1.
Crusades
–
The First Crusade arose after a call to arms in a 1095 sermon by Pope Urban II. Urban urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, the response to Urbans preaching by people of many different classes across Western Europe established the precedent for later Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the church. Some were hoping for apotheosis at Jerusalem, or forgiveness from God for all their sins, others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, gain glory and honour, or find opportunities for economic and political gain. Many modern Historians have polarised opinions of the Crusaders behaviour under Papal sanction, to some it was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of the papacy and the Crusades, to the extent that on occasions that the Pope excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, while their leaders retained control of captured territory rather than returning it to the Byzantines. During the Peoples Crusade thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade rendering the reunification of Christendom impossible. These tales consequently galvanised medieval romance, philosophy and literature, but the Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism. Crusade is not a term, instead the terms iter for journey or peregrinatio for pilgrimage were used. Not until the word crucesignatus for one who was signed with the cross was adopted at the close of the century was specific terminology developed. The Middle English equivalents were derived from old French, croiserie in the 13th–15th centuries, croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760. By convention historians adopt the term for the Christian holy wars from 1095, the Crusades in the Holy Land are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271/2. Usage of the term Crusade may differ depending on the author, pluralists use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by the reigning Pope. This reflects the view of the Roman Catholic Church that every military campaign given Papal sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, justification, generalists see Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the Latin Church and fought in defence of their faith. Popularists limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious fervour – that is, only the First Crusade, Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Ali ibn al-Athir refer to the Crusades as the Frankish Wars. The term used in modern Arabic, ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya حملات صليبية, campaigns of the cross, is a loan translation of the term Crusade as used in Western historiography. The Islamic prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, the resulting unified polity in the seventh and eighth centuries led to a rapid expansion of Arab power. This influence stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, tolerance, trade, and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian states of Europe waxed and waned
Crusades
–
Madrid Skylitzes illuminated manuscript depicting Byzantine Greeks punishing ninth-century
Cretan Saracens
Crusades
–
Map of the
Eastern Mediterranean in 1135, showing crusader-held and neighbouring territories
Crusades
–
Fifteenth-century illustrated French translation of
Boccaccio 's
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium, showing
Seljuk emperor
Alp Arslan ritually humiliating
Romanos IV in 1071 after Manzikert; Alp Arslan allowed Romanos to return to
Constantinople, where he was killed by the Byzantines.
Crusades
–
Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer (c. 1490) of Urban II at the Council of Clermont (from the
Bibliothèque Nationale)
2.
Tunisia
–
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa, covering 165,000 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent and it is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisias population was estimated to be just under 11 million in 2014, Tunisias name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on Tunisias northeast coast. Geographically, Tunisia contains the end of the Atlas Mountains. Much of the rest of the land is fertile soil. Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic and it is considered to be the only full democracy in the Arab World. It has a human development index. In addition, Tunisia is also a state of the United Nations. Close relations with Europe – in particular with France and with Italy – have been forged through economic cooperation, privatisation, in ancient times, Tunisia was primarily inhabited by Berbers. Phoenician immigration began in the 12th century BC, these immigrants founded Carthage, a major mercantile power and a military rival of the Roman Republic, Carthage was defeated by the Romans in 146 BC. The Romans, who would occupy Tunisia for most of the eight hundred years, introduced Christianity. After several attempts starting in 647, the Arabs conquered the whole of Tunisia by 697, the Ottomans held sway for over three hundred years. The French colonization of Tunisia occurred in 1881, Tunisia gained independence with Habib Bourguiba and declared the Tunisian Republic in 1957. In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution resulted in the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country voted for parliament again on 26 October 2014, and for President on 23 November 2014. The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis, an urban hub. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, the French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с and Spanish Túnez, in this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference. The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins and it is generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means to lay down or encampment
Tunisia
–
Ancient ruins of a
Roman villa at
Carthage
Tunisia
–
Flag
Tunisia
–
The Roman amphitheater in
El Djem, built during the first half of the 3rd century AD
Tunisia
–
Domes of the
Great Mosque of Kairouan. Founded in 670, it dates in its present form largely from the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the oldest mosque in the
Maghreb.
3.
Kingdom of France
–
The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
Kingdom of France
–
The Kingdom of France in 1789.
Ancien Régime provinces in
1789.
Kingdom of France
–
Royal Standarda
Kingdom of France
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Henry IV, by
Frans Pourbus the younger, 1610.
Kingdom of France
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Louis XIII, by
Philippe de Champaigne, 1647.
4.
Kingdom of Sicily
–
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of the Apennine peninsula from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. Until 1282 the Kingdom covered not only the island of Sicily, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of the southern Apennines, the island was divided into three regions, Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto, val being the Arabic word meaning district. In 1282, a revolt against Angevin rule, known as the Sicilian Vespers, the island became a separate kingdom under the Crown of Aragon. After 1302 the island kingdom was called the Kingdom of Trinacria. Often the kingship was vested in another such as the King of Aragon. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1860 the Two Sicilies were amalgamated with Sardinia and several northern city-states and duchies to form the Kingdom of Sardinia which in 1861 renamed itself the Kingdom of Italy, after taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with an army of 700 knights. In 1068, Roger I of Sicily and his men defeated the Muslims at Misilmeri but the most crucial battle was the siege of Palermo, which led to Sicily being completely under Norman control by 1091. The Norman Kingdom was created on Christmas Day,1130, by Roger II of Sicily, with the agreement of Pope Innocent II, Roger threw his support behind the Antipope Anacletus II, who enthroned him as King of Sicily on Christmas Day 1130. In 1136, the rival of Anacletus, Pope Innocent II, convinced Lothair III, Two main armies, one led by Lothair, the other by Duke of Bavaria Henry the Proud, invaded Sicily. On the river Tronto, William of Loritello surrendered to Lothair and this was followed by Count Hugh II of Molise. The two armies were united at Bari, from where in 1137 they continued their campaign, Roger offered to give Apulia as a fief to the Empire, which Lothair refused after being pressured by Innocent. At the same period the army of Lothair revolted, then Lothair, who had hoped for the complete conquest of Sicily, gave Capua and Apulia from the Kingdom of Sicily to Rogers enemies. Innocent protested, claiming that Apulia fell under papal claims, Lothair turned north, but died while crossing the Alps on December 4,1137. At the Second Council of the Lateran in April 1139, Innocent excommunicated Roger for maintaining a schismatic attitude, on March 22,1139, at Galluccio, Rogers son Roger III, Duke of Apulia ambushed the papal troops with a thousand knights and captured the pope. On March 25,1139, Innocent was forced to acknowledge the kingship and it was through his admiral George of Antioch that Roger then proceeded to conquer the Mahdia in Africa, taking the unofficial title King of Africa. At the same time Rogers fleet attacked the Byzantine Empire, making Sicily the leading power in the Mediterranean Sea for almost a century
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Roger II the first king of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Flag
Kingdom of Sicily
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The royal mantle
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Imperial troops storming
Salerno in 1194
5.
Kingdom of Navarre
–
The medieval Kingdom of Pamplona was formed when the native chieftain Íñigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona, and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority. The southern part of the kingdom was conquered by the Crown of Castile in 1512, the monarchs of this unified state took the title King of France and Navarre until its fall in 1792, and again during the Bourbon Restoration from 1814 until 1830. There are similar earlier toponyms but the first documentation of Latin navarros appears in Eginhards chronicle of the feats of Charles the Great, other Royal Frankish Annals give nabarros. Basque naba/Castilian nava + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines consider naba as not clearly Basque in origin but as part of a wider pre-Roman substrate. The area was conquered by the Romans by 74 BC. It was first part of the Roman province of Citerior, then of the Tarraconensis province, after that it was part of the conventus Caesaraugustanus. The Roman empire influenced the area in urbanization, language, infrastructure, commerce, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, neither the Visigoths nor the Arabs succeeded in permanently occupying the western Pyrenees. The western Pyrenees passages were the only ones allowing good transit through the mountains and that made the region strategically important from early in its history. The Franks under Charlemagne extended their influence and control towards the south, occupying several regions of the north and it is not clear how solid the Frankish control over Pamplona was. In response, the Cordoban Emirate launched a campaign to place the region under their firm control and it placed a muwallad governor, Mutarrif ibn Musa, in Pamplona. The same year the Basque leader, Jimeno the Strong, submitted to the Emir, in 799, Mutarrif ibn Musa was killed by a pro-Frankish faction whose leader Velasco gained control of the region. In 806 and 812 Pamplona fell into the Franks hands, due to difficulties at home, the Frankish rulers could not give full attention to the outlying borderlands, and the country gradually withdrew entirely from their allegiance. In 816, Louis the Pious removed Seguin as Duke of Vasconia, the rebel Garcia Jiménez arose in his place, and was killed in turn in 818. Louis son Pepin, then King of Aquitaine, stamped out the Vasconic revolt in Gascony and he next hunted the chieftains who had taken refuge in southern Vasconia, i. e. Pamplona and Navarre, no longer controlled by the Franks. He sent an army led by the counts Aeblus and Aznar-Sanchez, on the way back, however, they were ambushed and defeated in Roncesvaux by a probable joint Vasconic-Banu Qasi force. Out of this pattern of resistance against both Frankish and Cordoban interests, the Basque chieftain Íñigo Arista took power, tradition tells he was elected as king of Pamplona in 824, giving rise to a dynasty of kings in Pamplona that would last for eighty years. Pamplona and Navarre are cited as separate entities in a Frankish Carolingian chronicle, Pamplona is cited in 778 by another Frankish account as a Navarrese stronghold, while this may be put down to their vague knowledge of the Basque territory. They distinguished Navarre and its main town in 806 though, while the Chronicle of Fontenelle quotes Induonis et Mitionis, however, Arab chroniclers make no such distinctions, and just talk of the Baskunisi, a transliteration of Vascones, since a big majority of the population was Basque
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Navarre (light green) in 1190
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Flag
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Magdalena of Valois, regent of Navarre from 1479 to 1494, and mother of Queen
Catherine I of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Queen Joan III
6.
Hafsid dynasty
–
The Hafsids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descent who ruled Ifriqiya from 1229 to 1574. The dynasty was named after Muhammad bin Abu Hafs a Berber from the Masmuda tribe of Morocco and he was appointed governor of Ifriqiya by Muhammad an-Nasir, Caliph of the Almohad empire between 1198-1213. The Banu Hafs, were a powerful group amongst the Almohads, their ancestor is Omar Abu Hafs al-Hentati, a member of the council of ten and a close companion of Ibn Tumart. The Hafsids as governors on behalf of the Almohads faced constant threats from Banu Ghaniya who were descendants of Almoravid princes which the Almohads had defeated and replaced as a ruling dynasty, the Hafsids were Ifriqiya governors of the Almohads until 1229, when they declared independence. After the split of the Hafsids from the Almohads under Abu Zakariya, Abu Zakariya organised the administration in Ifriqiya and built Tunis up as the economic, at the same time, many Muslims from Al-Andalus fleeing the Spanish Reconquista of Castile and Aragon were absorbed. He also conquered the Kingdom of Tlemcen in 1242 and made the Abdalwadids his vassals and his successor Muhammad I al-Mustansir took the title of Caliph. In the 14th century the empire underwent a temporary decline, although the Hafsids succeeded for a time in subjugating the empire of the Abdalwadids of Tlemcen, between 1347 and 1357 they were twice conquered by the Merinids of Morocco. The Abdalwadids however could not defeat the Bedouin, ultimately, the Hafsids were able to regain their empire, during the same period plague epidemics caused a considerable fall in population, further weakening the empire. Under the Hafsids, commerce with Christian Europe grew significantly, however piracy against Christian shipping grew as well, in 1429, the Hafsids attacked the island of Malta, and took 3000 slaves although they did not conquer the island. The profits were used for a building programme and to support art. However, piracy also provoked retaliation from Aragon and Venice, which several times attacked Tunisian coastal cities, under Utman the Hafsids reached their zenith, as the caravan trade through the Sahara and with Egypt was developed, as well as sea trade with Venice and Aragon. The Bedouins and the cities of the empire became independent, leaving the Hafsids in control of only Tunis. In the 16th century the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire-supported Corsairs. The Ottomans conquered Tunis in 1534 and held it for one year, a year later the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor seized Tunis, drove the Ottomans out and restored Muley Hassan as a Hapsburg tributary. Due to the Ottoman threat, the Hafsids were vassals of Spain after 1535, the Ottomans again conquered Tunis in 1569 and held it for four years. Don Juan of Austria recaptured it in 1573, the Hafsid lineage survived the Ottoman massacre by a branch of the family being taken to the Canary Island of Tenerife by the Spanish
Hafsid dynasty
–
Top: Flag of Tunis under the Hafsids according to the Catalan Atlas c.1375 Down: Reconstruction of a Hafsid flag of the 15th century
Hafsid dynasty
–
Coin of the Hafsids with ornamental
Kufic,
Bougie,
Algeria, 1249-1276.
7.
Louis IX
–
Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII the Lion, although his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom until he reached maturity. During Louiss childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals, as an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of the most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux. Simultaneously, Henry III of England tried to restore his continental possessions and his reign saw the annexation of several provinces, notably Normandy, Maine and Provence. Louis IX was a reformer and developed French royal justice, in which the king is the judge to whom anyone is able to appeal to seek the amendment of a judgment. He banned trials by ordeal, tried to prevent the private wars that were plaguing the country, to enforce the correct application of this new legal system, Louis IX created provosts and bailiffs. According to his vow made after an illness, and confirmed after a miraculous cure. He was succeeded by his son Philip III, Louiss actions were inspired by Christian values and Catholic devotion. He decided to punish blasphemy, gambling, interest-bearing loans and prostitution and he also expanded the scope of the Inquisition and ordered the burning of Talmuds. He is the only canonized king of France, and there are many places named after him. Much of what is known of Louiss life comes from Jean de Joinvilles famous Life of Saint Louis, two other important biographies were written by the kings confessor, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and his chaplain, William of Chartres. The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus biography, while several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the kings death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king. Louis was born on 25 April 1214 at Poissy, near Paris, the son of Prince Louis the Lion and Princess Blanche, and baptised in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. His grandfather on his fathers side was Philip II, king of France, while his grandfather on his mothers side was Alfonso VIII, tutors of Blanches choosing taught him most of what a king must know—Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government. He was 9 years old when his grandfather Philip II died, a member of the House of Capet, Louis was twelve years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral, because of Louiss youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority. Louis mother trained him to be a leader and a good Christian. She used to say, I love you, my son, as much as a mother can love her child
Louis IX
–
Representation of Saint Louis considered to be true to life, early 14th century. Statue from the church of
Mainneville, Eure, France.
Louis IX
–
Coin of Saint Louis,
Cabinet des Médailles. – The Latin inscription reads LVDOVICVS (i.e. "Louis") DEI GRACIA (i.e. "
by the Grace of God ", where Latin gratia was spelt gracia) FRANCOR REX (i.e. "
King of the Franks ", where Francor. is the abbreviation of Francorum).
Louis IX
–
Equestrian statue of King Saint Louis at the
Sacré-Cœur
Louis IX
–
Death of Saint Louis: On 25 August 1270, Saint Louis dies under his fleurdelisé tent before the city of Tunis. Illuminated by
Jean Fouquet,
Grandes Chroniques de France (1455–1460)
8.
Charles I of Naples
–
Thereafter, he claimed the island, though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom, with his capital at Naples. Charles was the child and youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen and acquired lands in the eastern Mediterranean, however, the War of the Sicilian Vespers forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire. By marriage to Beatrice of Provence, heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence, he was Count of Provence, in 1247, his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine, as appanages of the French crown. By conquest and self-proclamation, he became King of Albania in 1272, by the testament of William II of Villehardouin, he inherited the Principality of Achaea in 1278. Charles was born in March 1227, four months after the death of his father, like his immediate older brother, Philip Dagobert, he did not receive a county as appanage, as had their older brothers. In 1232, his brothers Philip Dagobert and John, Count of Anjou and Maine, died, Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties, but was formally invested only in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have bestowed upon his brother Louis. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive, upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246, Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Burgundy and hence of the Holy Roman Empire, recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities had enjoyed great liberties. Three cities, Marseille, Arles, and Avignon were Imperial cities technically separate from the county. In 1247, while Charles was in France to receive the counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility joined with Beatrice, unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade. For the time being, Charles compromised with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier, rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career. His rights as landlord were, on the whole, of recent establishment, from the Church, unlike his brothers in the north, he received virtually nothing. Charles agents were efficient, the towns were prosperous, the peasants were buying up the duties of corvée and establishing self-governing consulats in the villages, Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues-Mortes in 1248 and fought at Damietta and in the struggle around Mansourah, Egypt. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother, during his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full rights, in November 1252, the death of his mother Blanche of Castile caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse
Charles I of Naples
–
Statue of Charles at the
Royal Palace, Naples.
Charles I of Naples
–
Statue in Hyeres of Charles I d'Anjou comte de Provence
Charles I of Naples
–
Battle of Benevento, 1266
Charles I of Naples
–
Charles of Anjou killing
Manfred, King of Sicily during the
Battle of Benevento
9.
Theobald II of Navarre
–
Theobald II, called the Young, was Count of Champagne and Brie and King of Navarre from 1253 until his death. Theobald was the eldest son of Theobald I of Navarre and his third wife and he succeeded to his fathers titles on his death at only fourteen years of age. His mother acted as regent with James I of Aragon until 1256, on 27 November, he affirmed the Fueros of Navarre, which limited his power by putting him under the counsel of a tutor from among the aristocracy. He could not make judgements without a council of twelve of noblemen, Theobald was not content, however, to be so restricted in royal prerogative before his twenty-first birthday. In order to counter the tendency to decentralisation, diminish the power of the nobility and he exacted extraordinary taxes and imposts from them, but they supported him nevertheless because he granted them rights, prestige, and political clout. He extended the fueros of Pamplona to Lantz and Estella to Tiebas—nowadays in ruins, Theobald continued the power struggle with the bishop of Pamplona started during his fathers reign. The former stood by his native Basque parishioners of the Navarreria borough, while Theobald championed the Saint Nicolas borough of Pamplona, in other affairs, Theobald continued the policies of his father. He improved the administration, of incomes and expenditures. The count of 1266 indicated a population of 150,000 inhabitants in Navarre, approximately 6. 75% of royal revenues were spent on a bureaucracy,33. 84% on the military, and 59. 6% to the maintenance of the monarch and his household and duties. Theobald found support in Louis IX of France, who supported his fellow kings against their vassals with consistency, Theobald married Isabella, Louiss daughter, on 6 April 1255. Theobald acted as an advisor of Louis and Louis as an arbiter in Navarres internal problems. When Alfonso X of Castiles daughter Berengaria was betrothed to Louis IX of Frances son Louis, Castile ceded the use of the ports of Fuenterrabía, in July 1270, Theobald embarked with his father-in-law on the Eighth Crusade to Tunis. Louis died of dysentery at the siege, Theobald died childless at Trapani in Sicily while returning that same year. He was succeeded by his brother, Henry I. His widow Isabella returned home to France, where she died a few months later, ciampolo, a soul found by Dante in the Inferno who defrauded Theobald
Theobald II of Navarre
–
A
dinero from Theobald II's reign, bearing the inscription Tiobald rex de Navarie
10.
First Crusade
–
The First Crusade was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to capture the Holy Land, called by Pope Urban II in 1095. An additional goal became the principal objective—the Christian reconquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. During the crusades, nobility, knights, peasants and serfs from many regions of Western Europe travelled over land and by sea, first to Constantinople and then on towards Jerusalem. The Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem, launched an assault on the city and they also established the crusader states of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. The First Crusade was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades and it was also the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The majority view is that it had elements of both in its nature, the origin of the Crusades in general, and particularly that of the First Crusade, is widely debated among historians. The confusion is due to the numerous armies in the first crusade. The similar ideologies held the armies to similar goals, but the connections were rarely strong, the Umayyad Caliphate had conquered Syria, Egypt, and North Africa from the predominantly Christian Byzantine Empire, and Hispania from the Visigothic Kingdom. In North Africa, the Umayyad empire eventually collapsed and a number of smaller Muslim kingdoms emerged, such as the Aghlabids, who attacked Italy in the 9th century. Pisa, Genoa, and the Principality of Catalonia began to battle various Muslim kingdoms for control of the Mediterranean Basin, exemplified by the Mahdia campaign and battles at Majorca and Sardinia. Essentially, between the years 1096 and 1101 the Byzantine Greeks experienced the crusade as it arrived at Constantinople in three separate waves, in the early summer of 1096, the first large unruly group arrived on the outskirts of Constantinople. This wave was reported to be undisciplined and ill-equipped as an army and this first group is often called the Peasants’ or People’s Crusade. It was led by Peter the Hermit and Walter Sans Avoir and had no knowledge of or respect for the wishes of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. The second wave was not under the command of the Emperor and was made up of a number of armies with their own commanders. Together, this group and the first wave numbered an estimated 60,000, the second wave was led by Hugh I, Count of Vermandois, the brother of King Philip I of France. Also among the wave were Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse. It was this wave of crusaders which later passed through Asia Minor, captured Antioch in 1098 and finally took Jerusalem 15 July 1099. ”The third wave, composed of contingents from Lombardy, France. At the western edge of Europe and of Islamic expansion, the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula was well underway by the 11th century and it was intermittently ideological, as evidenced by the Codex Vigilanus compiled in 881
First Crusade
–
The Capture of Jerusalem marked the First Crusade's success
First Crusade
–
Pope Urban II at the
Council of Clermont. Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer, of c 1490 (
Bibliothèque Nationale)
First Crusade
–
A map of the routes of the major leaders of the crusade, in
French
First Crusade
–
An illustration showing the defeat of the
People's Crusade
11.
Crusade of 1101
–
The Crusade of 1101 was a minor crusade of three separate movements, organized in 1100 and 1101 in the successful aftermath of the First Crusade. It is also called the Crusade of the Faint-Hearted due to the number of participants who joined this crusade after having turned back from the First Crusade. Calls for reinforcements from the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal II, successor to Pope Urban II and he especially urged those who had taken the crusade vow but had never departed, and those who had turned back while on the march. As in the first crusade, the pilgrims and soldiers did not leave as a part of one large army, in September 1100, a large group of Lombards left from Milan. These were mostly untrained peasants, led by Anselm IV, Archbishop of Milan, when they reached the territory of the Byzantine Empire, they pillaged it recklessly, and Byzantine emperor Alexios I escorted them to a camp outside Constantinople. This did not satisfy them, and they made their way inside the city where they pillaged the Blachernae palace, the Lombards were quickly ferried across the Bosporus and made their camp at Nicomedia, to wait for reinforcements. Joining them at Nicomedia was Raymond IV of Toulouse, one of the leaders of the First Crusade who was now in the service of the emperor. He was appointed leader, and a Byzantine force of Pecheneg mercenaries was sent out with them under the command of General Tzitas. This group marched out at the end of May, towards Dorylaeum, following the route taken by Raymond, after capturing Ancyra on June 23,1101, and returning it to Alexios, the crusaders turned north. They briefly besieged the heavily garrisoned city of Gangra, and then continued north to attempt to capture the Turkish-controlled city of Kastamonu, however, they came under attack from the Seljuq Turks who harassed them for weeks, and a foraging party was destroyed in July. However, the Seljuqs, under Kilij Arslan I, realizing that disunity was the cause of their inability to stop the First Crusade, had now allied with both the Danishmends and Ridwan of Aleppo, in early August the crusaders met this combined Muslim army at Mersivan. The crusaders organized into five divisions, the Burgundians, Raymond and the Byzantines, the Germans, the French, the Turks nearly destroyed the crusaders’ army near the mountains of Paphlagonia at Mersivan. The land was well-suited to the Turks—dry and inhospitable for their enemy, it was open, the battle took place over several days. On the first day, the Turks cut off the crusading armies’ advances, the next day, Duke Conrad led his Germans in a raid that failed miserably. Not only did fail to open the Turkish lines, they were unable to return to the main crusader army and had to take refuge in a nearby stronghold. This meant that they were cut off supplies, aid. The third day was quiet, with little or no serious fighting taking place, but on the fourth day. The crusaders inflicted heavy losses on the Turks, but the attack was a failure by the end of the day, Kilij Arslan was joined by Ridwan of Aleppo and other powerful Danishmend princes
Crusade of 1101
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Lombard-Tuscan man-at-arms from c. 1100, Vita Mathildis.
Crusade of 1101
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A map of western
Anatolia, showing the routes taken by Christian armies
Crusade of 1101
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Anselm IV
12.
Norwegian Crusade
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The crusaders did not lose a single battle during the Norwegian Crusade. Sigurd and his men sailed from Norway in the autumn of 1107 with sixty ships and perhaps around 5,000 men, in the autumn he arrived in England, where Henry I was king. Sigurd and his men stayed there the entire winter, until the spring of 1108, after several months they came to the town of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where they were allowed by a local lord to stay for the winter. However, when the winter there was a shortage of food. Sigurd then gathered his army, attacked the castle and looted what they could there. During the journey, the Norwegians encountered a pirate fleet of galleys which were seeking peaceful trading ships to rob. However, Sigurd set his course straight for the pirates and stormed their ships, after a short time all the pirates had been either slain or escaped, and Sigurd acquired eight ships from them. After this they came to a castle in Muslim Al-Andalus called Sintra and they took the castle, and killed every man there, as they had refused to be christened. They then sailed to Lisbon, a half Christian and half heathen city, there they won their third battle, and acquired great treasures. Their fourth battle was won in the town of Alkasse, where they killed such a number of people. After another victorious battle against pirates when sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar they sailed further along the Saracen land into the Mediterranean, the Balearics were at the time perceived by Christians to be nothing more than a pirate haven and slaving center. The Norwegian raids are also the first recorded Christian attacks on the Islamic Balearic Islands, the first place they arrived at was Formentera, where they encountered a great number of Blåmenn and Serkir who had taken up their dwelling in a cave. The course of the fight is the most detailed of the entire crusade through written sources, after this battle, the Norwegians supposedly acquired the greatest treasures they had ever acquired. They then went on to successfully attack Ibiza and then Minorca, tales of their success may have inspired the Catalan–Pisan conquest of the Balearics in 1113–1115. In the spring of 1109, they arrived at Sicily, where they were welcomed by the ruling Count Roger II, in the summer of 1110, they finally arrived at the port of Acre, and went to Jerusalem, where they met the ruling crusader king Baldwin I. They were warmly welcomed, and Baldwin rode together with Sigurd to the river Jordan, the Norwegians were given many treasures and relics, including a splinter off the True Cross that Jesus had allegedly been crucified on. This was given on the condition that they would continue to promote Christianity, later, Sigurd returned to his ships at Acre, and when Baldwin was going to the Muslim town of Sidon in Syria, Sigurd and his men accompanied him in the siege. The town was taken and subsequently the Lordship of Sidon was established
Norwegian Crusade
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King Sigurd sails from the country by
Gerhard Munthe.
Norwegian Crusade
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The route taken by Sigurd I to Jerusalem and Constantinople (red line) and back to Norway (green line) according to
Heimskringla. (Legend in Old Norse.)
13.
Venetian Crusade
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The Venetian Crusade of 1122–24 was an expedition to the Holy Land launched by the Republic of Venice that succeeded in capturing Tyre. It was an important victory at the start of a period when the Kingdom of Jerusalem would expand to its greatest extent under King Baldwin II, the Venetians gained valuable trading concessions in Tyre. Baldwin de Burg was a nephew of Baldwin I of Jerusalem, in 1118 his uncle died and he became King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. In the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, fought near Sarmada on 28 June 1119, the Franks suffered a defeat by the forces of Ilghazi. Later that year Baldwin regained some territory, but the Franks were seriously weakened, Baldwin asked for help from Pope Callixtus II. The pope forwarded the request to Venice, the terms of the crusade were agreed through negotiations between the envoys of Baldwin II and the doge of Venice. The church also extended its protection to the families and property of the crusaders, in 1122 the Doge of Venice, Domenico Michiel, launched the seaborne crusade. The Venetian fleet of more than 120 ships carrying over 15,000 men left the Venetian Lagoon on 8 August 1122 and this seems to have been the first crusade in which the knights brought their horses with them. They invested Corfu, then a possession of the Byzantine Empire, in 1123 Baldwin II was captured by Balak of Mardin, emir of Aleppo, and imprisoned in Kharput. Eustace Graverius became regent of Jerusalem, the Venetians abandoned the siege of Corfu when they heard this news, and reached the Palestinian coast in May 1123. The Venetian fleet arrived at Acre at the end of May and was informed about a Fatimid fleet, of around a hundred sail, sailing towards Ascalon. in order to assist the Emir Balak at his siege. Thus the Venetian fleet sailed south in order to meet it, with the intend to divert the fleet off Ascalon. The Egyptians fell into the trap assuming an easy victory they were now caught between two Venetian squadrons and outnumbered. Some 4,000 Saracens were killed including the Fatimid admiral and 9 vessels captured with the Venetians adding to their triumph the capture of 10 merchant vessels on rout back to Acre, both Fulcher of Chartres and William of Tyre recorded the event. On this the ships followed in haste and fell almost all the other enemy ships around. But the shores, they say, were so covered with the corpses that were ejected from the sea, that the air was tainted. At lengths the fight continued man against man, and most heatedly one side was trying to advance while the side tried to resist. Finally, however, the Venetians were with Gods help victorious On 15 February 1124 the Venetians, the seaport of Tyre, now in Lebanon, was part of the territory of Toghtekin, the Atabeg of Damascus
Venetian Crusade
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Outremer around 1100
Venetian Crusade
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The siege of Tyre by the Crusaders and the Venetian fleet
14.
Second Crusade
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The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe as a Catholic holy war against Islam. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi, the county had been founded during the First Crusade by King Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098. While it was the first Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall, the armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe. After crossing Byzantine territory into Anatolia, both armies were defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached Jerusalem, the crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It would ultimately have a key influence on the fall of Jerusalem, the only Christian success of the Second Crusade came to a combined force of 13,000 Flemish, Frisian, Norman, English, Scottish, and German crusaders in 1147. Travelling from England, by ship, to the Holy Land, after the First Crusade and the minor Crusade of 1101 there were three crusader states established in the east, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch and the County of Edessa. A fourth, the County of Tripoli, was established in 1109, Count Baldwin II and future count Joscelin of Courtenay were taken captive after their defeat at the Battle of Harran in 1104. Baldwin and Joscelin were both captured a second time in 1122, and although Edessa recovered somewhat after the Battle of Azaz in 1125, Joscelin was killed in battle in 1131. His successor Joscelin II was forced into an alliance with the Byzantine Empire, Joscelin had also quarreled with the Count of Tripoli and the Prince of Antioch, leaving Edessa with no powerful allies. Meanwhile, the Seljuq Zengi, Atabeg of Mosul, had added to his rule in 1128 Aleppo, both Zengi and King Baldwin II turned their attention towards Damascus, Baldwin was defeated outside the great city in 1129. Damascus, ruled by the Burid Dynasty, later allied with King Fulk when Zengi besieged the city in 1139 and 1140, in late 1144, Joscelin II allied with the Ortoqids and marched out of Edessa with almost his entire army to support the Ortoqid army against Aleppo. Zengi, already seeking to take advantage of Fulks death in 1143, hurried north to besiege Edessa, manasses of Hierges, Philip of Milly and others were sent from Jerusalem to assist, but arrived too late. Joscelin II continued to rule the remnants of the county from Turbessel, Zengi himself was praised throughout Islam as defender of the faith and al-Malik al-Mansur, the victorious king. He did not pursue an attack on the territory of Edessa, or the Principality of Antioch. Events in Mosul compelled him to home, and he once again set his sights on Damascus. However, he was assassinated by a slave in 1146 and was succeeded in Aleppo by his son Nur ad-Din, the news of the fall of Edessa was brought back to Europe first by pilgrims early in 1145, and then by embassies from Antioch, Jerusalem and Armenia. Bishop Hugh of Jabala reported the news to Pope Eugene III, Hugh also told the Pope of an eastern Christian king, who, it was hoped, would bring relief to the crusader states, this is the first documented mention of Prester John
Second Crusade
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Edessa, seen here on the right of this map (c. 1140), was recaptured by the Turks. This was the primary cause of the Second Crusade.
Second Crusade
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St Bernard in stained glass. From the Upper Rhine, ca. 1450.
Second Crusade
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The Siege of Lisbon by D. Afonso Henriques by Joaquim Rodrigues Braga (1840)
Second Crusade
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Map of the Second Crusade in the Levant
15.
Third Crusade
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The Third Crusade, also known as The Kings Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. After the failure of the Second Crusade, the Zengid dynasty controlled a unified Syria, the Egyptian and Syrian forces were ultimately unified under Saladin, who employed them to reduce the Christian states and recapture Jerusalem in 1187. Spurred by religious zeal, King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France ended their conflict with other to lead a new crusade. The death of Henry in 1189, however, meant the English contingent came under the command of his successor and his death caused tremendous grief among the German Crusaders, and most of his troops returned home. After the Crusaders had driven the Muslims from Acre, Philip in company with Fredericks successor, Leopold V, Duke of Austria, on 2 September 1192, Richard and Saladin finalized a treaty granting Muslim control over Jerusalem but allowing unarmed Christian pilgrims and merchants to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on 2 October, the successes of the Third Crusade allowed the Crusaders to maintain considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast. However, the failure to recapture Jerusalem would lead to the Fourth Crusade, after the failure of the Second Crusade, Nur ad-Din Zangi had control of Damascus and a unified Syria. Eager to expand his power, Nur ad-Din set his sights on the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt, in 1163, Nur ad-Din sent his most trusted general, Shirkuh, on a military expedition to the Nile. Accompanying the general was his nephew, Saladin. With Shirkuhs troops camped outside of Cairo, Egypts sultan Shawar called on King Amalric I of Jerusalem for assistance, in response, Amalric sent an army into Egypt and attacked Shirkuhs troops at Bilbeis in 1164. Nur ad-Din sent the scalps of the Christian defenders to Egypt for Shirkuh to proudly display at Bilbeis for Amalrics soldiers to see and this action prompted both Amalric and Shirkuh to lead their armies out of Egypt. In 1167, Nur ad-Din again sent Shirkuh to conquer the Fatimids in Egypt, Shawar again opted to call upon Amalric to defend his territory. The combined Egyptian-Christian forces pursued Shirkuh until he retreated to Alexandria, Amalric then breached his alliance with Shawar by turning his forces on Egypt and besieging the city of Bilbeis. Shawar pleaded with his enemy, Nur ad-Din, to save him from Amalrics treachery. Lacking the resources to maintain a siege of Cairo against the combined forces of Nur ad-Din and Shawar. This new alliance gave Nur ad-Din rule over all of Syria. Shawar was executed for his alliances with the Christian forces, in 1169, Shirkuh died unexpectedly after only weeks of rule. Shirkuhs successor was his nephew, Salah ad-Din Yusuf, commonly known as Saladin, Nur ad-Din died in 1174, leaving the new empire to his 11-year-old son, As-Salih
Third Crusade
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The
Siege of Acre was the first major confrontation of the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
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Saladin's troops, French manuscript, 1337
Third Crusade
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"Death of Frederick of Germany" by
Gustav Dore
Third Crusade
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Philip II depicted arriving in Palestine
16.
Crusade of 1197
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Thus the military campaign is also known as the Emperors Crusade. While his forces were already on their way to the Holy Land, the nobles remaining on the campaign captured the Levant coast between Tyre and Tripoli before returning to Germany. The Crusade ended abruptly after the fall of Sidon and Beirut in 1198, on 2 October 1187 the Ayyubid sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem and large parts of the Crusader states. In an effort to reclaim the Outremer estates, the Third Crusade was launched by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England, and Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire in 1189. Frederick departed with a army, defeated a Seljuk contingent near Philomelion and captured Iconium. Henry VI, elected King of the Romans since 1169, succeeded his father Frederick and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Celestine III in 1191, in 1194 Henry could assert the inheritance claims of his wife Constance by conquering the Kingdom of Sicily. By declaring a new Crusade to reconquer Jerusalem, Henry aimed at an agreement with Pope Celestine III to acknowledge his rule over Sicily, in 1195 the armistice concluded by King Richard ended. Sultan Saladin had already died in 1193 and a conflict over his succession raged in the Ayyubid lands, in view of these favourable developments, the emperor hoped to continue the momentum of the previous campaign. Henry VI decided to take advantage of his fathers threat of force against the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Isaac II Angelos had maintained close ties with the Sicilian ursurper king Tancred of Lecce, he was overthrown in April 1195 by his brother Alexios III Angelos. Henry took the occasion to exact tribute and had a letter sent to the Byzantine emperor in order to finance the planned Crusade. Alexius immediately submitted to the demands and exacted high taxes from his subjects to pay the Crusaders 5,000 pounds of gold. Henry also forged alliances with King Amalric of Cyprus and Prince Leo of Cilicia, during the Holy Week of 1195, Emperor Henry made a pledge and at the Easter celebrations in Bari publicly announced the Crusade. In summer he was travelling through Germany in order to gain supporters. Bretislaus III, Duke of Bohemia had agreed to join the Crusade at the Diet in Worms on December 1195, in March 1197 Henry proceeded to the Kingdom of Sicily. The crusaders embarked for Acre, while the emperor first had to suppress a revolt in Catania. Still in Sicily, out for hunting near Fiumedinisi in August, Emperor Henry fell ill with chills and he died on September 28 before he could set sail for the Holy Land. They captured the wealthy and important city of Sidon and on October 24 entered Beirut, with the support of the Princes, Emperor Henrys vassal King Amalric of Cyprus married Queen Isabella and was crowned King of Jerusalem in 1198. The crusaders continued their campaign and by reconquering the estates around Byblos Castle restored the link to the County of Tripoli
Crusade of 1197
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Crusader states about 1200
Crusade of 1197
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Henry and Pope Celestine, from
Liber ad honorem Augusti by
Peter of Eboli, 1196
Crusade of 1197
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Frederick of Austria on the cruise to the Holy Land,
Babenberg pedigree,
Klosterneuburg Monastery, c. 1490
Crusade of 1197
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Reconquest of Beirut,
Alexandre Hesse, 1842
17.
Fourth Crusade
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The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III, originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, a sequence of events culminated in the Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople, the intention of the crusaders was then to continue to the Holy Land with promised Byzantine financial and military assistance. On 23 June 1203 the main fleet reached Constantinople. In August 1203, following clashes outside Constantinople, Alexios Angelos was crowned co-Emperor with crusader support, however, in January 1204, he was deposed by a popular uprising in Constantinople. In April 1204, they captured and brutally sacked the city, Byzantine resistance based in unconquered sections of the empire such as Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus ultimately recovered Constantinople in 1261. Ayyubid Sultan Saladin had conquered most of the Frankish, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the ancient city itself, the Kingdom had been established 88 years before, after the capture and sack of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. The city was sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, Saladin led a Muslim dynasty, and his incorporation of Jerusalem into his domains shocked and dismayed the Catholic countries of Western Europe. Legend has it that Pope Urban III literally died of the shock, the crusader states had been reduced to three cities along the sea coast, Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. The Third Crusade reclaimed an extensive amount of territory for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the key towns of Acre and Jaffa, but had failed to retake Jerusalem. The crusade had also marked by a significant escalation in long standing tensions between the feudal states of western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, centred in Constantinople. The experiences of the first two crusades had thrown into relief the vast cultural differences between the two Christian civilisations. For their part, the educated and wealthy Byzantines maintained a sense of cultural, organizational. Constantinople had been in existence for 874 years at the time of the Fourth Crusade and was the largest and most sophisticated city in Christendom. Almost alone amongst major medieval urban centres, it had retained the civic structures, public baths, forums, monuments, at its height, the city held an estimated population of about half a million people behind thirteen miles of triple walls. As a result, it was both a rival and a target for the aggressive new states of the west, notably the Republic of Venice. Crusaders also seized the breakaway Byzantine province of Cyprus, rather than return it to the Empire, barbarossa died on crusade, and his army quickly disintegrated, leaving the English and French, who had come by sea, to fight Saladin. There they captured Sidon and Beirut, but at the news of Henrys death in Messina along the way, many of the nobles, deserted by much of their leadership, the rank and file crusaders panicked before an Egyptian army and fled to their ships in Tyre. Also in 1195, the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was deposed in favour of his brother by a palace coup, ascending as Alexios III Angelos, the new emperor had his brother blinded and exiled
Fourth Crusade
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Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204
Fourth Crusade
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The Crusader attack on Constantinople, from a Venetian manuscript of Geoffreoy de Villehardouin's history, ca. 1330
Fourth Crusade
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Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204
Fourth Crusade
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The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (
Eugène Delacroix, 1840). The most infamous action of the Fourth Crusade was the sack of the Orthodox Christian city of
Constantinople
18.
Fifth Crusade
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The Fifth Crusade was an attempt by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt. Later in 1218, a German army led by Oliver of Cologne, in order to attack Damietta in Egypt, they allied in Anatolia with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm which attacked the Ayyubids in Syria in an attempt to free the Crusaders from fighting on two fronts. After occupying the port of Damietta, the Crusaders marched south towards Cairo in July 1221, a nighttime attack by Sultan Al-Kamil resulted in a great number of crusader losses, and eventually in the surrender of the army. Al-Kamil agreed to a peace agreement with Europe. Pope Innocent III had already planned since 1208 a crusade to recapture Jerusalem, in April 1213 he issued the papal bull Quia maior, calling all of Christendom to join a new crusade. This was followed by another bull, the Ad Liberandam in 1215. Pope Innocent wanted it to be led by the papacy, as the First Crusade should have been, to avoid the mistakes of the Fourth Crusade, which had been taken over by the Venetians. Pope Innocent planned for the crusaders to meet at Brindisi in 1216, every crusader would receive an indulgence, including those who simply helped pay the expenses of a crusader, but did not go on crusade themselves. Oliver of Cologne had preached the crusade in Germany, and Emperor Frederick II attempted to join in 1215, Frederick was the last monarch Innocent wanted to join, as he had challenged the Papacy. Innocent died in 1216 and was succeeded by Pope Honorius III, who barred Frederick from participating, Andrew had the largest royal army in the history of the crusades. The first to take up the cross in the Fifth Crusade was King Andrew II of Hungary, Andrew and his troops embarked on 23 August 1217, in Split. They were transported by the Venetian fleet, which was the largest European fleet in the era, until his return to Hungary, king Andrew remained the leader of Christian forces in the Fifth Crusade. In Jerusalem, the walls and fortifications were demolished to prevent the Christians from being able to defend the city, if they did manage to reach it, Muslims fled the city, afraid that there would be a repeat of the bloodbath of the First Crusade in 1099. King Andrews well-mounted army defeated sultan Al-Adil I at Bethsaida on the Jordan River on 10 November 1217, muslim forces retreated in their fortresses and towns. The crusaders catapults and trebuchets did not arrive in time, so they had fruitless assaults on the fortresses of the Lebanon and on Mount Tabor, afterwards, Andrew spent his time collecting alleged relics. At the beginning of 1218 Andrew, who was very sick, Andrew and his army departed to Hungary in February 1218, and Bohemund and Hugh also returned home. Later in 1218 Oliver of Cologne arrived with a new German army, with Leopold and John they discussed attacking Damietta in Egypt. To accomplish this, they allied with Keykavus I, the leader in Anatolia, in July 1218 the crusaders began their siege of Damietta, and despite resistance from the unprepared sultan Al-Adil, the tower outside the city was taken on August 25
Fifth Crusade
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Frisian crusaders confront the Tower of
Damietta, Egypt.
Fifth Crusade
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King
Andrew II of Hungary
19.
Sixth Crusade
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The Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade, however, Frederick again promised to go on a crusade after his coronation as emperor in 1220 by Pope Honorius III. In 1225 Frederick married Yolande of Jerusalem, daughter of John of Brienne, Frederick now had a claim to the truncated kingdom, and reason to attempt to restore it. In 1227, after Gregory IX became pope, Frederick and his army set sail from Brindisi, Italy, for Acre, Gregory stated that the reason for the excommunication was Fredericks reluctance to go on crusade, dating back to the Fifth Crusade. Frederick attempted to negotiate with the pope, but eventually decided to ignore him, Frederick claimed that his regency was illegitimate and demanded the surrender of Johns mainland fief of Beirut to the imperial throne. Here he erred, for John pointed out that the kingdoms of Cyprus and Jerusalem were constitutionally separate and this would have important consequences for the crusade, as it alienated the powerful Ibelin faction, turning them against the emperor. Acre, as the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Fredericks own army and the Teutonic Knights supported him, but Patriarch Gerald of Lausanne followed the papal line. Once news of Fredericks excommunication had spread, public support for him waned considerably, the native barons greeted Frederick enthusiastically at first, but were wary of the emperors history of centralization and his desire to impose imperial authority. This was largely due to Fredericks treatment of John of Ibelin in Cyprus, even with the military orders on board, Fredericks force was a mere shadow of the army that had amassed when the crusade had originally been called. He realised that his hope of success in the Holy Land was to negotiate for the surrender of Jerusalem as he lacked the manpower to engage the Ayyubid empire in battle. The Egyptian sultan, occupied with the suppression of rebellious forces in Syria, agreed to cede Jerusalem to the Franks, in addition, Frederick received Nazareth, Sidon, Jaffa, and Bethlehem. Other lordships may have returned to Christian control, but sources disagree. It was, however, a treaty of compromise, the Muslims retained control over the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock. The treaty, completed on 18 February 1229, safeguarded a 10-year truce, one of the results of the treaty was that Jews were once more prohibited from living in Jerusalem. This agreement should not be confused with the 1192 Treaty of Jaffa between Saladin and Richard Lionheart, Frederick entered Jerusalem on 17 March 1229, and attended a crown-wearing ceremony the following day. It is unknown whether he intended this to be interpreted as his coronation as King of Jerusalem, in any case the absence of the patriarch, Gerald. There is evidence to suggest that the crown Frederick wore was actually the imperial one, as Frederick had matters to attend to at home, he left Jerusalem in May
Sixth Crusade
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Frederick II (left) meets al-Kamil (right).
Sixth Crusade
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Kingdom of Jerusalem after treaty from 1229
20.
Seventh Crusade
–
The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. In 1244, the Khwarezmians, recently displaced by the advance of the Mongols and this time, despite calls from the Pope, there was no popular enthusiasm for a new crusade. There were also many conflicts within Europe that kept its leaders from embarking on the Crusade, Pope Innocent IV and Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor continued the papal-imperial struggle. Frederick had captured and imprisoned clerics on their way to the First Council of Lyon, Pope Gregory IX had also earlier offered King Louis brother, count Robert of Artois, the German throne, but Louis had refused. Thus, the Holy Roman Emperor was in no position to crusade, béla IV of Hungary was rebuilding his kingdom from the ashes after the devastating Mongol invasion of 1241. Henry III of England was still struggling with Simon de Montfort, Louis IX had also invited King Haakon IV of Norway to crusade, sending the English chronicler Matthew Paris as an ambassador, but again was unsuccessful. The only man interested in beginning another crusade therefore was Louis IX, France was perhaps one of the strongest states in Europe at the time, as the Albigensian Crusade had brought Provence into Parisian control. Poitou was ruled by Louis IXs brother Alphonse of Poitiers, who joined him on his crusade in 1245, another brother, Charles I of Anjou, also joined Louis. Louis IXs financial preparations for this expedition were comparatively well organized, however, many nobles who joined Louis on the expedition had to borrow money from the royal treasury, and the crusade turned out to be very expensive. Nonetheless, Egypt was the object of his crusade, and he landed in 1249 at Damietta on the Nile, Egypt would, Louis thought, provide a base from which to attack Jerusalem, and its wealth and supply of grain would keep the crusaders fed and equipped. On 6 June Damietta was taken with little resistance from the Egyptians, who withdrew further up the Nile. The flooding of the Nile had not been taken into account, however, and it soon grounded Louis and his army at Damietta for six months, where the knights sat back and enjoyed the spoils of war. A force led by Robert of Artois and the Templars attacked the Egyptian camp at Gideila and advanced to Al Mansurah where they were defeated at the Battle of Al Mansurah, and Robert was killed. Meanwhile, Louis main force was attacked by the Mameluk Baibars, the commander of the army and a future sultan himself. Louis was defeated as well, but he did not withdraw to Damietta for months, preferring to besiege Mansourah, which ended in starvation and death for the crusaders rather than the Muslims. In showing utter agony, a Templar knight lamented, In March 1250 Louis finally tried to return to Damietta, Louis fell ill with dysentery, and was cured by an Arab physician. In May he was ransomed for 800,000 bezants, half of which was to be paid before the King left Egypt, upon this, he immediately left Egypt for Acre, one of few remaining crusader possessions in Syria. Louis made an alliance with the Mamluks, who at the time were rivals of the Sultan of Damascus, although the Kingdom of Cyprus claimed authority there, Louis was the de facto ruler
Seventh Crusade
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Louis IX during the Seventh Crusade.
21.
Ninth Crusade
–
The Ninth Crusade, which is sometimes grouped with the Eighth Crusade, is commonly considered to be the last major medieval Crusade to the Holy Land. Louis IX of Frances failure to capture Tunis in the Eighth Crusade led Henry III of Englands son Edward to sail to Acre in what is known as the Ninth Crusade, the Ninth Crusade saw several impressive victories for Edward over Baibars. Ultimately the Crusaders were forced to withdraw, since Edward had pressing concerns at home and it is arguable that the Crusading spirit was nearly extinct, by this period as well. It also foreshadowed the imminent collapse of the last remaining crusader strongholds along the Mediterranean coast, following the Mamluk victory over the Mongols in 1260 at the Battle of Ain Jalut by Qutuz and his general Baibars, Qutuz was assassinated, leaving Baibars to claim the sultanate for himself. As Sultan, Baibars proceeded to attack the Christian crusaders at Arsuf, Athlith, Haifa, Safad, Jaffa, Ascalon, as the Crusader fortress cities fell one by one, the Christians sought help from Europe, but assistance was slow in coming. In 1268 Baibars captured Antioch, thereby destroying the last remnant of the Principality of Antioch, securing the Mamluk northern front and threatening the small Crusader County of Tripoli. Louis IX of France, having organized a large crusader army with the intent of attacking Egypt, was diverted instead to Tunis. Prince Edward of England arrived in Tunis too late to contribute to the remainder of the crusade in Tunis. Instead, he continued on his way to the Holy Land to assist Bohemund VI, Prince of Antioch and Count of Tripoli, against the Mamluk threat to Tripoli, on May 9,1271, Edward finally arrived at Acre. He brought a small but not insignificant contingent of no more than 1,000 men, Edward arrived at Acre while it was still under siege. His arrival caused Baibars to change his plans and turn away from Acre, the forces under Edwards command were much too small to take on the Mamluks in a straight battle, being unable to even stop the Mamluks from seizing the nearby Teutonic Montfort Castle. They settled for launching a series of raids, later, the arrival of additional forces from England and Hugh III of Cyprus, under the command of Edwards younger brother Edmund, emboldened Edward. He launched a raid with the support of the Templar, Hospitaller. The Crusaders surprised a force of Turcomans, reportedly killing 1,500 of them. Muslim sources list one emir as killed and one as wounded during this raid, on top of that, the Muslim commander of the castle was forced to abandon his command. However, Edward did not take the castle itself, and retreated before Baibars could respond in kind, in December 1271, Edward and his troops saw some action when they repelled an attack by Baibars on the city of Acre. Baibars eventually abandoned his siege of Tripoli, but the reason is not known. Contemporary accounts state that Edwards attacks on Baibars interior lines forced him to abandon the siege, some modern observers reject this interpretation, saying he instead abandoned it to avoid overcommitting himself in one direction due to a lack of intelligence on the Crusaders true capabilities
Ninth Crusade
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Operations during the Ninth Crusade.
Ninth Crusade
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Edward I kills his attempted assassin.
Ninth Crusade
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Romantic portrayal of the "Last Crusader". Increasing Muslim victories and Christian defeats led to the end of the Crusades.
22.
Savoyard crusade
–
The Savoyard crusade was born out of the same planning that led to the Alexandrian Crusade. It was the brainchild of Pope Urban V and was led by Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and it made small gains against the Ottomans in the vicinity of Constantinople and on Gallipoli. Noting the greater attention paid to Bulgaria than to the Turks, historian Nicolae Iorga argued it was not the thing as a crusade. This was the beginning of the Savoyard crusade, although John II would never fulfill his vow personally, the original members of the Order of the Collar were devoted followers, and often relatives, of Amadeus and all were probably pledged to accompany him on crusade. In the event, all but two who could not go for reasons of health, travelled east, the Order, like the crusade, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The deadline established for the departure of the crusade was 1 March 1365, the deadline was met by nobody, although on 27 June the king of Cyprus left Venice on the Alexandrian Crusade. In January 1365, as reported at Venice, ten galleys were being gathered in Provence for Louiss use, in the spring he invaded, not Turkish Europe, but rather the north of Bulgaria, then ruled by the tsars second son, Sratsimir. He conquered and occupied Vidin, and took Sratsimir captive back to Hungary and his expedition was thus completed in time for him to cooperate with Amadeus in a joint attack on the Turks in the spring of 1366. On 1 April 1364 Urban V made an effort to fund Amadeuss expedition with a series of seven bulls granting him various new sources of income. All confiscated ill-gotten gains from theft, rapine or usury which could not be restituted were to be used for the six years for the crusade. Finally, the church was to pay a tithe of its tithes to the count for the crusade, in early 1366 Amadeus was in Savoy assembling his army. More than half of the army consisted of the vassals of the count of Savoy. His half-brother Ogier and his nephew Humbert, son of his half-brother Humbert, Aymon, younger brother of James of Piedmont, and Amadeuss two illegitimate sons, both named Antoine, participated. A letter from Pope Urban in March 1365 did not convince them otherwise, Urban, the architect of the crusade, negotiated with Genoa and Marseille to procure ships, but the promise of transportation from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV was never fulfilled. Although Amadeus went to Avignon to protest, and apparently received a Papal blessing for his adventure, on 8 February Amadeus began the voyage over land to Venice. Amadeus had reached Rivoli by 15 February, and Pavia, where his brother-in-law Galeazzo II Visconti ruled and he then turned around and visited Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne before returning to Pavia by late May, there to be godfather at the baptism of his nephew Giangaleazzos infant son Giangaleazzo II. Half of the crusading host under Étienne de la Baume went from there to Genoa to embark on the fleet awaiting it and take it to Venice. On 1 June the rest of the army under Amadeus left for Padua, where the ruling family, the departure of the fleet took place around 21 June
Savoyard crusade
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Statue of Amadeus slaying a Turk by
Pelagio Palagi, which stands in
Turin
Savoyard crusade
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Fresco on the walls of a hall in the episcopal palace at
Colle Val d'Elsa, depicting the departure of barons on a crusade, probably that of 1366, since the knight on the left is Amadeus VI. “The fresco is usually ascribed to the
Sienese school and dated in the last half of the fourteenth century.”
Savoyard crusade
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A fresco in the
Florentine style by
Andrea di Bonaiuto in the Spanish Chapel of the
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella shows Amadeus VI (fourth from left in the back row) as a crusader
23.
Barbary Crusade
–
The Barbary Crusade, also called the Mahdia Crusade, was a Franco-Genoese military expedition in 1390 that led to the siege of Mahdia, then a pirate stronghold in Tunisia. Froissarts Chronicles is the account of what was one of the last crusades. During the lulls of the Hundred Years War knights looked for opportunities for glory, as Genoese ambassadors approached the French king Charles VI to subscribe to a crusade, they eagerly supported the plan to fight Muslim pirates from North Africa. These pirates had their base at Mahdia on the Barbary coast. Genoa was ready to supply ships, supplies,12,000 archers and 8,000 foot soldiers, the proposal by the doge Antoniotto Adorno was presented as a crusade. As such it would give prestige to its participants, a moratorium on their debts, immunity from lawsuits, the French force also included some English participants and consisted of 1,500 knights under the leadership of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. It has been estimated that the force numbered about 5,000 knights. Two priests representing both popes blessed the departing, an armada of about 60 ships left Genoa on July 1,1390 and landed at the end of July near the town of Mahdi where the soldiers disembarked unchallenged. The crusaders put up their camp and invested the city for the next two months. They had failed to bring sufficient siege engines to breach the walls, the crusaders had to build a wall around their camp and fortify it. The Berbers send out a negotiating party asking why the French would attack them, they had only troubled the Genoese, in answer they were told that they were unbelievers who had crucified and put to death the son of God called Jesus Christ. The Berbers laughed saying it was the Jews not they who had done that, in a subsequent encounter with the large relief army the crusaders killed many but eventually had to retreat exhausted and tired. The duration of the not only frustrated them, but their logistical systems started to weaken. When a final assault on the city was repelled they were ready to settle for a treaty, on the opposing side the Berbers realized that they could not overcome the heavier armed invaders. Both sides looked for a way to end the hostilities, the siege was lifted with the conclusion of a treaty negotiated through the Genoese party. The treaty stipulated a ten-year armistice, an agreement by Mahdia of payment of taxes to Genoa for 15 years, thus piracy from the Barbary coast was reduced, and the crusaders withdrew. By mid-October the crusaders had returned to Genoa, losses due to fighting and disease amounted to 274 knights and squires, about 20%. The Berbers had repelled the invaders, and the Genoese could conduct trade with less interference, the French knights had no tangible goals but had participated for action and glory
Barbary Crusade
–
The French army disembarking in Africa, led by the duke of Bourbon, holding a shield bearing the royal arms of France
24.
Battle of Nicopolis
–
It is often referred to as the Crusade of Nicopolis as it was one of the last large-scale Crusades of the Middle Ages, together with the Crusade of Varna in 1443–1444. There were many minor crusades in the 14th century, undertaken by individual kings or knights, most recently there had been a failed crusade against Tunisia in 1390, and there was ongoing warfare in northern Europe along the Baltic coast. In 1393 the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman had lost Nicopolis — his temporary capital — to the Ottomans, while his brother, Ivan Stratsimir, still held Vidin but had been reduced to an Ottoman vassal. In the eyes of the Bulgarian boyars, despots and other independent Balkan rulers, in addition, the frontline between Islam and Christianity had been moving slowly towards the Kingdom of Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary was now the frontier between the two religions in Eastern Europe, and the Hungarians were in danger of being attacked themselves. The Genoese also owned the citadel of Galata, located at the north of the Golden Horn in Constantinople, to which Bayezid had laid siege in 1395. The two decisive factors in the formation of the last crusade were the ongoing Hundred Years War between Richard IIs England and Charles VIs France and the support of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, in 1389, the war had ground to one of its periodic truces. The support of Burgundy, among the most powerful of the French nobles was also vital, in 1391, Burgundy, trying to decide between sending a crusade to either Prussia or Hungary, sent his envoy Guy de La Trémoille to Venice and Hungary to evaluate the situation. Burgundy originally envisioned a crusade led by himself and the Dukes of Orléans and Lancaster and it was very unlikely that defense against the Turks was considered a particularly important goal of the crusade. Charles VI, having secured a peace with England through the marriage of his daughter, was able to reply that it was his responsibility to protect Christianity, the number of combatants is heavily contested in historical accounts. The oft-given figure of 100,000 crusaders is dismissed by Tuchman, next in importance were the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, who were the standard bearers of Christianity in the Levant since the decline of Constantinople and Cyprus. Venice supplied a fleet for supporting action, while Hungarian envoys encouraged German princes of the Rhineland, Bavaria, Saxony. French heralds had proclaimed the crusade in Poland, Bohemia, Navarre and Spain, the Italian city-states were too much engaged in their customary violent rivalries to participate, and the widely reported and acclaimed English participation never actually occurred. The report of 1,000 English knights comes from contemporary Antonio Fiorentino, a thousand knights would have actually amounted to four to six thousand men and at least twice as many horses, counting foot-soldiers and other retainers. However, there are no records of financial arrangements being made in England to send a force abroad, nor of any royal preparation needed to organize and dispatch such a force. Atiya also thought that the invocation of St. Furthermore, there was no collection of money in England to pay for captives. Nevertheless, obviously inflated figures continue to be repeated, the strength of the Ottoman forces is also estimated at about 20-25,000, but inflated figures continue to be repeated. The Ottoman force also included 1,500 Serbian heavy cavalry knights under the command of Prince Stefan Lazarević, however, Burgundy retained control of the enterprise he was funding by naming 24-year-old John, Count of Nevers, the Dukes eldest son, for nominal command
Battle of Nicopolis
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Battle of Nicopolis (Note the counterfactual depiction of siege weapons)
Battle of Nicopolis
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The Battle of Nicopolis, as depicted by a Turkish miniaturist in 1588
Battle of Nicopolis
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The crusaders took eight days to cross the
Danube at the
Iron Gate
Battle of Nicopolis
–
Titus Fay saves King Sigismund of Hungary in the Battle of Nicopolis. Painting in the Castle of Vaja, creation of Ferenc Lohr, 1896.
25.
Crusade of Varna
–
The Crusade of Varna was a string of events in 1443–44 between the crusaders and the Ottoman Empire. It culminated in a decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Varna on 10 November 1444, after the war ended in 1430, the Ottomans returned to their earlier policy of controlling all lands south of the Danube. In 1432, Sultan Murad II began raiding into Transylvania, after King Sigismund died in 1437, the attacks intensified, with the Ottomans occupying Borač in 1438 and Zvornik and Srebrenica in 1439. At the end of 1439, Smederevo capitulated and Murad succeeded in making Serbia an Ottoman province, Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia, fled to his estates in Hungary. In 1440, Murad besieged Hungarys main border fortress, Belgrade, after failing to take the fortress, he was forced to return to Anatolia to stop attacks by the Karamanids. Meanwhile, Sigismunds successor Albert had died in October 1439, shortly after signing a law to restore the ancient laws, the law restricted the royal authority by requiring the participation of landed nobility in political decisions. Four months after Alberts death, his son, Ladislaus, was born while Hungary was in the midst of a civil war over the next monarch. On 17 July 1440 Vladislaus, king of Poland, was crowned despite continuing disputes, John Hunyadi aided Vladislauss cause by pacifying the eastern counties, gaining him the position of Nádor of Transylvania and the corresponding responsibility of protecting Hungarys southern border. By the end of 1442, Vladislaus had secured his status in Hungary, the impetus required to turn the plans into action was provided by Hunyadi between 1441–42. In 1441, he defeated a raid led by Ishak Pasha of Smederevo and he nearly annihilated Mezid Beys army in Transylvania on 22 March 1442, and in September he defeated the revenge attack of Şihabeddin Pasha, governor-general of Rumelia. Branković, hoping to liberate Serbia, also lent his support after Novo Brdo, on 1 January 1443 Pope Eugene IV published a crusading bull. The crusaders, led by Vladislaus, Hunyadi, and Branković and they correctly expected that Murad would not be able to quickly mobilize his army, which consisted mainly of fief-holding cavalrymen who needed to collect the harvest to pay taxes. Hunyadis experience of campaigns from 1441–42 added to the Hungarians advantage. They also had better armor, often rendering the Ottoman weapons useless, Murad could not rely on the loyalty of his troops from Rumelia, and had difficulties countering Hungarian tactics. In the Battle of Nish the crusaders were victorious and forced Kasim Pasha of Rumelia, however, the two burned all the villages in their path in an attempt to wear down the crusaders with a scorched earth tactic. When they arrived in Sofia, they advised the Sultan to burn the city and retreat to the mountain passes beyond, shortly after, bitter cold set in, and the next encounter, fought at Zlatitsa Pass on 12 December 1443, was fought in the snow. Until the Battle of Zlatitsa the crusaders did not meet major Ottoman army, only at Zlatica they met strong and well positioned defence forces of the Ottoman army. Four days after this battle Christian coalition reached Prokuplje, Đurađ Branković proposed to Władysław III of Poland and John Hunyadi to stay in Serbian fortified towns during the winter and continue their campaign against Ottomans in Spring 1444
Crusade of Varna
–
Painting by Stanisław Chlebowski portraying king Wladyslaw's death after the battle of Varna
26.
Northern Crusades
–
The crusades took place mostly in the 12th and 13th centuries and resulted in the conversion and baptism of indigenous peoples. Most notable campaigns were Livonian and Prussian crusades, some of these wars were called crusades during the Middle Ages, but others, including most of the Swedish ones, were first dubbed crusades by 19th-century romantic nationalist historians. And 1293, Livonians, Latgallians, Selonians, and Estonians, Semigallians and Curonians, the campaigns started with the 1147 Wendish Crusade against the Polabian Slavs of what is now northern and eastern Germany. The crusade occurred parallel to the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, the Swedish crusades were campaigns by Sweden against Finns, Tavastians, and Karelians during period from 1150 to 1293. The Danes are known to have made two crusades to Finland in 1191 and in 1202, the latter one was led by the Bishop of Lund Anders Sunesen with his brother. The difference in creeds was one of the reasons they had not yet been effectively converted. During a period of more than 150 years leading up to the arrival of German crusaders in the region, Estonia was attacked thirteen times by Russian principalities, Estonians for their part made raids upon Denmark and Sweden. There were peaceful attempts by some Catholics to convert the Estonians, starting with missions dispatched by Adalbert, however, these peaceful efforts seem to have had only limited success. Although the crusaders won their first battle, Bishop Berthold was mortally wounded, in 1199, Albert of Buxhoeveden was appointed by the Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen to Christianise the Baltic countries. By the time Albert died 30 years later, the conquest and formal Christianisation of present-day Estonia, although he landed in the mouth of the Daugava in 1200 with only 23 ships and 500 soldiers, the bishops efforts ensured that a constant flow of recruits followed. The first crusaders usually arrived to fight during the spring and returned to their homes in the autumn, to ensure a permanent military presence, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were founded in 1202. The founding by Bishop Albert of the market at Riga in 1201 attracted citizens from the Empire, at Alberts request, Pope Innocent III dedicated the Baltic countries to the Virgin Mary to popularize recruitment to his army and the name Marys Land has survived up to modern times. This is noticeable in one of the given to Livonia at the time. In 1206, the crusaders subdued the Livonian stronghold in Turaida on the bank of Gauja River. In order to control over the left bank of Gauja. By 1211, the Livonian province of Metsepole and the mixed Livonian-Latgallian inhabited county of Idumea was converted to the Roman Catholic faith, the last battle against the Livonians was the siege of Satezele hillfort near to Sigulda in 1212. The Livonians, who had been paying tribute to the East Slavic Principality of Polotsk, had at first considered the Germans as useful allies, the first prominent Livonian to be christened was their leader Caupo of Turaida. As the German grip tightened, the Livonians rebelled against the crusaders and the christened chief, Caupo of Turaida remained an ally of the crusaders until his death in the Battle of St. Matthews Day in 1217
Northern Crusades
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Ruins of the castle in
Sigulda.
Northern Crusades
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Norway
Northern Crusades
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Kuressaare Castle, Estonia, constructed by the Teutonic Order
Northern Crusades
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Tērvete castle hill in 2010.
27.
Wendish Crusade
–
By the early 12th century, the German archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg sought the conversion to Christianity of neighboring pagan West Slavs through peaceful means. During the preparation of the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, however, the Slavic leader Niklot preemptively invaded Wagria in June 1147, leading to the march of the crusaders later that summer. They achieved an ostensible forced baptism of Slavs at Dobin but were repulsed from Demmin, another crusading army marched on the already Christian city of Szczecin, whereupon the crusaders dispersed upon arrival. The Ottonian dynasty supported eastward expansion of the Holy Roman Empire towards Wendish lands during the 10th century, the campaigns of King Henry the Fowler and Emperor Otto the Great led to the introduction of burgwards to protect German conquests in the lands of the Sorbs. Ottos lieutenants, Margraves Gero and Hermann Billung, advanced eastward and northward respectively to claim tribute from conquered Slavs, bishoprics were established at Meissen, Brandenburg, Havelberg, and Oldenburg to administer the territory. A great Slavic rebellion in 983 reversed the initial German gains, while the burgwards allowed the Saxons to retain control of Meissen, they lost Brandenburg and Havelberg. The Elbe River thus became the limit of German-Roman control. Lacking support from the Salian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, christians, especially Saxons from Holstein, and pagans raided each other across the Limes Saxonicus, usually for tribute. From 1140-43 Holsatian nobles advanced into Wagria to permanently settle in the lands of the pagan Wagri, count Adolf II of Holstein and Henry of Badewide took control of Polabian settlements which would later become Lübeck and Ratzeburg, Vicelin was subsequently installed as bishop at Oldenburg. Adolf sought peace with the chief of the Obodrite confederacy, Niklot, the fall of Edessa in 1144 shocked Christendom, causing Pope Eugenius III and St. Bernard of Clairvaux to preach a Second Crusade to reinforce Outremer. While many south Germans volunteered to crusade in the Middle East and they told Bernard of their desire to campaign against the Slavs at a Reichstag meeting in Frankfurt on 13 March 1147. Approving of the Saxons plan, pope Eugenius issued a bull known as the Divina dispensatione on 13 April. Those who volunteered to crusade against the Slavic pagans were primarily Danes, Saxons, the German monarchy took no part in the crusade, which was led by Saxon families such as the Ascanians, Wettin, and Schauenburgers. Papal legate Anselm of Havelberg was placed in overall command, after expelling the Obodrites from his territory, Adolf signed a peace treaty with Niklot. The remaining Christian crusaders targeted the Obodrite fort Dobin and the Liutizian fort Demmin, the forces attacking Dobin included those of the Danes Canute V and Sweyn III, Archbishop Adalbert II of Bremen, and Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony. Avoiding pitched battles, Niklot ably defended the marshland of Dobin, one army of Danes was defeated by Slavs from Dobin, while another had to defend the Danish fleet from Niklots allies, the Rani of Rügen. Henry and Adalbert maintained the siege of Dobin after the retreat of the Danes, when some crusaders advocated ravaging the countryside, others objected by asking, Is not the land we are devastating our land, and the people we are fighting our people. The Saxon army under Henry the Lion withdrew after Niklot agreed to have Dobins garrison undergo baptism, the Saxon army directed against Demmin was led by several bishops, including those of Mainz, Halberstadt, Münster, Merseburg, Brandenburg, Olmütz, and Bishop Anselm of Havelberg
Wendish Crusade
–
Wendish Crusade
Wendish Crusade
–
Henry's duchies Saxony and Bavaria
28.
Second Swedish Crusade
–
The Second Swedish Crusade was a Swedish military expedition to areas in present-day Finland by Birger Jarl in the 13th century. As a result of the crusade, the Swedish kingdom began to influence in western Finland. According to Erics Chronicle from ca, 1320-1340, the crusade took place between Birger Jarl getting elevated to the position of jarl in 1248 and the death of King Eric XI of Sweden in 1250. The so-called Detmar Chronicle of Lübeck from around 1340 confirms the expedition with a note that Birger Jarl submitted Finland under Swedish rule. From other sources, Birger Jarl is known to have been absent from Sweden in winter 1249-50, later on, the conquest of Finland was redated to the 1150s by the official Swedish legends, crediting the national saint King Eric for it. The point of time when the took place has been somewhat disputed. Attempts have been made to date the attack either to 1239 or to 1256, neither date has received wide acceptance. Swedens sudden determination to take over Finland has not been explained, Finland became an integrated part of Sweden since there was a lot of exchange between the regions, especially via the Åland archipelago. During those days, it was easier to travel by sea than by land, Birger Jarl seems to have headed for Finland just after having both crushed the Folkung uprising of 1247-1248 and finalized the Treaty of Lödöse with Norway earlier in the summer of 1249. Swedens previous attempts to gain a foothold in Estonia in 1220 may have urged Sweden to settle for what was still available, Erics Chronicle also points out the threat from Russians, mentioning that the Russian king had now lost the conquered land. All details of the crusade are from Erics Chronicle, which is largely propagandist in nature, written amidst internal unrest, the chronicle has caused a long controversy on the actual target of the expedition, since it presents Tavastians as the Swedish opponents. Based on this, it is assumed that the target of the crusade was also Tavastia. Tavastians are known to have rebelled against the church in the 1230s, according to the chronicle, the expedition was prepared in Sweden and then conducted over sea to a land on the coast, where the enemy was waiting. Since Tavastia was inland, this contradiction was later explained so that there was a Tavastian port somewhere on the coast that was the target of the attack. Chronicle also mentions that a castle called taffwesta borg was established after the war, there have been lot of attempts to identify the castle with either Häme Castle or Hakoinen Castle in central Tavastia, but neither has been indisputably dated to such an early period. Finlands bishop Thomas, probably a Dominican monk, had resigned already in 1245, the seat being vacant, the diocese had probably been under the direct command of the papal legate William of Modena whose last orders to Finnish priests were given in June,1248. Swedish Bero was eventually appointed as the new bishop in 1248/9, the so-called Palmsköld booklet from 1448 noted that it was Bero who gave Finns tax to the Swedish king. Bero came directly from the Swedish court like his two successors and it seems that Swedish bishops also held all secular power in Finland until the 1280s when the position of the Duke of Finland was established
Second Swedish Crusade
–
19th century representation of
Birger Jarl, who started the Swedish conquest of Finland in 1249.
29.
Livonian Crusade
–
The lands on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were the last corners of Europe to be Christianized. After the success of the crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into six feudal principalities by William of Modena, Christianity had come to Latvia with the settlement of Grobiņa by Swedes in the 7th century and the Danes in the 11th. By the time German traders began to arrive in the half of the 12th century to trade along the ancient trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Saint Meinhard of Segeberg arrived in Ikšķile in 1184 with the mission of converting the pagan Livonians, in those days the riverside town was the center of the upcoming missionary activities in the Livonian area. The first prominent Livonian to be converted was their leader Caupo of Turaida, Pope Celestine III had called for a crusade against pagans in Northern Europe in 1193. When peaceful means of conversion failed to produce results, the impatient Meinhard plotted to convert Livonians forcibly and he died in 1196, having failed in his mission. His appointed replacement, bishop Berthold of Hanover, a Cistercian abbot of Loccum arrived with a contingent of crusaders in 1198. Shortly afterward, while riding ahead of his troops in battle, Berthold was surrounded and killed, to avenge Bertholds defeat, Pope Innocent III issued a bull declaring a crusade against the Livonians. Albrecht von Buxthoeven, consecrated as bishop in 1199, arrived the year with a large force. In 1202 he formed the Livonian Brothers of the Sword to aid in the conversion of the pagans to Christianity and, more importantly, to protect German trade, as the German grip tightened, the Livonians and their christened chief rebelled against the crusaders. Caupos forces were defeated at Turaida in 1206, and the Livonians were declared to be converted, Caupo subsequently remained an ally of the crusaders until his death in the Battle of St. Matthews Day in 1217. By 1208 the important Daugava trading posts of Salaspils, Koknese, in 1209 Albert, leading the forces of the Order, captured the capital of the Latgalian Principality of Jersika, and took the wife of the ruler Visvaldis captive. Visvaldis was forced to submit his kingdom to Albert as a grant to the Archbishopric of Riga, and received back a portion of it as a fief. Tālava, weakened in wars with Estonians and Russians, became a state of the Archbishopric of Riga in 1214. With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Latgalians, the Estonian tribes fiercely resisted the attacks from Riga and occasionally sacked territories controlled by the crusaders. Hill forts, which were the key centers of Estonian counties, were besieged, captured, a truce between the war-weary sides was established for three years. It proved generally more favourable to the Germans, who consolidated their political position and they were led by Lembitu of Lehola, the elder of Sackalia, who by 1211 had come to the attention of German chroniclers as the central figure of the Estonian resistance. The Livonian leader Caupo was killed in the Battle of St. Matthews Day near Viljandi on September 21,1217, but Lembitu was also killed, the Christian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden were also eager for expansion on the eastern shores of the Baltic
Livonian Crusade
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Dannebrog falling from the sky during the
Battle of Lyndanisse, 1219.
Livonian Crusade
–
Baltic Tribes, ca 1200.
Livonian Crusade
–
The 1241 Treaty between
Livonian Order,
Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek and
Oeselians at
National Archives of Sweden
30.
Prussian Crusade
–
The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Prussians by Polish princes, by the end of the century, having quelled several Prussian Uprisings, the Knights had established control over Prussia and administered the Prussians through their monastic state. Wulfstan of Hedeby, an agent of Alfred of Wessex, recorded the seafaring and cattle-herding Prussians as a strong, Mieszko I of the Polans tried to extend his realm from land he had just conquered around the mouth of the Oder as far as Prussia. Boleslaw I of Poland, son of Mieszko I, greatly expanded his conquests and used Adalbert of Prague for his aim of conquering the Prussians in 997. After some initial success among the Prussians, Adalberts successor, Bruno of Querfurt, was killed in 1009. Boleslaw I continued his conquests of surrounding lands and in 1015 he devastated large parts of Prussia, the Poles waged war with the neighboring Prussians, Sudovians, and Wends over the following two centuries. While the Poles sought the conversion of the Prussians and control of their land, many Prussians nominally accepted baptism only to revert to pagan beliefs after hostilities ended. Henry of Sandomierz was killed fighting the Prussians in 1166, boleslaw IV and Casimir II each led large armies into Prussia, while Boleslaws forces were defeated in guerilla warfare, Casimir imposed peace until his death in 1194. King Valdemar II of Denmark supported Danish expeditions against Samland until his capture by Henry, Count of Schwerin, in 1223. In 1206, the Cistercian bishop Christian of Oliva, with the support of the King of Denmark and Polish dukes, inspired, he travelled to Rome to prepare for a larger mission. When he returned to Chełmno in 1215, however, Christian found the Prussians hostile, the pagan Prussians invaded Chełmno Land, Masovia, and Pomerellia, besieged Chełmno and Lubawa, and forced converts to return to the old beliefs. Because of the intensity of attacks, Pope Honorius III sent a papal bull to Christian in March 1217 allowing him to begin preaching a crusade against the militant Prussians. The following year the pagans attacked Chełmno Land and Masovia again, plundering 300 cathedrals, Duke Conrad of Masovia succeeded in expelling the Prussians by paying a huge tribute, which only encouraged the Prussians, however. Honorius III called for a crusade under the leadership of Christian of Oliva and chose as papal legate the Archbishop of Gniezno, numerous Polish nobles began endowing Christians Bishopric of Prussia with estates and castles in Chełmno Land during the meantime. The lords agreed that the focus was to rebuild the defenses of Chełmno Land, especially Chełmno itself. By 1223, however, most of the crusaders had left the region, the Balts even reached Gdańsk in Pomerellia. In 1225 or 1228, fourteen north German knights were recruited by Conrad, First granted the estate of Cedlitz in Kuyavia until the completion of a castle at Dobrzyń, the group became known as the Order of Dobrzyń. The Knights of Dobrzyń initially had success driving the Prussians from Chełmno Land, the survivors were granted asylum in Pomerania by Duke Swantopelk II
Prussian Crusade
–
Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
Prussian Crusade
–
Baltic tribes and Prussian clans ca. 1200.
31.
Bosnian Crusade
–
The Bosnian Crusade was fought against unspecified heretics from 1235 until 1241. It was, essentially, a Hungarian war of conquest against the Banate of Bosnia sanctioned as a crusade, led by the Hungarian prince Coloman, the crusaders only succeeded in conquering peripheral parts of the country. They were followed by Dominicans, who erected a cathedral and put heretics to death by burning, the crusade came to an abrupt end when Hungary itself was invaded by Tatars. The crusaders were forced to withdraw and engage their own invaders, later popes called for more crusades against Bosnia, but none ever took place. The failed crusade led to mistrust and hatred for Hungarians among the Bosnian population that lasted for centuries, several crusades were called against Bosnia, a country long deemed infested with heresy by both the rest of Catholic Europe and its Eastern Orthodox neighbours. The first crusade was averted in April 1203, when Bosnians under Ban Kulin promised to practice Christianity according to the Roman Catholic rite, Kulin also reaffirmed the secular supremacy of the kings of Hungary over Bosnia. In effect, however, the independence of both the Bosnian Church and Banate of Bosnia continued to grow, at the height of the Albigensian Crusade against French Cathars in the 1220s, a rumour broke out that a Cathar antipope, called Nicetas, was residing in Bosnia. Bosnians were accused of being sympathetic to Bogomilism, a Christian sect closely related to Catharism, in 1221, the concern finally prompted Pope Honorius III to preach a crusade against the Bosnian heretics. He repeated this in 1225, but internal problems prevented the Hungarians from answering his call and he was duly deposed in 1233 and replaced with a German Dominican prelate, John of Wildeshausen, the first non-Bosnian Bishop of Bosnia. The same year, Ban Matthew Ninoslav abandoned an unspecified heresy, in 1234, Pope Gregory IX issued another call for crusade, and this time Hungary readily responded. While it is possible that the Bosnians had failed to align their church with Rome, Gregory promised indulgence to prospective crusaders and entrusted Coloman, younger son of Andrew II and brother of Béla IV, with executing the military action. Coloman and his followers were put under protection of the Holy See, neither the enemies nor the targeted region were precisely named in the letters the Pope sent to Coloman and the Bishop of Bosnia. He referred to Slavonia, mentioning lands of Bosnia only in the letter to the Bishop and it is generally understood that, by Slavonia, he meant Bosnia and its surroundings, Slavic lands, or even to actual Slavonia. The fact that the Bishop of Bosnia was informed, however, the action seems to have been taken against Bosnians in general as only heretics are mentioned, it is implied in one source that the crusade was directed against dualists. Active fighting began in 1235, but the Hungarian army only reached Bosnia proper three years later, the delay may have been caused by the popular resistance in the north of the country, namely Soli, where the mountainous terrain helped many heretics defend against the crusaders. In August 1236, Pope Gregory ordered the crusaders not to pester Matthew Ninoslavs relative Sibislav, knez of Usora, or his mother, vrhbosna apparently fell in 1238, when a cathedral was constructed by Dominicans who followed the crusaders. The crusaders failed to conquer all of Bosnia, however, as Matthew Ninoslav continued to act as ban throughout the conflict in the parts of his realm. The order took control of the Catholic Church in Bosnia, now led by a new bishop, the Dominicans recorded that some heretics were burned at the stake, but do not appear to have discovered anything about the nature of the heresy
Bosnian Crusade
–
Hungarians fleeing Mongol invaders
32.
Albigensian Crusade
–
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in the south of France. The reforms were a reaction against the scandalous and dissolute lifestyles of the Catholic clergy in southern France. They became known as the Albigensians, because there were many adherents in the city of Albi, Innocent IIIs diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism met with little success. After the murder of his legate, Pierre de Castelnau, in 1208 and he offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. After initial successes, the French barons faced an uprising in Languedoc which led to the intervention of the French royal army. The Albigensian Crusade also had a role in the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and the medieval inquisition. By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of the most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a mass movement. Relatively few believers took the consolamentum to become full Cathars, the theology of the Cathars was dualistic, a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles, God, the force of good, and Satan, or the demiurge, the force of evil. They held that the world was evil and created by this demiurge. Rex Mundi encompassed all that was corporeal, chaotic and powerful, the Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate, they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit and completely unsullied by the taint of matter. He was the God of love, order and peace, jesus was an angel with only a phantom body, and the accounts of him in the New Testament were to be understood allegorically. As the physical world and the body were the creation of the evil principle. Civil authority had no claim on a Cathar, since this was the rule of the physical world, deriving from earlier varieties of gnosticism, Cathar theology found its greatest success in the Languedoc. The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of Albi, in Languedoc, political control was divided among many local lords and town councils. Before the crusade there was fighting in the area and it had a fairly sophisticated polity. Western Mediterranean France itself was at that time divided between the Crown of Aragon and the county of Toulouse, on becoming Pope in 1198, Innocent III resolved to deal with the Cathars and sent a delegation of friars to the province of Languedoc to assess the situation. One of the most powerful, Count Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, openly supported the Cathars and he refused to assist the delegation
Albigensian Crusade
–
This
Pedro Berruguete work of the 15th century depicts a story of
Saint Dominic and the Albigensians, in which the texts of each were cast into a fire, but only Saint Dominic's proved miraculously resistant to the flames.
Albigensian Crusade
–
Political map of Languedoc on the eve of the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
–
Cathars being expelled from
Carcassonne in 1209.
Albigensian Crusade
–
The
yellow cross worn by Cathar repentants.
33.
Aragonese Crusade
–
The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragon, Peter III the Great, in 1284 and 1285. Martin bestowed Aragon on Charles, Count of Valois, son of the French king, Philip III, the crusade soon caused civil war within Aragon, as Peters brother, King James II of Majorca, joined the French. James had also inherited the County of Roussillon and thus stood between the dominions of the French and Aragonese monarchs, Peter had opposed James inheritance as a younger son and reaped the consequence of such rivalry in the crusade. In 1284, the first French armies under Philip and Charles entered Roussillon and they included 16,000 cavalry,17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though they had James support, the populace rose against them. The city of Elne was valiantly defended by the so-called Bâtard de Roussillon, eventually he was overcome and the cathedral was burned, despite the presence of papal legates, while the population was massacred, all save the Bâtard. He succeeded in negotiating his surrender and accompanied the royal forces as a prisoner. In 1285, Philip the Bold entrenched himself before Girona in an attempt to besiege it, the resistance was strong, but the city was taken. Charles was crowned there, but without an actual crown, on 28 April, Cardinal Jean Cholet placed his own hat on the counts head. For this, Charles was derisively but not unaffectionately nicknamed roi du chapeau, the French soon experienced a reversal, however, at the hands of Peter IIIs admiral, Roger de Lauria. The French fleet was defeated and destroyed at the Battle of Les Formigues, as well, the French camp was hit hard by an epidemic of dysentery. The heir to the French throne, Philip, opened negotiations with Peter for free passage for the family through the Pyrenees. But the troops were not offered such passage and were decimated at the Battle of the Col de Panissars, the king of France himself died at Perpignan, the capital of James of Majorca, and was buried in Narbonne. Peter did not long survive him, historian H. J. Chaytor described the Aragonese Crusade as perhaps the most unjust, unnecessary and calamitous enterprise ever undertaken by the Capetian monarchy. W. C. Jordan has blamed it for the young Philips opposition to papal interference in French foreign policy upon his succession, the crusades legacy to France was slight, but Majorca was devastated as an independent polity. Peters son Alfonso III annexed Majorca, Ibiza, and Minorca in the following years, in 1295, the Treaty of Anagni returned the islands to James and the Treaty of Tarascon of 1291 officially restored Aragon to Alfonso and lifted the ban of the church. A History of Aragon and Catalonia, Europe in the High Middle Ages
Aragonese Crusade
–
A
fresco from the
Castle of Cardona depicting the Siege of Girona in 1285; now preserved in the
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
34.
Hussite Wars
–
These wars lasted from 1419 to approximately 1434. The Hussite community included most of the Czech population of the Kingdom of Bohemia and they defeated five crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope, and intervened in the wars of neighboring countries. The Hussite Wars were notable for the use of early hand-held firearms such as hand cannons. The fighting ended after 1434, when the moderate Utraquist faction of the Hussites defeated the radical Taborite faction, the Hussites agreed to submit to the authority of the King of Bohemia and the Church, and were allowed to practice their somewhat variant rite. Starting around 1402, priest and scholar Jan Hus denounced what he judged as the corruption of the Church and the Papacy and his preaching was widely heeded in Bohemia, and provoked suppression by the Church, which had declared Wycliffe a heretic. In 1411, in the course of the Western Schism, Antipope John XXIII proclaimed a crusade against King Ladislaus of Naples, to raise money for this, he proclaimed indulgences in Bohemia. Hus bitterly denounced this and explicitly quoted Wycliffe against it, provoking further complaints of heresy, in 1414, Sigismund of Hungary convened the Council of Constance to end the Schism and resolve other religious controversies. Hus went to the Council, under a safe-conduct from Sigismund, but was imprisoned, tried and this angered Sigismund, who was King of the Romans, and brother of King Wenceslaus of Bohemia. He had been persuaded by the Council that Hus was a heretic and he sent threatening letters to Bohemia declaring that he would shortly drown all Wycliffites and Hussites, greatly incensing the people. Disorder broke out in parts of Bohemia, and drove many Catholic priests from their parishes. Almost from the beginning the Hussites divided into two groups, though many minor divisions also arose among them. This doctrine became the watchword of the moderate Hussites known as the Utraquists or Calixtines, from the Latin calix, in Czech kališníci. The more extreme Hussites became known as Taborites, after the city of Tábor that became their center, or Orphans, under the influence of Sigismund, Wenceslaus endeavoured to stem the Hussite movement. A number of Hussites led by Mikuláš of Hus — no relation of Jan Hus — left Prague and they held meetings in various parts of Bohemia, particularly at Sezimovo Ústí, near the spot where the town of Tábor was founded soon afterwards. At these meetings they violently denounced Sigismund, and the people prepared for war. In spite of the departure of many prominent Hussites, the troubles at Prague continued and it has been suggested that Wenceslaus was so stunned by the defenestration that it caused his death on 16 August 1419. The death of Wenceslaus resulted in renewed troubles in Prague and in almost all parts of Bohemia, many Catholics, mostly Germans — mostly still faithful to the Pope — were expelled from the Bohemian cities. Wenceslaus widow Sophia of Bavaria, acting as regent in Bohemia, hurriedly collected a force of mercenaries and tried to control of Prague
Hussite Wars
–
Jan Žižka with a priest looking over
Prague after the
Battle of Vítkov Hill
Hussite Wars
–
Protestant Reformation
Hussite Wars
–
Burning of
Jan Hus at the Council of Constance
Hussite Wars
–
The Hussite Wagenburg
35.
Crusade
–
The First Crusade arose after a call to arms in a 1095 sermon by Pope Urban II. Urban urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, the response to Urbans preaching by people of many different classes across Western Europe established the precedent for later Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the church. Some were hoping for apotheosis at Jerusalem, or forgiveness from God for all their sins, others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, gain glory and honour, or find opportunities for economic and political gain. Many modern Historians have polarised opinions of the Crusaders behaviour under Papal sanction, to some it was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of the papacy and the Crusades, to the extent that on occasions that the Pope excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, while their leaders retained control of captured territory rather than returning it to the Byzantines. During the Peoples Crusade thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade rendering the reunification of Christendom impossible. These tales consequently galvanised medieval romance, philosophy and literature, but the Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism. Crusade is not a term, instead the terms iter for journey or peregrinatio for pilgrimage were used. Not until the word crucesignatus for one who was signed with the cross was adopted at the close of the century was specific terminology developed. The Middle English equivalents were derived from old French, croiserie in the 13th–15th centuries, croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760. By convention historians adopt the term for the Christian holy wars from 1095, the Crusades in the Holy Land are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271/2. Usage of the term Crusade may differ depending on the author, pluralists use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by the reigning Pope. This reflects the view of the Roman Catholic Church that every military campaign given Papal sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, justification, generalists see Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the Latin Church and fought in defence of their faith. Popularists limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious fervour – that is, only the First Crusade, Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Ali ibn al-Athir refer to the Crusades as the Frankish Wars. The term used in modern Arabic, ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya حملات صليبية, campaigns of the cross, is a loan translation of the term Crusade as used in Western historiography. The Islamic prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, the resulting unified polity in the seventh and eighth centuries led to a rapid expansion of Arab power. This influence stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, tolerance, trade, and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian states of Europe waxed and waned
Crusade
–
Madrid Skylitzes illuminated manuscript depicting Byzantine Greeks punishing ninth-century
Cretan Saracens
Crusade
–
Map of the
Eastern Mediterranean in 1135, showing crusader-held and neighbouring territories
Crusade
–
Fifteenth-century illustrated French translation of
Boccaccio 's
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium, showing
Seljuk emperor
Alp Arslan ritually humiliating
Romanos IV in 1071 after Manzikert; Alp Arslan allowed Romanos to return to
Constantinople, where he was killed by the Byzantines.
Crusade
–
Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer (c. 1490) of Urban II at the Council of Clermont (from the
Bibliothèque Nationale)
36.
Louis IX of France
–
Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII the Lion, although his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom until he reached maturity. During Louiss childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals, as an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of the most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux. Simultaneously, Henry III of England tried to restore his continental possessions and his reign saw the annexation of several provinces, notably Normandy, Maine and Provence. Louis IX was a reformer and developed French royal justice, in which the king is the judge to whom anyone is able to appeal to seek the amendment of a judgment. He banned trials by ordeal, tried to prevent the private wars that were plaguing the country, to enforce the correct application of this new legal system, Louis IX created provosts and bailiffs. According to his vow made after an illness, and confirmed after a miraculous cure. He was succeeded by his son Philip III, Louiss actions were inspired by Christian values and Catholic devotion. He decided to punish blasphemy, gambling, interest-bearing loans and prostitution and he also expanded the scope of the Inquisition and ordered the burning of Talmuds. He is the only canonized king of France, and there are many places named after him. Much of what is known of Louiss life comes from Jean de Joinvilles famous Life of Saint Louis, two other important biographies were written by the kings confessor, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and his chaplain, William of Chartres. The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus biography, while several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the kings death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king. Louis was born on 25 April 1214 at Poissy, near Paris, the son of Prince Louis the Lion and Princess Blanche, and baptised in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. His grandfather on his fathers side was Philip II, king of France, while his grandfather on his mothers side was Alfonso VIII, tutors of Blanches choosing taught him most of what a king must know—Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government. He was 9 years old when his grandfather Philip II died, a member of the House of Capet, Louis was twelve years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral, because of Louiss youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority. Louis mother trained him to be a leader and a good Christian. She used to say, I love you, my son, as much as a mother can love her child
Louis IX of France
–
Representation of Saint Louis considered to be true to life, early 14th century. Statue from the church of
Mainneville, Eure, France.
Louis IX of France
–
Coin of Saint Louis,
Cabinet des Médailles. – The Latin inscription reads LVDOVICVS (i.e. "Louis") DEI GRACIA (i.e. "
by the Grace of God ", where Latin gratia was spelt gracia) FRANCOR REX (i.e. "
King of the Franks ", where Francor. is the abbreviation of Francorum).
Louis IX of France
–
Equestrian statue of King Saint Louis at the
Sacré-Cœur
Louis IX of France
–
Death of Saint Louis: On 25 August 1270, Saint Louis dies under his fleurdelisé tent before the city of Tunis. Illuminated by
Jean Fouquet,
Grandes Chroniques de France (1455–1460)
37.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Frederick II was a Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily in the Middle Ages, a member of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, however, his enemies, especially the popes, prevailed, and his dynasty collapsed soon after his death. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, at the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance of Hauteville, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage, Pope Gregory IX went so far as to call him an Antichrist. Speaking six languages, Frederick was a patron of science. He played a role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. His Sicilian royal court in Palermo, from around 1220 to his death, saw the first use of a form of an Italo-Romance language. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and he was also the first king who explicitly outlawed trials by ordeal as they were considered irrational. After his death, his line died out and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Born in Iesi, near Ancona, Italy, Frederick was the son of the emperor Henry VI and he was known as the puer Apuliae. Some chronicles say that his mother, the forty-year-old Constance, gave birth to him in a square in order to forestall any doubt about his origin. In 1196 at Frankfurt am Main the infant Frederick was elected King of the Germans and his rights in Germany were disputed by Henrys brother Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick. At the death of his father in 1197, Frederick was in Italy travelling towards Germany when the bad news reached his guardian, Conrad of Spoleto. Frederick was hastily brought back to his mother Constance in Palermo, Sicily, Constance of Sicily was in her own right queen of Sicily, and she established herself as regent. Upon Constances death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Fredericks guardian, Fredericks tutor during this period was Cencio, who would become Pope Honorius III. However, Markward of Annweiler, with the support of Henrys brother, Philip of Swabia, reclaimed the regency for himself, in 1200, with the help of Genoese ships, he landed in Sicily and one year later seized the young Frederick. He thus ruled Sicily until 1202, when he was succeeded by another German captain, William of Capparone, Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia, until, in 1208, he was declared of age. His first task was to reassert his power over Sicily and southern Italy, Otto of Brunswick had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
The birth of Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Gold
augustale of Emperor Frederik II, as King of Sicily 1198–1250.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Frederick II (left) meets
Al-Kamil (right).
38.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
39.
Mamluks
–
Mamluk is an Arabic designation for slaves. The term is most commonly used to refer to Muslim slave soldiers and these were mostly enslaved Turkic peoples, Egyptian Copts, Circassians, Abkhazians, and Georgians. Many Mamluks were also of Balkan origin, over time, the mamluks became a powerful military knightly caste in various societies that were controlled by Muslim rulers. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Mesopotamia, in some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power as emirs or beys. Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate centered on Egypt and Syria, the Mamluk Sultanate famously defeated the Ilkhanate at the Battle of Ain Jalut. They had earlier fought the western European Christian Crusaders in 1154-1169 and 1213-1221, effectively driving them out of Egypt, in 1302 the mamluks formally expelled the last Crusaders from the Levant, ending the era of the Crusades. While mamluks were purchased as property, their status was above ordinary slaves, in a sense they were like enslaved mercenaries. In the Middle Ages, the Mamlukes took up the practice of furusiyya chivalry although Mamluk knights were slaves until their service ended, the Arabic term for a knight was fāris, The faris and the notion of furusiyya originated in pre-Muslim Persian brotherhoods. Within the Muslim world, the fursān became prized as ideal warriors and they were also trained in wrestling, and their martial skills were honed first on foot as piéton and then perfected when as mounted warriors. They were popularly used as heavy knightly cavalry by a number of different Islamic kingdoms and empires, including the Ayyubid dynasty, the origins of the mamluk system are disputed. Historians agree that a military caste such as the mamluks appeared to develop in Islamic societies beginning with the ninth-century Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. When in the century has not been determined. Up until the 1990s, it was believed that the earliest mamluks were known as ghilman and were bought by the Abbasid caliphs. By the end of the 9th century, such warrior slaves had become the dominant element in the military, conflict between these ghilman and the population of Baghdad prompted the caliph al-Mutasim to move his capital to the city of Samarra, but this did not succeed in calming tensions. The caliph al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by some of these slave-soldiers in 861, adult slaves and freemen both served as warriros. The mamluk system developed later, after the return of the caliphate to Baghdad in the 870s and it included the systematic training of young slaves in military and martial skills. The Mamluk system is considered to have been an experiment of al-Muwaffaq. This recent interpretation seems to have been accepted, after the fragmentation of the Abbasid Empire, military slaves, known as either mamluks or ghilman, were used throughout the Islamic world as the basis of military power
Mamluks
–
A Mamluk nobleman from
Aleppo
Mamluks
–
An Egyptian Mamluk warrior in full armor and armed with lance, shield, sabre and pistols
Mamluks
–
Mamluk lancers, early 16th century (etching by
Daniel Hopfer)
Mamluks
–
Ottoman Mamluk
heavy cavalry armour, circa 1550
40.
Charles of Anjou
–
Thereafter, he claimed the island, though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom, with his capital at Naples. Charles was the child and youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile. He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen and acquired lands in the eastern Mediterranean, however, the War of the Sicilian Vespers forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire. By marriage to Beatrice of Provence, heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence, he was Count of Provence, in 1247, his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine, as appanages of the French crown. By conquest and self-proclamation, he became King of Albania in 1272, by the testament of William II of Villehardouin, he inherited the Principality of Achaea in 1278. Charles was born in March 1227, four months after the death of his father, like his immediate older brother, Philip Dagobert, he did not receive a county as appanage, as had their older brothers. In 1232, his brothers Philip Dagobert and John, Count of Anjou and Maine, died, Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties, but was formally invested only in 1247. The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have bestowed upon his brother Louis. The self-reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive, upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246, Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties. Furthermore, while Provence was technically a part of the Burgundy and hence of the Holy Roman Empire, recent counts had governed with a light hand, and the nobilities and cities had enjoyed great liberties. Three cities, Marseille, Arles, and Avignon were Imperial cities technically separate from the county. In 1247, while Charles was in France to receive the counties of Anjou and Maine, the local nobility joined with Beatrice, unfortunately for Charles, he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade. For the time being, Charles compromised with Beatrice, allowing her to have Forcalquier, rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career. His rights as landlord were, on the whole, of recent establishment, from the Church, unlike his brothers in the north, he received virtually nothing. Charles agents were efficient, the towns were prosperous, the peasants were buying up the duties of corvée and establishing self-governing consulats in the villages, Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues-Mortes in 1248 and fought at Damietta and in the struggle around Mansourah, Egypt. However, his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother, during his absence, open rebellion had broken out in Provence. Charles moved to suppress it, and Arles, Avignon, Marseille held out until July 1252, but then sued for peace. Charles imposed a lenient peace, but insisted on the recognition of his full rights, in November 1252, the death of his mother Blanche of Castile caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse
Charles of Anjou
–
Statue of Charles at the
Royal Palace, Naples.
Charles of Anjou
–
Statue in Hyeres of Charles I d'Anjou comte de Provence
Charles of Anjou
–
Battle of Benevento, 1266
Charles of Anjou
–
Charles of Anjou killing
Manfred, King of Sicily during the
Battle of Benevento
41.
Hohenstaufen
–
The Hohenstaufen, also called the Staufer or Staufen, were a dynasty of German kings during the Middle Ages. Besides Germany, they ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. In Italian historiography, they are known as the Svevi, since they were dukes of Swabia from 1079, three members of the dynasty—Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II—were crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The name Staufen derives from Stauf, meaning chalice, and was applied to conical hills in Swabia in the Middle Ages. The family derives its name from the castle which the first Swabian duke of the lineage built there in the half of the 11th century. Staufen castle was finally called Hohenstaufen by historians in the 19th century. The name of the dynasty followed, but in recent decades the trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name Staufer, the noble family first appeared in the late 10th century in the Swabian Riesgau region around the former Carolingian court of Nördlingen. A local count Frederick is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine, his son Frederick of Buren married Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg and their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the kings approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Fredericks brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Fredericks death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II, Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the kings representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival House of Welf, when the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V, died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. A civil war between Fredericks dynasty and Lothairs ended with Fredericks submission in 1134, after Lothairs death in 1137, Fredericks brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, conrads brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III. When King Conrad III died without heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced and he was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. During Fredericks long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger, offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung
Hohenstaufen
–
Ruins of Hohenstaufen castle
Hohenstaufen
–
Arms of the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
–
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his sons King Henry VI and Duke
Frederick V of Swabia, Welfenchronik, 1167/79,
Weingarten Abbey
Hohenstaufen
–
Frederick's
Castel del Monte, in
Andria, Apulia, Italy.
42.
Baibars
–
Baibars or Baybars, of Turkic Kipchak origin — nicknamed Abu al-Futuh and Abu l-Futuhat — was the fourth Sultan of Egypt in the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, the reign of Baibars marked the start of an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and solidified the durability of their military system. As Sultan, Baibars also engaged in a combination of diplomacy and military action and his name was derived from Kipchak Turkic bay + bars. Baibars was born in the Dasht-i Kipchak/Cumania, between the Edil and Yaiyk rivers, to the Cumans-Kipchaks and it was said that he was captured by the Bulgars in the Kipchak steppe/Cumania and sold as a slave, ending up in Syria. Baibars was quickly sold to a Mamluk officer called Aydekin al bondouqdar and sent to Egypt, Baibars was a commander of the Mamluks under the Ayyubids. In around 1250 he defeated the Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France and they were besieged from all directions by the Egyptian forces and the town population, and suffered heavy losses. Robert of Artois, who took refuge in a house, only five Templar Knights escaped alive. Baibars was still a commander under Sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, after the battle, Sultan Qutuz was assassinated while on a hunting expedition. Baibars succeeded Qutuz as Sultan of Egypt, also, the threat from the Mongols was still serious enough to be considered as a threat to Baibars authority. However, Baibars first chose to deal with Sinjar, and marched on Damascus, at the same time the princes of Hama and Homs proved able to defeat the Mongols in the First Battle of Homs, which lifted the Mongol threat for a while. After suppressing the revolt of Sinjar, Baibars then managed to deal with the Ayyubids, unfortunately, al-Mustansir II was killed by the Mongols during an ill-advised expedition to recapture Baghdad from the Mongols later in the same year. Like his unfortunate predecessor, al-Hakim I also received the oath of alliegance of Baibars. As sultan, Baibars engaged in a struggle against the Crusader kingdoms in Syria. He started with the Principality of Antioch, which had become a state of the Mongols and had participated in attacks against Islamic targets in Damascus. In 1263, Baibars laid siege to Acre, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and he used siege engines to defeat the Crusaders in battles such as the Fall of Arsuf from March 21 to April 30. After breaking into the town he offered free passage to the defending Knights Hospitallers if they surrendered their formidable citadel, the Knights accepted Baibars offer but were enslaved anyway. Baibars razed the castle to the ground and he next attacked Athlith and Haifa, where he captured both towns after destroying the crusaders resistance, and razed the citadels
Baibars
–
The Mamluks under Baibars (yellow) fought off the Franks and the Mongols during the
Ninth Crusade.
43.
Syria
–
Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
Syria
–
Female figurine, 5000 BC.
Ancient Orient Museum.
Syria
–
Flag
Syria
–
God head, the kingdom of
Yamhad (c. 1600 BC)
Syria
–
Ebla royal palace c. 2400 BC
44.
War of Saint Sabas
–
The War of Saint Sabas or San Saba was a conflict between the rival Italian maritime republics of Genoa and Venice, over control of Acre, in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The war began when the Venetians were evicted from Tyre in 1256 and war grew out of a dispute concerning land in Acre then owned by Mar Saba but claimed by both Genoa and Venice. Initially Genoa had an upper hand, but its early successes were abruptly reversed when the Republic of Pisa. In this they had the support of the new bailiff, Plaisance of Cyprus, Bohemond VI of Antioch, at this juncture, Philip of Montfort, who had been providing food to the Genoese in Acre, was one of Genoas only supporters. Philip was staying about a mile away from Acre, in a called the New Vineyard with 80 men on horses and 300 archer-villeins from his land. In June, as per a plan, he marched on Acre, the conflict wore down and by 1261 a fragile peace was in effect, though the Genoese were still out of Acre. The Genoese then approached Michael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor of Nicaea, after the Treaty of Nymphaeum was ratified in 1261, the emperor funded fifty ships to fight the Venetians. After this assault, in 1264, the Venetians returned to Tyre to conquer it, during the continuous skirmishing of the 1260s, both sides employed Muslim soldiers, mostly Turcopole, against their Christian foes. In 1266, the Genoese had made an alliance with Baibars, who was to outfit some troops for an expedition against Acre, in 1267, Genoa managed to capture the Tower of Flies and blockade the harbour of Acre for twelve days before being evicted by a Venetian flotilla. The ongoing warfare between Genoa and Venice had a negative impact on the Kingdoms ability to withstand external threats to its existence. The War of Saint Sabas was settled in 1270 with a pact to cease the hostilities between the Venetians and the Genoese, in 1288, Genoa finally received their quarter in Acre back. Les villes dItalie, mi XII° siècle – XIV° siècle
War of Saint Sabas
–
The ruins of the "Tower of Flies" today.
45.
Genoa
–
Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015,594,733 people lived within the administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba due to its glorious past, part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The citys rich history in notably its art, music. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the countrys major economic centres. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is among the oldest in the world and has played an important role in the citys prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Fincantieri, Selex ES, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo STS, Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone, Piaggio Aerospace, the Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was frequented and inhabited by Ligures, Phoenicians, Phocaeans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbour probably saw use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. In the 5th century BC was founded the first oppidum at the foot of the today called the Castle Hill which now is inside the medieval old town. The ancient Ligurian city was known as Stalia, so referred to by Artemidorus Ephesius and Pomponius Mela, Ligurian Stalia was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Stalia had an alliance with Rome through a foedus aequum in the course of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians accordingly destroyed it in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC. it received municipal rights, the original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trades included skins, wood, and honey, goods were shipped to the mainland, up to major cities like Tortona and Piacenza. Among the archeological remains from the Roman period, an amphitheatre was also found, another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means New City and still another from the Latin word ianua, related to the name of the God Janus, meaning door or passage. The latter is in reference to its position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as part of the Augustean Regio IX Liguria, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths occupied Genoa
Genoa
–
A collage of Genoa, clockwise from top left:
Torre della Lanterna,
Piazza de Ferrari, Galleria Mazzini, Brigata Liguria Street, view of San Teodoro from
Port of Genoa
Genoa
–
The Polcevera bronze tablet, evidence of the Roman and pre-Roman past of Genoa.
Genoa
–
Portrait of
Christopher Columbus by
Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
Genoa
–
The iconic
Lanterna, renaissance lighthouse of Genoa built in 1543
46.
Venice
–
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
–
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
–
The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
47.
Galilee
–
Al-Jalīl) is a region in northern Israel. The term Galilee traditionally refers to the part and divided into Upper Galilee. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative Northern District of the country, the regions Israelite name is from the Hebrew root galil, an ultimately unique word for district, and usually circle. The Hebrew form used in Isaiah 8,23 is in the state, glil hagoyim, meaning Galilee of the Nations. The region in turn gave rise to the English name for the Sea of Galilee referred to as such in many languages including ancient Arabic and these are the three names used in originally internal Jewish-authored literature rather than the Sea of Galilee. However, Jews did use the Galilee to refer to the whole region, most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700 m. Several high mountains are in the region, including Mount Tabor and Mount Meron, as a result of this climate, flora and wildlife thrive in the region, while many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the Hula–Jordan corridor. According to the Bible, Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the region of Naphthali and Dan. However, Dan was dispersed among the people rather than isolated to the lands of Dan, as the Tribe of Dan was the hereditary local law enforcement. Normally, Galilee is just referred to as Naphthali, hiram, to reciprocate previous gifts given to David, accepted the upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali and renamed it the land of Cabul for a time. After Judea became a Roman province in 6, C. E. Galilee briefly became a part of it, the Galilee region was presumably the home of Jesus during at least 30 years of his life. Much of the first three Gospels of the New Testament give an account of Jesus public ministry in this province, particularly in the towns of Nazareth, Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus performed many public miracles, including curing a blind man. After the death of Jesus, some accounts suggest his disciples returned to Galilee, many are cited for their large number of students and followers throughout the Jewish people among the common people. According to the Talmud, one of the most important founders of the modern Jewish faith, simeon bar Yochai, one of the most famed of all the Tannaim, hid from the Romans in the Galilee, and dug tunnels there to hide. Many miracles are ascribed to him during his Galilean period after escaping Judea proper, in medieval Hebrew legend, he may have written the Zohar while there. Eastern Galilee retained a Jewish majority until the seventh century, after the Arab caliphate took control of the region in 638, it became part of Jund al-Urdunn. Its major towns were Tiberias, Baysan, Acre, Saffuriya, the Shia Fatimids conquered the region in the 10th century, a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, formed the Druze religion, centered in Mount Lebanon and partially Galilee. During the Crusades, Galilee was organized into the Principality of Galilee, the Jewish population of Galilee increased significantly following their expulsion from Spain and welcome from the Ottoman Empire
Galilee
–
An
orchard in
Upper Galilee
Galilee
–
Keshet Cave (Rainbow Cave or Cave of the Arch), a
natural arch on the ridge north of
Nahal Betzet, Galilee
Galilee
–
Map of Galilee, circa 50 CE
Galilee
–
Sea of Galilee as seen from the
Moshava Kinneret
48.
Nazareth
–
Nazareth is the capital and the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as the Arab capital of Israel, in 2015 its population was 75,726. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 30. 9% Christian, Nazareth Illit is built alongside old Nazareth, and had a Jewish population of 40,312 in 2014. The Jewish sector was declared a city in June 1974. In the New Testament, the town is described as the home of Jesus. One view suggests this toponym might be an example of a name used by resettling groups on their return from exile. The negative references to Nazareth in the Gospel of John suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the name to prophecy. Another theory holds that the Greek form Nazara, used in Matthew and Luke, may derive from an earlier Aramaic form of the name, or from another Semitic language form. If there were a tsade in the original Semitic form, as in the later Hebrew forms and this has led some scholars to question whether Nazareth and its cognates in the New Testament actually refer to the settlement known traditionally as Nazareth in Lower Galilee. In the Quran, Christians are referred to as naṣārā, meaning followers of an-Nāṣirī, in Lukes Gospel, Nazareth is first described as a town of Galilee and home of Mary. Following the birth and early epiphanial events of chapter 2 of Lukes Gospel, Mary, Joseph and Jesus returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. In English translations of the New Testament, the phrase Jesus of Nazareth appears seventeen times whereas the Greek has the form Jesus the Nazarēnos or Jesus the Nazōraios. One plausible view is that Nazōraean is a normal Greek adaptation of a reconstructed, Nazaréth is named twelve times in surviving Greek manuscript versions of the New Testament,10 times as Nazaréth or Nazarét, and twice as Nazará. The former two may retain the feminine endings common in Galilean toponyms, the minor variants, Nazarat and Nazarath are also attested. Nazara might be the earliest form of the name in Greek and it is found in Matthew 4,13 and Luke 4,16. However, the Textus Receptus clearly translates all passages as Nazara leaving little room for debate there, the form Nazara is also found in the earliest non-scriptural reference to the town, a citation by Sextus Julius Africanus dated about 221 CE. The Church Father Origen knows the forms Nazará and Nazarét, later, Eusebius in his Onomasticon also refers to the settlement as Nazara. The nașirutha of the scriptures of the Mandeans refers to craft, not to Nazareth
Nazareth
–
Nazareth נָצְרַת Na'tzeret النَّاصِرَة an-Nāṣira
Nazareth
–
Ancient mosaic of Nazareth
Nazareth
–
Historic photo of
Mary's Well
Nazareth
–
The
Basilica of the Annunciation
49.
Caesarea
–
Caesarea is a town in north-central Israel. Located midway between Tel Aviv and Haifa on the plain near the city of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. The town was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BCE as the port city Caesarea Maritima and it served as an administrative center of Judaea Province of the Roman Empire, and later the capital of the Byzantine Palaestina Prima province during the classic period. Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, in which it was the last city to fall to the Arabs and it was abandoned after the Mamluk conquest. It was re-populated in 1884 by Bosniak immigrants, who settled in a fishing village. In 1940, kibbutz Sdot Yam was established next to the village, in February 1948 the village was conquered by a Palmach unit commanded by Yitzhak Rabin, its people already having fled following an attack by the Lehi. In 1952, a Jewish town of Caesarea was established near the ruins of the old city, Caesarea Maritima was built during c. 20–10 BCE near the ruins of a naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos. It was likely an agricultural station in its earliest configuration. In 90 BCE, Alexander Jannaeus captured Stratons Tower as part of his policy of developing the shipbuilding industry, Stratons Tower remained a Jewish settlement for two more generations, until the area became dominated by the Romans in 63 BCE, when they declared it an autonomous city. The pagan city underwent vast changes under Herod the Great, who renamed it Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. In 22 BCE, Herod began construction of a sea harbor and built storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus. Every five years the city hosted major sports competitions, gladiator games, Caesarea also flourished during the Byzantine period. In the 3rd century, Jewish sages exempted the city from Jewish law, or Halakha, the city was chiefly a commercial centre relying on trade. The Muslim historian al-Biladhuri mentions Kaisariyyah/Cæsarea as one of ten towns in Jund Filastin conquered by the Muslim Rashidun army under Amr ibn al-Ass leadership during the 630s, the area was only seriously farmed during the Rashidun Caliphate period, apparently until the Crusader conquest in the eleventh century. Over time, the farms were buried under the sands shifting along the shores of the Mediterranean. Nasir-i-Khusraw noted a beautiful Friday Mosque in Caesarea in year 1047 C. E. so situated that in its court you may sit and this was converted into the church of St. Peter in Crusader times. A wall which may belong to this building has been identified in modern times, khusraw further noted that it is a fine city, with running waters, and palm-gardens, and orange and citron trees
Caesarea
–
Modern town of Caesarea
Caesarea
–
Supposedly used in the
Last Supper, but actually later Egyptian glass, taken from the main mosque at Caesarea by the Crusaders in 1101, and brought to Genoa, where it remains in the
Genoa Cathedral.
Caesarea
–
The Bosnian Mosque at Qisarya
Caesarea
–
11th Century (
Fatimid Period) jewelry from Caesarea
50.
Arsuf
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For the modern community, see Arsuf, Hof HaSharon. Apollonia was an ancient city in Hellenistic and Roman Judea, in the late Roman era renamed to Sozusa and it was situated on a cliff above the Mediterranean Sea, about 34 kilometres south of Caesarea. It fell to the Muslim conquest in 640 and was fortified against Byzantine attacks and it was re-conquered by the kingdom of Jerusalem in 1101, and was a strategically important fortress in the Third Crusade, during which the Battle of Arsuf was fought nearby. The fortress fell to the Mamluks in 1265 and was destroyed, the site of Arsuf is now in Herzliya municipality, Israel. The site was excavated from 1994. In 2002, the site was named Apollonia National Park, the city is first recorded under its Greek name Apollonia in the final decades of the Persian period. The Semitic name ršp would then have been restored in the medieval Arabic toponym of Arsūf, the Saramitan chronicle of Abu l-Fath record a toponym rʿšfyn. Izre’el considers the possibility of identifying this toponym with the Arabic Arsūf, a tradition connecting the name with the biblical Resheph, a grandson of Ephraim, is spurious. The name of the nearby Israeli settlement of Rishpon was given in 1936, the renaming is paralleled in at least three other cities called Apollonia, Sozusa in Cyrenaica, Sozopolis in Pisidia and Sozopolis in Thrace. The identification of ancient Apollonia with Byzantine-era Sozusa is due to Stark, the site is variously referred to as Appolonia, Arsin, Arsuf, Arsuph, Arsur, Arsuth, Assur, Orsuf and Sozusa in Crusader-era documents. Although some Chalcolithic and Iron Age remains were uncovered at the site and it is mentioned in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. During the Hellenistic period it was a town, ruled by Seleucids. Under Roman rule, the town prospered and grew into the commercial and industrial centre of the region between the Poleg and Yarkon rivers. In AD113, Apollonia was destroyed partially by an earthquake, Apollonia is mentioned by Pliny, Hist. nat. V,14, and Ptolemy, V, xv,2, XIII, xv,4, Appianus, Hist. rom. The Roman proconsul, Gabinius, found it ruined in 57 BC, Apollonia is depicted in the Tabula Peutingeriana, on the coastal highway between Joppa and Caesarea, at the distance of 22 miles from Caesarea, confirming the identification of Arsuf with Apollonia. There was no coin minting in Apollonia, confirming that the town did not have the role of a Roman provincial center but was considered a medium-sized coastal town like Jamnia. Sozusa in Palaestina was the name of the city in the late Roman province of Palaestina Prima, and its see was a suffragan of Caesarea
Arsuf
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An aerial view of the Tel.
Arsuf
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Remains of the stronghold
Arsuf
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A dry
moat
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