"Dieu li volt!" ("God wills it!"), "Death to the infidels!", so were the cries of the Christian and Muslim armies respectively as they charged into battle. So began the complex, controversial, and deadly campaigns called the Crusades. With Christianity at stake for the people of Europe, and a belief system in jeopardy for the Muslims, there is perhaps no other account in history of battles fought with such zeal and fearlessness by its participants.
In the eleventh century the average person’s life would have been far different from today. Medieval life in Europe was hard and mostly agricultural in nature. The common people lived in small hut like homes with little or no furniture, using the floor as a bed, and no light other than that of a candle if it could be afforded. The majority of this group of people were called serfs, working land for a higher nobleman. As part of a social order known during this time as Feudalism, (a system of rights and obligations establishing classes based on land ownership), these serfs would be given land to work for the nobleman, or knight. In return the lord that owned the land required half of the crops produced but in return would protect the serf from invasion.
In a time when the government had failed to maintain order and protect its citizens, feudalism grew. One of the obligations of the Feudal system for the serf was military service against whomever the lord or knight might be engaged with in battle. This came into play greatly during the Crusades, adding numbers to the ranks of the Soldiers of the Cross. The church held most of the power at the time and was considered the last word on most issues.
It seems from all accounts that the lives of most Muslims, though similar, had distinctive differences. Unlike the people of Europe, with their scattered estates of feudal lords, the bulk of the Muslim population was concentrated into large cities. These cities were full, and according to some French historians, were some of the most magnificent cities in the world. The basic unit of Arab society was the family which, by decree of the Koran (the Muslim holy book), was dominated by the male. Muslim towns were of moderate size, with the mosque (a Muslim church) as the center piece. The Muslim religion called for all the faithful to come to prayer five times a day, and was signaled by a muezzin (an individual who stood on a balcony high on the mosque and called the people to prayer).
The Roman empire had fallen in 476 AD and as a result there was a division between the Christians in the West and Christians in the East. There was an ongoing power struggle between the two for control over Christian Europe. The result was the two factions breaking into separate parts, with the West becoming the Roman Catholic Church under the Pope and the Greek Orthodox Church in the East ruled by the bishop in Constantinople. The Muslim religion, founded in 610 AD by Mohammed, was the religion of what is today most of the middle east, including Palestine and Israel. Even though Islam was the dominant religion in this area, the Latin and Greek churches encouraged pilgrimages to the holy land, which grew into thousands of pilgrims making the trip by 1065 AD. Early in the eleventh century the Muslim ruler Fa-timid Caliph al-Hakim began to persecute the Christian pilgrims. As the century was ending, it looked as though a confrontation between the Christians and Muslims was inevitable.
By this time, the Muslims had expanded their territory within 100 miles of the Eastern Empire and the city of Constantinople. Alexius I Comnenus, ruler over the city grew concerned for his territory and realized he would not be able to drive the Muslims out without military help from the West. With the history of problems between the East and west in mind, Alexius conceived a great plan to help him defend Christianity.
In 1093 AD Alexius sent a letter to the Pope and to the noblemen for military aid in his fight to secure Christianity in Europe. Two and a half years later, after much consideration, Pope Urban II called for the Crusades at the Council of Claremont on November 27, 1095 AD. He called for the French knights to march to the East with two goals, first, to free Christians from Islamic rule and second, to liberate the tomb of Christ. Initially it was the common people rather than the knights who took the challenge. United under a small person, Peter the Hermit, who rode a donkey, and Walter Sans-Avoir, this army grew. Pope Urban, intended for the crusades to be led by knights and other military leaders capable of obtaining the intended goals. However, because the word spread so quickly he had lost control over the exact makeup of the armies. Sometimes referred to as "The Peoples’ Crusade," these battles were originally fought by the first commoners to depart in the spring of 1096.
Though this first wave was motivated by religious beliefs, it was unorganized, which resulted in the bulk of Peter the Hermits’ army being defeated, many killed near Constantinople. The surviving members made their way back to Constantinople to wait for the armies led by Raymond of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Bohemund of Taranto, among others. This second wave of the 1st Crusade became much more successful, liberating towns on their way to the ultimate goal, Jerusalem, which was attacked in June of 1099. The Soldiers of the Cross attacked the city for five weeks, finally taking it and electing Godfrey of Bouillon as guardian of Jerusalem. The result of the first crusade was the capture of Jerusalem and the creation of the Crusader States in the Holy Land.
The first crusade was only the beginning of a stream of armies advancing from the West that would continue for the next 200 years. Although there were seven more crusades to the Holy Land, only the first and third crusades were considered to be successful. The latter because it restored military balance to the French even though it failed to re-capture Jerusalem.
Perhaps one result of the crusades, the Crusader States, stands out the most. Developed after the first crusade, these Crusader States were an attempt to impose the rule of the Catholic Church in the Muslim east. There were four Crusader (Latin) States consisting of Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem. Jerusalem was formally ruled by the Greek emperor in Constantinople and the other three states were under authority of Jerusalem. The crusade leaders of these Latin states however made new vows to follow the Pope in Rome. As a result, the Latin states operated as loosely associated territories rather than a consolidated group of states.
The crusades that followed were attempts to capture or recapture land that was lost, and were seesaw campaigns. By the time of the fourth crusade most of the religious reasons for the crusades had been relegated to the lowest priority, and material gain was the motivation. Although the crusades did create a strong Latin presence in the East, the Muslims are considered the victors of the crusades.
Today Jerusalem and the surrounding areas are still a hot bed of political and religious conflict, mainly between the Muslim Arab population and the Jewish state of Israel. It seems that the Christian west still tries to influence policy in that region almost 800 years after the final battles of the crusades. Today there are still harsh feelings between the Muslims in the middle east and the people of the Christian west.
With all the controversy over its intended reasons, we must wonder if the crusades in fact accomplished any relevant goals. It may have simply been a lesson in humility and tolerance of others’ beliefs brought on by a clash between the Warriors of the Cross and Crescent.
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