Having gone in some detail the nine Crusades spanning over
two centuries it is time now to assess the cause and origin of these Crusades,
reasons for success or failure, and achievements in real terms. What did they
really achieve? What were the repercussions to the world in its aftermath, especially
to Europe and to the Near East in particular? Was there any good meaningful
outcome from all these endeavors or was it all a sheer waste of human lives,
labor and resources? That is what we will try and analyze in this blog.
The Crusades were solidly built up on people’s religious
fervor, characteristic of the Middle Ages. God was seen to have a hand in
everything and there was fear whether one is doing the right thing or the wrong
and whether one will miss heavens and fall into hell. The clergy played on these
fears through confessions by imposing penalties and penances to wash away the
guilt or sins. Fear of excommunication always hung on their heads like a Damocles’
sword. Even Emperors or Kings or knights were not exempt from it for Pope could
excommunicate them, as was in the case of King of Germany and the Holy Roman
Emperor excommunicated by the then Pope, Gregory IX in the Sixth Crusade. The
incentive given to the people to leave their homes and travel to an unknown
place far away in Asia was that their sins would be forgiven if they
participated in these wars and did their duty to the church and Christ. On
death they would go straight to heaven was the promise. People thronged. In all these, the Pope and
the people forgot that salvation is a free gift from God and that one doesn’t
have to work for it, for Christ has done everything needed for the salvation of
humankind on the cross. The clergy, in its own interest, would not as usual
reveal the complete truth to the people.
In the very beginning the idea of supporting a Christian
nation, the Byzantine Empire against a common enemy, the Muslims, was played up
by the Pope and his preachers. The picture painted was that Christianity in the
East was in danger and their brothers in the West must take up arms to support
them. This served as a great motivator, starting with the First Crusade. In
addition, recapture of the Holy City of Jerusalem from Muslims formed a strong
motivator throughout the Crusades. Jerusalem was conquered by the Muslims not
prior to the Crusades, but long time back in 7th century itself, in
637 to be precise, during the second wave of Islamic expansion. Still when the
clergy preached picturing the release of the Holy City from enemy’s hands as a
priority, Christians in the West responded.
The Eastern Byzantine Christians were the Greek Orthodox who
split from Western Catholic Romans in July 1054. When they were in danger of
being swamped by the Seljuk Turks, they sent urgent appeals in 1093 on to the
Western Christians in spite of the doctrinal differences. May be the hope was that
the two divisions could reunite and be under one catholic church in the true
sense. This hope spurred the Popes to action. But that was not to be. However,
having appealed for help the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios did everything within
his power to make food and provisions available for the Crusaders, and arranged
for guides and officers to bring them safely over to his realm and also
directed the first few battles. This local support could have been the main
factor in helping the First Crusade to win victories over Muslims, since they
were well provided for and properly guided in the difficult and new terrain.
The piety shown, the humility with which fasts were observed
and penance performed for sins before embarking on the Crusade and even during
it when they were beaten back during the Crusades were exemplary. The immediate
cause of any defeat was presumed to be their sins and they undertook fast and
penance to seek forgiveness from God. Though it was considered a miracle that
the First Crusade won a victory against all odds, the real reasons may be the
disunity and weakness among Muslims and the unity and determination due to the religious
fervor of the first Crusaders. At the point of defeat when the Relic of the
Cross was discovered, it redoubled their energies and they won against all
odds.
What could be the reasons for the failure of all the other
Crusades?
The long and arduous journey across Europe to Asia Minor and
then to Levant was an excruciating experience and many died on the way itself.
Finding food and water for the soldiers, horses and pack-animals became
increasingly difficult as there was no support from the local rulers. The
support organized by the Eastern Emperor for the First Crusade was not forth
coming during the other Crusades, since these were undertaken not at the
request of the Eastern Christians, but on appeals by the Frankish Christians,
the French who had established Crusader States all along the border of
Palestine or Levant after victory in the First Crusade. Byzantine Emperors were
scared about the ambitions of these counts and knights who desired to carve out
kingdoms and regimes for themselves. Without local support they floundered.
Disease, hunger and thirst took thousands of lives.
The ambitions of the leaders among the Crusaders created
plenty of problems. They were trying to prove their valor and claim either name
and fame or carve out a regime for themselves. Coordination was a problem, for
many leaders were involved and in the Third and Fifth Crusades Kings and
Emperors from the Western Europe participated. Though the model of war council
by the First Crusade was followed, there was no unity in purpose or in the
strategy of waging the war. King Richard the Lionhearted had to turn back twice
after having come close to Jerusalem because of pressure from the other
leaders. His plan to attack Egypt first was not agreed to, though all the
succeeding Crusades followed this plan realizing its strategic importance. More than once, the Lords and Counts rushed
into the battle by themselves, as it happened in the Third and again in the
Fifth Crusade, which brought ruin to the whole endeavor. The nobles and counts
and knights came from the West to help save their Christian counterparts in the
Eastern Roman Empire from the onslaught of Muslims, but stayed back to
establish their own Crusader States and ruled these lands. Edessa was the first
Crusader State, then Antioch and Tripoli and finally Jerusalem itself, which
became the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Having established Crusader States, these rulers and kings
failed to create and keep a standing army to withstand the assaults of the
neighboring Muslims, for whom also Jerusalem was a Holy City and they were waging
a Holy War, or Jihad to recapture it.
Instead, the Crusader State rulers repeatedly appealed to the Western Christians
to come and help them, all of which ended in failure due to the distance and
geographical problems. It was around 2000 miles from Europe to Levant. It
wouldn’t have been easy for Kings from the Western Europe to leave their
territories and come to war in Palestine absenting themselves from their
regimes for a few years. This fact put additional pressure on the Crusaders.
The disunited Muslims became united under Ayyubid dynasty and
Sultan Saladin determined to show himself a true Muslim and to unite all
Muslims under his umbrella projected himself as the leader the Jihad against the infidels, the
Christians, and this united the Muslims. Odds were against the Christians who
were clinging to the coastal small areas of their Crusader States. Moreover
Muslims were fighting from their home grounds and were able to mobilize men and
material easily to fight the wars. The Latin Christians were fighting far away
from their homes in an unknown territory.
Not that the Crusaders really cared for the Christians. In
the Fourth Crusade they turned on Constantinople and sacked it, as if it was an
enemy land. They massacred the Eastern Christians. Jews faced worse treatment
in the hands of Crusaders. In the First Crusade when Jerusalem was conquered,
Jews in that city were massacred. Even as they were marching towards
Constantinople the People’s Crusade of the First Crusade fell on the Jewish
populations on its way and killed thousands of them as enemies of Christ. Part
of King Louis’ plan to raise funds for his Crusade, the Seventh one, was by
throwing out all the Jews in France and confiscating their properties.
Today Jerusalem is with the Jews, the newly created State of
Israel in 1948. May be that was the plan of God all along, for it was His promise
to Israel that they will be restored to the city of Zion, Jerusalem. May be God
did not look with favour the conduct of Christian Crusaders turning on the
other Christians and the Jews, people of God? That, in my opinion, may be was one
real reason for the Franks not being able to take and keep Jerusalem with them
in spite of nine Crusades.
What are the other observations?
It is interesting to learn about the Middle Age warfare, siege
engines with terraces and hide covers to reach the top of the forts; catapults
throwing stones and boulders on the walls of the forts and castles as if they
were missiles to weaken the walls; bow and arrows, lances and spears, knights
in their shining armor and so on.
The other very striking fact is people died so young! The
average age seems to be only 30 or even less. Kings died, princes died due to just
a few days’ fever or dysentery or malarial attack or queens in childbirth. With
the ruling king or the count gone, their children being so young, may be 3 years
and 5 years old, there were constant civil wars to capture the throne, which
weakened the rulers even more. Compare that with the rule and age of our
present British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth! She might rule till she is in her
100s and even more and her son may never get a chance to even become a king!
That is how longevity has changed over centuries.
What was the legacy of the Crusades? What were the
repercussions to the Near East and the world?
Jerusalem as mentioned earlier remained in Muslim hands till
the end of First World War. With the fall of Ottoman Empire it became the British
mandate. Commerce continued even after 1291 between Europe and Muslim Near
East. Cyprus remained under Frankish rule until late 16th century.
Mainland Levant continued to be a zone of Holy Wars for a long time to come.
Templers were disbanded in 1312. Hospitallers and Teutonic orders survived
through the Middle Ages. Crusades led to Muslims powers uniting under jihad and it led to the rise of Mamluks
as powerful rulers in Egypt.
Trade, in its volume and importance was revolutionized in the
course of 12th and 13th centuries due to the presence of
Latin settlements in Levant. Land routes and sea routes grew as trade grew
between Europe and the Frankish settlements in Levant. The power of Italian
merchant cities of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa grew enormously. Europe adopted
Arabic numerals around 1200, could be because of growing trade connections with
the Muslims around Levant. Crusades opened a door to the Orient. In Europe
itself whole kinship groups and sections of nobility disappeared and this
absence of ruling class caused instability. Military Orders that were created
during Crusades would survive and play a formidable role in the centuries to
come.
Coming of the Reformation in 1517, followed by Renaissance
and Enlightenment had changed the thinking of the Western Europe with regard to
religion. The religious fervor and fanaticism had almost disappeared in the
West, especially so after the secular and religious matters were separated in
the modern democracies starting with America. Unfortunately this medieval
religious fanaticism is still prevalent among the Islamic countries. Hence the fundamentalism
in the Muslims states in the world today and the unfortunate development of
terrorism.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Crusades in the
last few blogs. I enjoyed writing about them. God be praised who is in the
throne, then and now. He is in control and He directs the history judiciously as
per His will. Glory be to Him alone.
