Crusades to the East - a very noticeable phenomenon in history. We know them from school books, feature films and literature.
In total (according to N. Basovskaya) there were eight of them: from 1096 and from 1248-1270. Wikipedia adds another 9th (1271-1272) and the Crusades in Europe. The most explosive that shocked the entire Christian world was, of course, the first. By this time, Jerusalem in the VII century. was conquered by the Arabs, and then from the VIII century belonged to the Seljuk Turks. Over the centuries, they have appeared there their shrines.
In historical science, the Crusades are studied as a battle between the Christian and Muslim worlds. It is not finished and continues in our time. Estimates of the Crusades are directly polar. Some believe that this is a holy, good work in the name of the Church. The historian Michaud writes of them as a feat. Other statements say that this is a devilish admonition that caused a lot of disasters. For example, in the 4th campaign, the crusaders smashed Christian cities, plundered Constantinople, obscurantism - the famous Crusade of children. It was believed that if pure souls came to Jerusalem, then the walls would collapse. And it ended very sadly: they died in Europe, in the cold Alps, most were sold into slavery in Egypt.
Campaign Backgrounds
The beggar hermit Peter of Amiens, whose nickname was the Hermit, visited Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. He saw Christians oppressed in Palestine. When he returned, he got an audience with Pope Urban II and was blessed to preach the campaign for the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher. Dressed in rags, barefoot, without a headdress, on a donkey, he moved through the villages and towns of Europe, and everywhere his fiery speeches met support, attention and a desire to follow his sermons. He was considered a saint and for happiness they took the opportunity to pinch off a piece of wool from his donkey. Meanwhile, Pope Urban II promised the participants the forgiveness of sins (this was very important for the masses), care for their families and the cancellation of their debts.
Excited by these calls, the peasantry sewed red crosses on their clothes. Therefore, this movement was called the “Crusader,” and the participants themselves became known as the “Crusaders.” It was not the knights who were the first to go on the campaign, but the peasants who could not even imagine how far the Holy Land was from Europe, and each large city they met was mistaken for Jerusalem. Most of them died on the way. But we are interested in the fifth crusade - years, participants, goals, results. We will talk about this below.
The beginning, goals and reasons for this expedition
The fifth crusade (1217-1221) took place under the leadership of the King of Hungary Andras II. Knights gathered not only in Hungary, but throughout Europe. Fees for the fifth crusade (the photo, of course, cannot be presented due to his invention much later) is depicted in the picture below.
Andras II was led by Pope Honorius III to lead the troops. At that time in Palestine there was a weak Christian kingdom (from 1099 to 1291), which was torn apart by internal contradictions (the struggle of knightly orders among themselves) and the attacks of Muslim Saracens. He lacked the support of Europe. The new king Jacques Briensky arrived without an army and rejected the lucrative peace that the Saracens proposed (they had already heard rumors about a new upcoming campaign). This will be the fifth crusade, which was supposed to support the declining Christian kingdom.
At the end of 1217, Europeans sailed on Venetian ships to Palestine through the Mediterranean Sea. They all gathered in Acre, a small town in the southwest of the country. The cunning Saracens, hoping that internal strife, hunger and disease will destroy the army, did not attack. They calculated everything correctly. The Crusaders tried to occupy Mount Tabor and gain a foothold on it. But they lacked unity, food, catapults, and the expedition stopped. The Crusaders simply settled in winter apartments. Inaction led to new contention, and soon, in February 1218, the king of Hungary, seeing the futility of his stay, returned with part of his army to Europe to pacify the rebellious vassals in his homeland. So the fifth crusade began unsuccessfully.
Reinforcements from Europe
Later, in 1218, a mixed army arrived, consisting of Germans, Dutch and Flemings. It was decided to capture Damietta in Egypt. To avoid a struggle on two fronts, a peaceful alliance was concluded with Anatolia. In July, the fifth crusade set off for Egypt.
Siege of Damietta
Crusaders landed near the city of Damietta, which, due to its position on the Nile, was considered the key to the country. Damietta was magnificently fortified. Inside there was a lot of provisions, and outside there were double walls. It was difficult to get to the harbor, since it was closed by a tower, from which a powerful chain went along the shore.
In July 1218, the crusaders began a siege of the fortress. They wanted to crush the center of the Islamic world forever and immediately end the wars for the Holy Land. The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) set itself the goal. But here the interests of the Italian republics and city-states were implicated - obtaining free trade in Egypt.
Siege
At first there were failures caused by discord in the manual. Then it was entrusted to Leopold VI of Austria.
After that, two ships were connected among themselves and a tower and a bridge were built on them, which lowered. She was brought closer to the tower of Damietta, and three hundred crusaders began the assault. The Saracens stubbornly resisted, but the attackers were successful. They captured the tower and opened their ships the entrance to the Nile.
The reasons why the fighters did not advance further and seize the city are not clear to historians. At this time, the Cairo Sultan approached with reinforcements. Pope Honorius III sent to lead the army of his legate Pelagius Albano. To raise the spirit came St. Francis of Assisi.
But all this did not help much. At the same time, strife began in the army of the Sultan, which played an important role in the future. The army of Muslims retreated. The Christians crossed the Nile, surrounded the city and, having built a bridge, began its siege. The Sultans of Damascus and Cairo joined forces and returned to Damietta. Skirmishes began, and the crusaders often suffered defeat. However, there were rumors among Muslims that the army of Emperor Frederick II was going to help the opponents. They offered a profitable world: the surrender of Jerusalem and money for the restoration of its walls. The pious agreed, but Pelagius, blinded by possible rich booty in Damietta, refused. The Fifth Crusade, it turns out, pursued quite material goals. Selflessness and a pure goal - the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher - were not peculiar to knights. The siege continued.
Victory or defeat?
In the late autumn of 1219, the city, brought to its extreme point by famine, surrendered. Of the 70 thousand people, only five survived. Pelagius triumphed. Everyone was busy robbing - the booty was rich, and no one thought that it was necessary to quickly defeat the army of Muslims. Meanwhile, they set up a fortified high camp on the other side of the Nile.
Nile spill
By July 1221, many participants refused to obey the orders of Pelagius. They demanded and ensured that the army of the King of Jerusalem returned. His seventy thousand soldiers went to the Cairo Sultan. He again proposed peace. Crusaders under the influence of Pelagius repeatedly refused. They were inactive. Many Christians left the army without permission. The spill of the Nile became an ally of the Muslim Saracens. They destroyed the floodgates and dams and allowed water onto the plain where the Christian camp was located. Without food, without the ability to retreat, Christians themselves began to ask for peace. They were allowed in 1221 to retire to Palestine. This ingloriously ended the fifth crusade (1217-1221). We will consider the results in the next section.
Effects
Like the previous ones, the fifth trip showed:
- Frequent change of leadership.
- Weak discipline: the knights left the army at their discretion, often during difficult conditions.
- Unwillingness to act in concert, pursuing the main goal - the liberation of the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulcher.
- Greed and desire to seize wealth.
- The lack of a single plan.
- Ignorance of the natural environment (the spill of the Nile caught the Christians by surprise).
- The desire of Pope Honorius III to lead the campaign through his messenger.
- Shameful world.
All taken together led to failure and did not produce any positive results. This painfully hit European Christians. They spent a lot of money and effort and waited for brilliant victories and benefits, and it all ended in a humiliating world.
Fifth Crusade (1217-1221): participants
Hungary and Austria were represented at the beginning of the campaign by the Hungarian king Andras II and the Duke of Austria Leopold VI. Andras had the largest army in all times of the Crusades - 20,000 knights. They were joined by Otton Meransky and Earl of Holland William. Later, Pope Honorius III sent his legate Pelagius, who claimed the role of commander in chief. King of Jerusalem John considered it necessary to annex Damietta to his kingdom. Pelagius, however, was opposed. Emperor Frederick II sent significant reinforcements under Damietta in 1221, but he remained in Europe. For this, Pope Honorius III threatened him with excommunication. That is, the culprit of the defeat was found.
In conclusion, it must be clarified that Europe did not achieve its main goal - weakening Muslims - either in the fifth or other campaigns. Opponents did not submit to European culture. The honor and glory of the knights were not won.