Crusade: An analysis and the consequences

 

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 7^th 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 16^th 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 12^th and 13^th 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.