venetians. Genoa made an alliance with the Byzantines in 1169, and Pisa also did so the next year.

King Amalric sent church leaders to Europe asking for another crusade, but conflicts in Italy, Germany, France, and England had their leaders occupied. Amalric and Manuel agreed on a joint campaign. Saladin appealed to the Muslim champion of holy war, Nur-ad-Din, so that Egypt could defeat the crusaders and become Sunni. Delays resulted in the Byzantine navy running out of food, and the Frank army withdrew from Egypt before the end of 1169. Amalric visited Constantinople and signed a treaty with Manuel. In June 1170 earthquakes in Syria devastated castles and churches, killing many. Saladin's army massacred people at Gaza but could not take the citadel. On March 12, 1171 Manuel had every Venetian in the Byzantine empire arrested, and their wares were confiscated. Venice reacted by sacking the islands of Chios and Lesbos, and the Byzantines and the Venetians did not have relations for a decade.

In 1173 Amalric's army campaigned for the Byzantines in Cilicia. The new Assassin leader Sinan, whom the Franks called the Old Man of the Mountains, promised the Assassins would become Christians if the knights stopped taxing their villages. Amalric agreed, but Templar knight Walter of Mesnil ambushed and murdered the returning Assassin envoys, and Grand Master Odo refused Amalric's order to turn over the murderer; so Amalric used troops to arrest Walter at Sidon. The powerful and pious Nur-ad-Din had united and expanded Muslim Syria and become a sultan before he died in 1174. During the succession struggle Amalric marched on Banyas and accepted a payment from the Damascus emir; but Amalric became ill and died in July 1174.

Saladin and Crusading Kings 1174-1198

Two weeks after King Amalric died, a Sicilian fleet of 284 ships threatened Alexandria but fled when Saladin's army approached. Amalric's successor as king of Jerusalem was his 13-year-old son Baldwin IV, who had already been diagnosed as a leper. Seneschal Miles of Plancy took control of the government; but he was resented, replaced as regent by Count Raymond of Tripoli, and was murdered a few weeks later. Raymond was supported by the Hospitallers and Syrians but was opposed by the militant Templars and crusaders from Europe. At the end of 1174 Saladin besieged Homs and Aleppo, whose atabeg Gumushtigin asked for help from the Assassins and the Franks. A band of Assassins was killed in Saladin's camp. Raymond led the Frank army to Homs, causing Saladin to raise the siege of Aleppo and head south. In gratitude Gumushtigin released Reginald, Joscelin III, and other Christians from Aleppo's dungeons. Saladin's army defeated an alliance of Aleppo and Mosul, and they declared a truce. Saladin proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt and Syria and was honored by the Baghdad Caliph. After finding threatening signs, Saladin asked for forgiveness from the Assassins, and he and their leader Sinan agreed not to attack each other.

In 1176 Manuel led his imperial army against the Turks at Konya; but when he panicked and fled, the result was disastrous for the army. The Byzantines no longer governed Anatolia except the coasts. Under Manuel the military had become the ruling class, living off heavy taxes on the people; many had to barter their freedom to become serfs in order to survive.

William Longsword came from France and married King Baldwin's sister Sibyl; but he died of malaria in 1177, the year the determined Baldwin canceled the regency. Baldwin recovered from malaria; but crusading Flanders count Philip refused to join Reginald or cooperate with the Byzantine navy and admitted he came mainly to marry off his two cousins. Philip did join Raymond of Tripoli on an attack against Hamah. Baldwin mustered 500 knights to defend Ascalon from an attack by Saladin's army. Saladin trapped them and led most of his forces toward Jerusalem, allowing them to pillage the countryside; but Frank knights surprised them near the castle of Montisgard, and the Muslim army fled. Only the sacrifice of the Mamluk guard saved Saladin, and his army fled all the way to Egypt, leaving behind their booty and prisoners. Baldwin's army was rustling sheep near Damascus in 1179 when they were ambushed by Saladin's nephew Farrukh-Shah. The courageous constable Humphrey II of Toron gave up his life to protect the royal army's retreat. The next year King Baldwin and Saladin agreed on a two-year truce, and Saladin also made a treaty with Raymond of Tripoli.

When Emperor Manuel died at Constantinople in 1180, his son Alexius II was only eleven. Empress Maria from Antioch was the first Latin to rule the Byzantine empire and was resented along with Venetian, Pisan, and Genoese merchants, who seemed to be robbing the empire of its wealth. Andronicus Comnenus was called back from Pontus in 1182 and led an insurrection of the army that forced out Maria and slaughtered many Italian merchants. Rivals, including young Alexius, were murdered, and the 62-year-old Andronicus married his 12-year-old widow Agnes of France. However, after the revolution Andronicus cleaned up corruption, disciplined the system of justice, made the wealthy pay taxes, and helped the peasants. Andronicus gave officials "the choice between ceasing to cheat and ceasing to live;" but his ruthless executions and suppression of the landed aristocracy weakened the military. Hungarian king Bela III (r. 1173-1196) had regained in 1181 the territories Manuel had conquered, and two years later the allied Hungarians and Serbians sacked Belgrade, Branicevo, Nis, and Sofia. After news arrived in 1185 that a Sicilian army had ravaged Thessalonica, a riot resulted. When Andronicus ordered Isaac Angelus arrested, he took refuge in St. Sophia; a crowd gathered and proclaimed him emperor. Andronicus fled, was captured, tortured, and killed by a mob.

Corruption returned as Emperor Isaac Angelus sold offices and allowed tax collectors to extort money. He made a deferential treaty with the King of Sicily. In Bulgaria when the brothers Peter and Asen claimed lands as grants of pronoiai, Isaac led his army against them in 1186; but they were supported by Serbian Grand Zupan Stephen Nemanja, and a rebellion in Anatolia caused Isaac to make a treaty that recognized a revived Bulgarian empire.

Guy of Lusignan married Sibyl at Easter 1180 and was given Jaffa and Ascalon as fiefs. The new Jerusalem patriarch Heraclius was corrupt and excommunicated his rival, the historian William of Tyre, who fled to Rome and died, perhaps of poisoning. In 1181 Reginald could not resist raiding a Muslim caravan despite the truce and would not return the goods after Saladin and Baldwin insisted he do so. So Saladin captured 1500 pilgrims, but still Reginald would not trade for them. After the deaths of the rulers in Mosul and Aleppo, Saladin waited until the truce ended and then attacked; but the fortifications of Mosul were too strong. While Saladin was camped near Aleppo, Bohemond III made a four-year truce with him. After much maneuvering Saladin finally captured Aleppo in 1183 and then returned to his capital at Damascus. The powerful Saladin used diplomacy to gain friendly relations with the Seljuk sultan of Anatolia; he had made a treaty with Constantinople in 1181, and he maintained good relations with Isaac Angelus and Isaac Comnenus, who had declared Cyprus independent.

After King Baldwin IV lost the use of his arms and legs because of leprosy, he was persuaded to let Sibyl's husband Guy be regent except for Jerusalem. In 1182 Reginald began attacking caravans to Mecca and took Aila; his naval forces sacked the Nubian port of Aidib, burned shipping near Medina, and sank a ship of pilgrims. Saladin's brother Malik al-Adil, Governor of Egypt, sent a fleet that recaptured Aila and sent Franks from Reginald's fleet to be sacrificed at Mecca or beheaded at Cairo. In 1183 Saladin crossed the Jordan and invaded Palestine; but he could not lure the Franks out for a fight and withdrew. Quarreling with Guy, Baldwin deposed him and made a will leaving the regency to Raymond of Tripoli for his heir, Sibyl's child Baldwin V. Raymond declined guardianship of the sickly boy lest he die, and that job was given to Joscelin III. Baldwin IV died in March 1185, and Raymond tried to make a four-year truce with Saladin because the Christians were in danger of starving. Baldwin V died the following year. While Raymond was out of the way, Sibyl was crowned queen by Patriarch Heraclius, and then she crowned her husband Guy king. Baldwin of Ibelin refused his fealty and went to Bohemond at Antioch.

Late in 1186 Reginald raided a lucrative caravan, killing its soldiers and imprisoning the merchants and their families in his castle at Kerak. Saladin complained, but Guy could not get Reginald to give them back. Bohemond of Antioch renewed his truce with Saladin, and Raymond of Tripoli made a truce too. Guy had taken Beirut from Raymond, who would not join Guy unless it was returned. Raymond even allowed a Muslim army to pass through his territory. Gerard of Ridfort led his Knights Templar against the army of thousands. Sixty knights were killed, and forty men from Nazareth were captured; only Gerard and two other knights escaped. This massacre caused Raymond to renounce his truce with Saladin and submit to King Guy.

Count Raymond persuaded Guy not to attack Tiberias, even though it was Raymond's city, and his wife was trapped there; but later Gerard incited Guy to attack. On July 4, 1187 the Frank army was encircled by Saladin's massive army and deprived of water near Lake Tiberias at Hattin, where the parched soldiers were badly defeated. Many prisoners were taken. Saladin gave King Guy cool water to drink but executed the insolent Reginald with his own sword. He allowed fanatical Muslims (including Sufis) to behead the captured Templars and Hospitallers. The barons were sent to Damascus, and the poor were sold as slaves. The price of prisoners fell to three dinars. Saladin moved his army to Acre, which was surrendered by Joscelin. Other garrisons held out briefly before capitulating. Saladin's brother al-Adil brought an army from Egypt and besieged resisting Jaffa; when it was stormed, all the inhabitants were sold. The Muslims passed by strong Tyre, but Sidon surrendered. Ascalon was besieged and capitulated. Gerard commanded the Templar garrison at Gaza to surrender, and they obeyed.

Jerusalem now had only two knights; but Balian of Ibelin was given safe conduct there to get his wife, Queen Maria, and he was persuaded to stay and command their defense. Balian asked Saladin for terms; but he threatened a massacre like the crusaders had done in 1099 until Balian threatened to kill all the Muslim inhabitants and destroy the entire city. Saladin offered to ransom each man for ten dinars, each woman for five, and each child for one. In addition he would release all 20,000 poor people, who could not afford that, for 100,000 dinars; but only 30,000 dinars was raised for 7,000. Thus many captives were sold. Some money came from England Henry II's donation for a future crusade; but the avaricious Patriarch Heraclius actually left with church gold that could have purchased others' freedom, and the Templars and Hospitallers were reluctant to part with their treasure. Eventually the generous Saladin paid to release captive husbands, widows, and orphans. Tyre only accepted refugees who could fight; Tripoli had to close its gates; and most refugees ended up at Antioch. When Italian merchants refused to transport them for free, the Egyptian authorities would not let them sail until they did. Saladin encouraged Muslims and Jews to settle in Jerusalem, and at the request of Isaac Angelus he granted Christian holy places to the Orthodox Church.

By the end of 1187 more than fifty major cities and castles had been captured by Saladin's Muslims. Raymond of Tripoli died of pleurisy. The Egyptian army besieged Kerak, which held out for a year. Jabalah and Latakia surrendered in July 1188. Bohemond of Antioch gained a truce by recognizing all the Muslim conquests. Conrad arrived in a ship at Tyre, and Saladin threatened to kill his father, the Marquis of Montferrat; but the merciful Saladin did not do so and gave up the siege of Tyre, as most of his soldiers wanted to go home. King William II of Sicily (r. 1166-1189) sent a fleet led by Margarit and 200 knights to Tyre, and Conrad of Montferrat assigned them to defend Tripoli in the summer of 1188.

Pope Urban III died soon after hearing the news that Jerusalem had been captured. His successor Gregory VIII sent out a circular letter calling for a crusade and urging a truce for seven years between Christian princes, but he died too after two months. Pope Clement III contacted Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and sent Archbishop Joscius of Tyre on to France and England. There King Henry had received a letter from Antioch patriarch Aimery, and his son Richard took up the cross. Henry and King Philip of France were at war; but they made a truce, raised special taxes, and committed themselves to the crusade. When Henry died, Richard was crowned king of England. In 1189 several hundred Danish and Flemish ships arrived in Syria. A fleet from London stopped to help Portuguese king Sancho take the fortress of Silves from invading Muslims from Morocco.

Having experienced the crusade forty-two years earlier, German Emperor Friedrich knew his way from Ratisbon through Hungary. From Vienna about 500 prostitutes, thieves, and wastrels were sent back to Germany. This time Serbs and Bulgarians were rebelling against excessive Byzantine taxes, and Friedrich had to negotiate to keep the rebels from attacking his stragglers. When Emperor Isaac imprisoned Friedrich's envoys, the latter's son Friedrich of Swabia captured Didymotichum and asked the Pope to bless a crusade against the Greeks. Isaac released the envoys, gave Friedrich hostages, and promised him ships to cross the Dardanelles. The Germans tried diplomacy with Kilij Arslan II in Anatolia; but they still encountered resistance. Near Seleucia the elderly Friedrich died in a river, probably of heart failure. Many German knights returned to Europe; some went on to Tyre; and Friedrich of Swabia led others to Antioch, where Prince Bohemond welcomed them. After Friedrich left, the Byzantines defeated Stephen Nemanja's Serbians in 1190, regaining lost territory; but the Byzantine army failed to take the Bulgarian capital at Turnovo, and four years later in 1194 they were defeated at Arcadiopolis.

Sicily king William II had married Joan, daughter of English king Henry II; but William died in November 1189 and named Henry as his heir. Tancred was elected to replace him and recalled his forces from Palestine. As Henry had also died, King Richard stopped in Sicily to collect the legacy and protect the dowry of his sister Joan. Richard freed his sister and attacked an island off Messina, where his soldiers rudely drove the monks out of a Greek convent. Mistreatment of women by English soldiers caused a riot. France's King Philip was in Messina and tried to pacify Richard with the local archbishop; but Richard attacked and let his men pillage the city; the Sicilian fleet in the harbor was burned. Tancred offered Richard 20,000 ounces of gold for the legacy and the same for Joan as her dowry; Richard accepted and returned confiscated goods. Philip and Richard agreed on rules for the crusade that controlled food prices, devoted half of every deceased knight's money to the crusade, limited gambling, and ordered debts contracted to be honored; offenders were to be excommunicated.

Richard also stopped at Cyprus, which Isaac Comnenus had been ruling independently for five years, calling himself an emperor and enriching himself with exorbitant taxes. Joan's ship had wrecked there, and Isaac had arrested Richard's men. In May 1191 Richard was joined by some crusaders led by Guy who opposed Conrad and Philip. Richard married Berengaria, princess of Navarre, and she was crowned queen of England. Poisoned arrows may have been used as Richard's soldiers defeated Isaac, who fled and surrendered as the island was taken. Richard gained Isaac's exploited treasure and levied half the capital of every Greek. Two Englishmen were put in charge, and the Greeks not only had no say in government but were forced to shave off their beards.

Richard arrived at Acre with 25 ships on June 8, 1191. For nearly two years the besieging army of about 100,000 crusaders that included Genoese, Venetians, Pisans, Danes, Frisians, Italians, Germans, Franks, and English had been trapped there by Saladin's army, which in the next few weeks was reinforced by the army of Sinjar, Egyptian troops, and soldiers from Mosul, Shaizar, and Hamah. Famines and disease had killed many, especially during the two winters. In July 1190 10,000 mutineering soldiers had attacked Saladin's camp; but the cavalry did not support them, and most were killed. Now Richard and Philip quarreled over the legacy of Flanders count Philip, who had just died without heirs, and Philip demanded half of Cyprus. On July 12, 1191 besieged Acre capitulated, promising to pay 200,000 gold dinars and release about 1500 Christian prisoners. Saladin had not approved this treaty but said he would honor it. As the crusaders occupied Acre, Leopold of Austria was insulted when Richard had his flag taken down. Philip decided to go home and promised Richard he would not attack his French territories while Richard was on the crusade.

Richard now took command of the army and complained that Saladin was not making full installment payments nor releasing all the prisoners. Richard ordered the captured Acre garrison of 2700 men executed, and their wives and children were also slaughtered; only a few nobles were kept to ransom. Fighting continued sporadically as Richard marched his army south down the coast. Saladin's brother al-Adid tried to negotiate, but Richard demanded all of Palestine. Saladin had Jaffa and Ascalon destroyed and fortified Jerusalem by poisoning the wells around it and cutting down the fruit trees. Richard gained more money when he sold Cyprus to the Templars. The crusaders approached Jerusalem but realized they would not be able to hold it after most crusaders went home. So Richard took his army and rebuilt Ascalon; but Conrad refused to join him, and the Franks led by Hugh of Burgundy left and went to Acre, where conflict between the Pisans and Genoese erupted into war. Richard tried to settle the dispute and then returned to Ascalon.

Al-Adil offered Richard access by Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem with Latin priests and the annexation of Beirut. Richard learned that John was usurping his authority in England and at a council allowed Conrad to be elected king over Guy. Conrad prayed to be crowned only if he was worthy, and a few days later he was murdered in the street by two Assassins sent by Sinan, probably because Conrad had refused to return goods of theirs he had raided. Conrad's widow Isabella was only 21, and she married Henri of Champagne, making him king at Acre. The deposed Guy was sold Cyprus, which the Templars no longer wanted. Richard's army attacked Darum, killing and enslaving the garrison. Once again the crusaders approached Jerusalem and plundered a rich caravan near Hebron; but at Jaffa Richard asked for a truce. While Richard went to seize Beirut before departing, Saladin's army attacked Jaffa; Saladin could not control the angry Muslims and told the garrison to stay in the citadel. Richard arrived by ship and courageously recaptured Jaffa as Saladin retreated.

Finally on September 2, 1192 Richard and Saladin signed a truce for three years, giving the Christians the coastal cities as far south as Jaffa and access to the holy places. Muslims and Christians were to be allowed access through each other's territories in Palestine, and Ascalon was to be demolished. Richard's ship was forced to stop at Corfu, but he escaped. Shipwrecked at Aquileia, Richard was captured crossing Austria and was taken to Leopold, who imprisoned him for the murder of Conrad for three months before handing him over to Emperor Heinrich VI, who kept Richard imprisoned a year, ransoming him in March 1194.

Six months after the 1192 truce was signed, Saladin died at Damascus and was survived by two brothers and seventeen sons, who divided and struggled for his power. The oldest son al-Afdal claimed Damascus but had to cede Judea to his brother al-Aziz, who already ruled Egypt; another son az-Zahr, who governed Aleppo, was given Latakia and Jabala for his recognition of al-Afdal as sultan. Saladin's brother al-Adil negotiated the settlement and intervened in the civil war, first for al-Afdal and then for al-Aziz, who then became sultan in 1196. Al-Aziz fell from his horse and died in late 1198. Al-Afdal tried to regain control, but by the end of 1201 al-Adil was sultan of Saladin's entire empire. The truce and these struggles between Muslims gave the Franks in Palestine and Syria a respite from the Muslim war. In the east Khorezm-Shah Tokush (r. 1172-1200) invaded Khurasan about 1190 and killed the last Seljuk sultan Tughrul III in 1194; but Caliph an-Nasir (r. 1180-1225) refused to recognize Khorezm-Shah as sultan at Baghdad, and for eight years war devastated the Fars economy. An-Nasir turned the brotherhood societies (futuwah) into obedient orders of chivalry. He also controlled education by issuing teaching licenses and persuaded the philosopher Suhrawardi to found a religious order. Khorezmians, led by the son of Tokush, Muhammad (r. 1200-1220), drove the Kara-Kitai out of the Oxus basin and invaded Persia.

In 1193 Henri of Champagne arrested plotting Pisans at Tyre. When Pisans reacted by raiding villages between Tyre and Acre, Henri expelled them from Acre, though this was resolved after King Guy died at Cyprus the next year. Amalric of Lusignan became king of Cyprus by doing homage to German emperor Heinrich VI and was crowned there in 1197. Antioch prince Bohemond III had been invited to Baghras in 1193 and then arrested by Armenian prince Leon II (r. 1187-1219). Antioch set up a commune and appealed to Bohemond's sons Raymond and Bohemond of Tripoli and to Henri of Champagne. German Chancellor Conrad had attended Amalric's coronation and was also present when the Roupenid prince Leon II was crowned king of Cilician Armenia by the Mainz archbishop in January 1198. Conrad was leading a new German crusade that invaded Galilee and besieged Toron until they learned that Heinrich VI had died, resulting in civil war in Germany. Then the Germans fled as an Egyptian army approached, and most returned to Europe. Once again a German crusade had accomplished little, although they did establish an order of Teutonic Knights.

Al-Adil led Muslim forces in an attack on Jaffa, which Henri of Champagne offered to King Amalric of Cyprus. After Henri died falling from a window, Amalric came to Acre, married Isabella, and in 1198 he was crowned King of Jerusalem (even though the Muslims held Jerusalem). In July of that year King Amalric II signed a treaty with al-Adil recognizing Frank control of Jaffa, Jebail, and Beirut while Sidon was divided. In late 1198 Bohemond of Tripoli persuaded the Antioch commune to accept him in place of his father Bohemond III, who died in 1201. In 1204 the peace treaty between Amalric and al-Adil was renewed for six more years, and Sidon was ceded to Amalric, who died in 1205. Queen Isabella soon died, and John of Ibelin acted as regent for her daughter Maria of Montferrat.

Crusades to Constantinople and Egypt 1198-1250

In 1195 Byzantine emperor Isaac II was blinded and put in prison by his brother Alexius III. Isaac's son Alexius was also imprisoned, but he escaped in 1201 to the German court of his sister Irene Angelina, wife of Philip of Swabia. Philip and Boniface discussed with Alexius how they might help him become Byzantine emperor. While Emperor Alexius tried to negotiate with the Bulgarians, Greek intrigues resulted in the murders of the brothers Asen and Peter, but their youngest brother John Kalojan (r. 1197-1207) annexed much of Macedonia into the Bulgarian empire.

Innocent III became Pope in 1198 and encouraged a new crusade by sending out popular preacher Fulk of Neuilly and asking the clergy to contribute a fortieth of their annual revenue. At a tournament Theobald of Champagne took the cross and led the movement until he died in 1201 and was replaced by Boniface of Montferrat. Theobald had negotiated with Venice for transport of the crusaders, and they offered to do that and supply them for six months for five marks per horse and two marks per man with an expected total of 85,000 marks for 4,500 knights, 9,000 squires, and 20,000 infantry; also half of all conquests were to go to Venice. Although the goal was to regain Jerusalem, the strategy was to attack Cairo first. Since the Franks were 34,000 silver marks short, aged Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo suggested that the crusading army help Venice regain Zara, which in 1186 had gone over to Hungary's King Bela III. Pope Innocent sent a complaint; but in November 1202 the Venetian navy with crusaders assaulted Zara, which capitulated and was pillaged; Venetians and crusaders even fought each other over the spoils. Pope Innocent absolved the crusaders who restored what they took illegally and promised not to commit a similar offense; but the Venetians were excommunicated.

Philip of Swabia sent word to Boniface that Alexius would pay Venice what the crusaders owe if they would put him on the Byzantine throne. Thus the crusade was diverted from an attack on Muslims to regain holy places to an attack on the Byzantine empire to gain money. Alexius was accepted as Emperor at Dyrrachium (Durazzo) and at Corfu. Frank crusaders, who wanted to leave, were promised that ships would be made available to take them to Syria later if they remained. Constantinople was conquered in July 1203 as Alexius III fled to Mosynopolis in Thrace. The blind Isaac was put on the throne to stop the fighting, and Alexius IV was crowned as his father's co-emperor. Alexius had promised to unite the church with Latin usage, but these were very unpopular. The Byzantine treasury was not sufficient to pay the Venetian debt; more taxes and melting down of church treasures were also resented. Venetians agreed to hold their fleet in readiness for another year. After a quarter of the city burned when a mosque for visiting Muslims was torched, the Latins left Constantinople and joined the crusaders' camp. Nationalists led by Alexius Mourtzouphlus revolted in January 1204. A month later the people deposed Alexius IV, who was strangled in prison, followed a few days later by his father's death. Mourtzouphlus was proclaimed Alexius V.

Crusading Franks and Venetians agreed to divide the wealth of the city, which they stormed in April 1204. Mourtzouphlus fled to Thrace while the Patriarch and others went to Anatolia. The soldiers were given three days to pillage, murder, and rape; even nuns in convents were not safe from these "Christians." Immense Byzantine treasures were looted, and many relics ended up in western Europe. Six Franks and six Venetians elected Count Baldwin IX of Flanders and Hainault Latin emperor. For their three-eighths the Venetians took the district that included St. Sophia and installed Thomas Morosini as the new patriarch; Venice also got much of Greece. The crusaders were to get as fiefs an equal share of the empire with Venice, while Emperor Baldwin was given the quarter around Constantinople. Baldwin sold Crete to Venice, and so many knights were given fiefs that Palestine lost much of its lure. Pope Innocent III realized the difficulty of getting the Greeks to accept the Latin church when he asked, "How can the church of the Greeks be expected to return to devotion to the apostolic see, when it has seen the Latins setting an example of evil?"1

With the help of his aunt, Queen Thamar of Georgia, David Comnenus established a dynasty at Trebizond along the Black Sea. The main legacy of the Byzantine empire was headed by Theodore Lascaris, whose wife Anna was the daughter of Alexius III; they established a court at Nicaea. Mourtzouphlus joined his father-in-law at Mosynopolis. After Mourtzouphlus married the daughter of Alexius III, his eyes were torn out by Alexius. Boniface for consolation was given Thessalonica, because he had recently married the King of Hungary's sister. He and Emperor Baldwin quarreled over Thessalonica and Demotika; but the historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin mediated a peace between them.

Bulgarian czar Kalojan, who was also called Ioannitsa (r. 1197-1207), with Kuman allies invaded Thrace, and in 1205 they defeated the Latin forces as Baldwin was captured. His brother Henry as regent made a treaty with Venice in which the Venetians promised to fight for the new Latin empire. When Paulicians offered to give Philippopolis to Kalojan, Renier of Trit burned down the Paulician quarter. Greeks helped Latins defend the city against the Bulgarians; but after a siege Kalojan's forces burned Philippopolis and massacred the Greeks. While Kalojan besieged Adrianople, Henry became Emperor of Romania in 1206 since his brother Baldwin was presumed dead. The war with the Bulgarians caused Henry in 1207 to make a two-year truce with Theodore Lascaris, who was crowned Greek emperor at Nicaea in 1208 by newly appointed Patriarch Michael Autoreianus. After Bulgarian czar Boril was defeated at Philippopolis in 1208, he made peace. Geoffrey of Villehardouin and William of Champlitte led the conquest of the Peloponnese called Morea, and the latter became prince of Achaea. In southern Epirus Greeks were led by Michael Ducas Angelus Comnenus, who had deserted Boniface. Supported by Armenians from the Troad, the Latins captured the blind Mourtzouphlus and made him jump to his death from a pillar in the forum.

Geoffrey of Villehardouin founded a dynasty when he became prince of Achaea in 1209. That year Venice mediated a secret alliance between the Latin empire and Seljuk sultan of Rum, Kai-Khusrau, while Theodore Lascaris turned to King Leon II of Cilician Armenia. Former emperor Alexius III joined the Seljuks, who fought for his claim; but they were defeated by Theodore's Greeks and 800 Latin mercenaries in 1211; Kai-Khusrau was killed, and Alexius III spent the rest of his life in a monastery. After more battles Henry made a treaty with Theodore in 1214. Henry reopened the Greek churches but died in 1216. His successor Peter was crowned Emperor outside the walls of Rome by Pope Honorius III in 1217; but after besieging Dyrrachium he was captured by Theodore of Epirus and died in prison. His wife Yolanda ruled as Empress in Constantinople until she died in 1219. Her daughter Mary married Theodore Lascaris, who in 1219 made a five-year treaty with Venice granting them free trade in the Nicaean empire. The future doge Jacob Teipolo also made a trade treaty for Venice with the Seljuks of Rum the following year. Meanwhile in the Balkans John Asen had captured Turnovo in 1218 after a seven-year siege; he blinded Boril and became king of the Vlachs and Bulgarians until 1241, marrying a Hungarian relative of Robert. Robert of Courtenay was crowned Emperor at Constantinople by Patriarch Matthew in 1221.

In Palestine the kingdom of Jerusalem had truces with Aiyubid sultan al-Adil from 1194 to 1210. John of Brienne married Queen Maria in 1210, and two years later he renewed a truce with al-Adil for five more years. In Antioch Bohemond IV (r. 1187-1233) struggled against revolts led by Armenian king Leon II. Rumors of a crusade against Egypt in 1212 caused 3,000 European merchants in Alexandria to be arrested. In Europe 1212 was the year popular movements of children tried to go on crusades from France and Germany. Several thousand children led by a 12-year-old to Marseilles were disillusioned when the sea did not part for them. Some who took ships either died at sea or were sold as slaves in Africa. Children from Germany walked from Cologne to Genoa, but Pope Innocent III told them to go home. Pope Innocent III still wanted to launch another crusade and announced it at the Lateran Council of 1215. The next year preachers were sent throughout Europe as far as Scandinavia and Ireland. After Innocent died, Pope Honorius III continued the effort and demanded a tax of one-twentieth to support the crusade. Hungarian king Andrew II and Duke Leopold VI of Austria led substantial armies, but transport was delayed until late in 1217. At Acre the eager crusaders joined with King John and sacked Beisan; Andrew captured relics east of the Jordan but then returned home.

In 1218 crusaders embarked in Frisian ships from Acre to invade Egypt, where al-Adil's son al-Kamil had a trade treaty with Venice since 1208. While the crusaders besieged Damietta on the delta of the Nile, Pope Honorius spent 20,000 silver marks to equip a fleet headed by his legate Cardinal Pelagius. Fear of an internal conspiracy caused al-Kamil to retreat, and the crusaders took the tower of the chain controlling the channel. Al-Kamil's brother, Sultan al-Mu'azzam, who had demolished the walls of Jerusalem so that it could be given to the crusaders in a peace treaty, came to help defend Egypt. The offer to give crusaders Jerusalem and access to their holy places in exchange for evacuating Egypt was favored by King John and the Frank leaders from Syria; but Pelagius, supported by Italians, Templars, and Hospitallers, refused this Muslim offer of a thirty-year truce. Francis of Assisi tried to make peace by meeting with al-Kamil, but Pelagius continued to resist a truce. In November 1219 the crusaders conquered starving Damietta, though John and Pelagius quarreled and compromised that John should rule it until Friedrich of Germany joined the crusade.

The next year King John returned to Palestine to counter an attack on Caesarea by Damascus governor al-Mu'azzam. Also in 1220 al-Kamil's revived navy devastated the crusader fleet off Cyprus, capturing thousands of prisoners. John returned to Egypt in 1221; but an advance led by Pelagius resulted in his army being surrounded by the Egyptian forces and devastated by floods. Pelagius now had to beg for peace and accepted an eight-year truce and remained a hostage with King John and others until the crusaders evacuated Damietta. This crusade aroused renewed fanaticism among Muslims for holy war. Although al-Kamil himself favored tolerance, Christians in Egypt were punished with persecution by angry Muslims and heavy taxes.

In 1221 Azerbaijan escaped a Mongol attack by paying tribute, but the Georgian army led by King George IV was badly defeated at Khumani by the invading Mongols. Under Genghis Khan the Mongols conquered most of Persia; but when he went back to Mongolia, Jalal-ad-Din came back from India to lead the Khorezmian army. By 1225 he had taken Persia and Azerbaijan from the Mongols and invaded Georgia; the next year Jalal-ad-Din ruled from Baghdad. A large Mongol army returned to Persia in 1231; Jalal-ad-Din fled and died in Kurdistan. Mongol general Chormakan annexed northern Persia and Azerbaijan, governing them for ten years and invading Georgia in 1236. The Trebizond kingdom was defeated by the Mongols and paid tribute. The Mongol general Baiju served Prince Batu Khan, and in 1243 his army defeated Seljuk sultan Kai-Khusrau, who fled to Armenia; but he and Armenian king Hetoum both had to submit to the Mongols.

In 1224 the Greek despot Theodore of Epirus invaded and took over the Latin kingdom of Thessalonica from King Demetrius, who fled to Italy. After Latin emperor Robert secretly married a humble Frank woman, Frank knights mutilated her, causing Robert to flee and complain to the Pope in Rome; but while returning, Robert died in Greece in 1228. His eleven-year-old brother Baldwin II succeeded but was under a regency and then was co-emperor with John of Brienne until 1237 as the Latin empire shrunk. In 1222 John Vatatzes succeeded his father-in-law Theodore Lascaris as Greek emperor at Nicaea. In 1225 his army won a victory, and in the treaty Latin territory in Asia Minor was reduced to that surrounding Nicomedia and Constantinople. Theodore of Epirus attacked the Bulgarian empire of John Asen II (r. 1218-1241) but was defeated at Klokotinitsa in 1230; Theodore was captured and blinded.

German emperor Friedrich II had been promising to go on a crusade since 1215 but kept delaying because of conflicts in Italy. Bohemond IV got the Antioch citadel away from the Hospitallers and was excommunicated by Pelagius. The crusader's king John of Brienne went to Rome and visited his friend, France's King Philip, who died while John was there in 1223 and left him 50,000 marks for the kingdom of Jerusalem. In Castile John married King Fernando III's sister Berengaria. In 1225 John's daughter Yolanda (Isabel) married Emperor Friedrich and was crowned Queen of Jerusalem by Patriarch Ralph at Tyre. Friedrich's soldiers believed that John was no longer king and took some of the money Philip had given. Yolanda gave birth to Conrad but died before Friedrich reached Palestine. Friedrich was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for delaying so long but then left before being absolved. After al-Mu'azzam died in late 1227, al-Kamil invaded Palestine and took Jerusalem and Nablus; but when challenged by his brother al-Ashraf, Aiyubid ruler of the Jazira, al-Kamil divided the lands left to al-Mu'azzam's son an-Nasir with al-Ashraf. An-Nasir fled to Damascus, where he was besieged by his uncles' armies.

After visiting Cyprus, Friedrich arrived in Palestine and in 1229 made a treaty with al-Kamil, getting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and a narrow corridor to the coast; but Friedrich, who was brought up with Muslims in Sicily and knew Arabic, agreed to let Muslims keep their holy places in Jerusalem's temple area. The treaty was to last ten years, and all prisoners on both sides were to be released. Friedrich entered Jerusalem, but his treaty was very unpopular with many who doubted Jerusalem could be defended and for religious reasons; the Patriarch placed the city under interdict, and Friedrich had to place the crown on his head himself. Few besides the Teutonic knights supported his autocratic ways. His visit to Acre was spoiled by riots and fighting. Friedrich appointed Balian of Sidon and Warner the German as baillis and departed to Italy. At San Germano Friedrich was reconciled with Pope Gregory IX, and the interdict was lifted.

The result of Friedrich's crusade was civil war in Cyprus and Palestine. In 1231 Friedrich sent an army under Marshal Richard Filangieri as his imperial legate, and they attacked Beirut. These were opposed in the on-going war by forces of John of Ibelin, recently elected mayor of Acre and regent for young Henry of Cyprus. Barons were victorious and declared Henry I king of Cyprus in 1233. Struggles over Damascus and the death of al-Kamil in 1238 led to a civil war among the Muslims. Before the treaty expired in 1239, Pope Gregory IX sent out preachers for another crusade. Navarre king Theobald of Champagne responded, and his crusaders left Acre and encountered an Egyptian army led by Mamluk Rukn ad-Din Baybars in November 1239. Henry of Bar was lured into a trap and was killed along with a thousand crusaders as 600 were captured. An-Nasir of Kerak then captured Jerusalem and destroyed its fortifications before withdrawing. The next year Theobald returned to Europe; but Richard Plantagenet arrived from England and went to Ascalon, where he confirmed a treaty made by the Hospitallers with the Egyptians, recovering most of the land west of the Jordan. Richard also left in 1241, and the next year Templars, defying his treaty, raided Hebron. When an-Nasir reacted by levying tolls on the road to Jerusalem, the Templars sacked Nablus and massacred the inhabitants, including Christians.

Nicaean emperor John Vatatzes (r. 1222-1254) made an alliance with the Bulgarians in 1235, and together they besieged Constantinople until John Asen changed sides to join the Latins in attacking the Greeks, though he made peace with Nicaea in 1237. That year Michael II Angelus (r. 1237-1271) founded the kingdom of Epirus in Albania. In Anatolia Turkomans led by Baba Ishaq revolted against the Seljuks in 1239 and resisted their army for two years. In 1240 Theodore Angelus overthrew his brother Manuel and took over Thessalonica, proclaiming his son John emperor; but two years later John Vatatzes attacked Thessalonica and made John his vassal. The Mongol threat caused Vatatzes to withdraw though his Nicaean empire later conquered Thrace and part of Macedonia. In 1244 John Vatatzes married Friedrich II's daughter Constance, and he expanded his empire to the east while the Turks were invading Mongols. Demetrius was the last ruler of Thessalonica for two years but was imprisoned in 1246; Andronicus Paleologus was appointed governor of the Nicaean empire in Europe, and his son Michael became governor of Seres and Melnik, which had been taken from Bulgaria.

John Vatatzes fell in love with an Italian marchioness, a maid of honor to his queen, and did not give her up until after Blemmydes was acquitted of treason after insulting her in church. The Emperor could not punish an honest man who was so popular with both the religious puritans and the chauvinists. Emperor John Vatatzes was later declared a saint for his beneficent rule that relieved the poor, founded hospitals, provided homes for the aged, built churches, and fortified the frontiers. Soldiers, including Kumans, were settled on small holdings of land, and the imperial estates were models of agriculture, viticulture, and stock breeding. Foreign articles of luxury were prohibited to stimulate the domestic economy.

Strife between the imperialists supporting Friedrich and the crusaders loyal to the Pope continued, and barons meeting at Acre in 1243 announced they would not recognize the authority of Friedrich's son Conrad unless he ruled in person; they gave allegiance to Cyprus dowager queen Alice and her young husband Ralph, Count of Soissons, until she died in 1246. Also in 1243 the Templars had gained a diplomatic victory by getting the Muslims to withdraw from their holy places in Jerusalem. The next year the Templars got the barons to intervene on behalf of Isma'il of Damascus in his war with As-Salih Aiyub, who ruled Egypt (1240-1249). Aiyub purchased a thousand slaves that Genoese brought from the Black Sea port of Caffa. These Mamluks (slaves) were trained to fight at Bahr on the Nile and became the nucleus of the coming Mamluk power. Homs prince al-Mansur Ibrahim offered Franks in Acre part of Egypt; but Aiyub hired a Khorezmian army of 10,000. The Khorezmians sacked Tiberias, Nablus, and Jerusalem, massacring Armenian monks and nuns. Six thousand surrendered; but 2,000 were killed trying to return to Jerusalem, and of the rest only 300 survived the attacks by bandits on the way to Jaffa. The priests remaining in Jerusalem were slain, and churches were burned as the city was pillaged.

In 1244 as most of their Muslim allies fled, the army of the Franks was caught near Gaza between the armies of the Khorezmians and the Egyptians led by the outstanding Mamluk general Rukn ad-Din Baybars. The crusaders attacked the Egyptian army, but the Frank army was annihilated as about 5,000 were killed, and 800 were taken as prisoners to Egypt. When the Khorezmians were kept out of Egypt, they raided Palestine before joining the Egyptian siege of Damascus in 1245. Isma'il surrendered Damascus; but the unrewarded Khorezmians turned against Aiyub and besieged him at Damascus; then Isma'il joined the Egyptians in wiping out most of the Khorezmian army. Next the Egyptian army besieged Ascalon and stormed the city in 1247, killing and capturing the inhabitants. In 1245 Pope Innocent IV sent the Franciscan Lorenzo of Orta to give Greeks equal rights if they accepted Papal authority, and efforts by Franciscan and Dominican preachers to unite the Latin and Greek churches were encouraged by Patriarch Albert of Antioch.

King Louis IX of France was still a young man of 30 when he nearly died of malaria in 1244 and vowed to go on crusade. Champagne seneschal Joinville described the crusades King Louis led from personal observation. Once the king asked Joinville if he wanted to be honored in the world, and then Louis said,

If so, you should deliberately avoid saying or doing anything
which, if it became generally known,
you would be ashamed to acknowledge
by saying "I did this," or "I said that.'2

Louis prided himself on virtue and raised money for the crusade with extra taxes that included the clergy. Venetians opposed the crusade, and in 1249 they began attacking Genoese and Pisans ships along the Syrian coast. King Louis led a squadron to Egypt, and in June 1249 the Franks captured Damietta. Though they suffered hunger and disease during the summer, Louis refused to trade Damietta for Jerusalem. The next year 290 Templars that included English knights tried to take Mansurah; but only five survived. Turan-shah succeeded his father Aiyub as sultan of Egypt and arrived from Damascus. After the crusaders lost 112 ships, famine led to dysentery and typhoid. Louis tried to negotiate a retreat for Damietta; but a rumor they had surrendered resulted in the capture of the large crusading army. Damietta became the ransom for King Louis, and after the murder of Turan-shah by Baybars, the crusaders ended up paying 800,000 bezants. Louis and the barons sailed to Acre, but the wounded left at Damietta were massacred by the Egyptians.

To the west as the Almohad empire was declining in the Maghrib, their caliph al-Sa'id tried to reconquer territory but was killed in an ambush in 1248. His successor al-Murtada reigned over a small kingdom until 1266; but the Marinids conquered Marrakesh in 1269 and destroyed the remaining Almohads at Tinmal in 1275.

Louis still believed in the crusade and asked for reinforcements; but the Italian Salimbene reported that Franciscans and Dominicans who still preached the crusade were publicly insulted. An-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo took over Damascus, and their army invaded Egypt; but they were defeated by the army of Aybak and fled. An-Nasir Yusuf offered Louis Jerusalem for an alliance against Egypt; but Louis used that leverage to get Aibek to release all his prisoners from Egypt by 1252. An-Nasir Yusuf kept his foes apart by taking Jaffa, and the Mamluks stayed in Egypt. Louis also used diplomacy to arrange an alliance with the Assassins. In 1253 Caliph al-Musta'sim from Baghdad was able to reconcile an-Nasir Yusuf and the Mamluks. Troubles at home caused Louis to sail from Acre in 1254; but before he left, he made a truce with Damascus that would last two and a half years.

Crusaders and Byzantine Decline 1250-1400

Notes

1. Quoted in The Later Crusades 1189-1311 ed. Robert Lee Wolff, p. 197.
2. Joinville, The Life of Saint Louis tr. Margaret R. B. Shaw, p. 168.

Copyright © 2001-2009 by Sanderson Beck

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ROMAN EMPIRE 30 BC to 610
MEDIEVAL EUROPE 1250-1400

Contents
Byzantine Empire 610-1095
Franks and Anglo-Saxons 613-899
Vikings and Feudal Europe 900-1095
Crusaders, Greeks, and Muslims
Central and Eastern Europe 1095-1250
Western Europe 1095-1250
Christian Ethics 1095-1250
European Literature 1095-1250
Summary and Evaluation
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