The first crusade of 1096-1099 subsequently developed into a new direction in the foreign policy of Western European states. What influenced the emergence of such a large-scale movement? What events took place during the years of the First Crusade? You can find answers to these and many other questions in this article.
Europe of the end of the 11th century
Over the years of the First Crusade, as you will learn later, there have been many changes. But what caused such a surge in popular activity, which in terms of scale is comparable only with the Great Migration of Peoples? Let's take a closer look.
The history of the First Crusade begins in the last five years of the eleventh century. Although it officially ended in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the consequences lasted several centuries.
Why, in fact, did it begin. A little later, we consider separately the motives of the knights, Byzantines and the situation of Muslims in the east during this period. In the meantime, it’s worth talking about the state of affairs in Western Europe.
After centuries of forced Christianization of Hungarians and Scandinavians, a layer of professional soldiers has formed in European states. Peace professions were not to their liking. They only wanted to fight, so they happily went to the mercenaries. But there were very few offers. Such sentiments were in the lower layers of society.
The nobles also acted as participants in the First Crusade. The table of their trips is often studied in history lessons. After reading our article, you will easily navigate these issues.
So, the top pursued their goals. Kings led offensives against the Saracens in Spain and North Africa, tried to know the nobility to engage in robberies, but did not always succeed.
Therefore, the First Crusade, in short, became an outlet where the aggressive moods of most of the masses of Western Europe escaped.
Let’s now talk about the motives of each side.
European goals
The end of the eleventh century was a difficult period for Western Europe. As mentioned above, over the previous centuries a powerful stratum of professional warriors was formed who did not know how and did not want to do anything else.
Noble knights and ordinary foot soldiers, beggars and priests, merchants and peasants - all these are participants in the First Crusade. The table of the beginning of their eastward movement is often given at home in the school. You can easily do it based on the material in this article.
So, the participants in the first crusades were a diverse social mass. Did they immediately go to help the Christian brothers? Of course not. They were more engaged in internal showdowns, the struggle for power in hundreds of lands and principalities.
Change of decision took place in two stages. In 1074, the Pope called on the peoples of Europe to help the Byzantine emperor. But no military assistance ensued. Only the massive pilgrim movement to the Middle East began.
But soon there were rumors about the oppression of Christian pilgrims by Muslims. This caused a wave of indignation, but there was still no active action. The last straw was the appeal of the new Pope, Urban II, who spoke no longer about helping the brothers, but about the personal benefit of all the participants of the campaign: "For whoever is poor here will become a king in the promised land."
The period from 1096 to 1099. - years of the First Crusade. Grade 6 at school studies them as part of the history of the Middle Ages. Let's talk about the situation in the east at this time.
Motives of Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire was in a very interesting position during the years of the first crusades. Until 1091, the country experienced a political and economic crisis.
The state suffered attacks from three sides. From the north, the Pechenegs who dominated the southern Ukrainian steppes threatened. From the south the Seljuk Turks were running out, who inflicted several defeats on the emperor’s army. In the Sea of ​​Marmara, a Turkish pirate fleet dominated.
It was at this time that Alexei Komnin was engaged in diplomatic correspondence with the rulers of Western European states. He talks about the plight of the empire and asks for help. Over time, even the rapprochement of the Orthodox and Catholic churches began to take shape. This fact was very pleasant to the Pope, and became one of the factors that influenced the beginning of calls for a crusade.
But by the fall of 1092, the situation in the Byzantine Empire was improving significantly. The Pechenegs were defeated in alliance with the Slavs. Turks care more about internal strife and cease to disturb the borders of the Christian state. The empire is entering a period of stability and a gradual rise.
But in the West they didn’t even know about it, therefore the goal of the first European crusades was radically different from the motives of the Byzantines. In the future, this became the basis for contention in the process of negotiations between the emperor and the crusaders.
The situation in the Muslim world
During the years of the first crusades, the territory of the entire Islamic world was covered by civil strife. Almost at one time, in the last decade of the eleventh century, the rulers of the Seljuks, Abbasids and Fatimids die. In the Middle East, a civil war begins between Shiites and Sunnis for power.
The Shiite state of the Fatimids, which was located on the territory of modern Egypt, hoped to receive support in the person of the Crusaders. Alexei Komnin, the Byzantine emperor, also advised European knights to conclude an alliance with them against Sunni Seljuks.
In fact, the south of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, part of Armenia were in the hands of the Turks. On the territory of modern Syria and Lebanon a number of independent city-states appeared. But Egypt and the south of Palestine fell into the hands of the Fatimids.
It was internal strife that prevented Muslims from speaking out as a united force against the crusaders. On this issue, the warring parties were equal, as the Europeans also could not agree.
Such feuds fell into the hands of only the emperor of Byzantium, who, though by cunning, was able to regain some of the lost lands.
Christians in the Middle East
The participants of the First Crusades firmly believed that they were going not only to conquer the "tomb of the Lord", but also to protect the Christian brothers from unfaithful Saracens. Especially this moment is well shown in the movie "Kingdom of Heaven."
But the Catholic priests of Western Europe were mistaken in many ways. In fact, the situation in the Middle East turned out to be radically opposite.
In Muslim states, Christians and Jews were rarely oppressed, as the Koran forbids us to force the people of Scripture into the “true” faith. They are simply considered lost. Therefore, in the Islamic cities of the eastern Mediterranean, non-Muslims paid a certain tax to the state and all.
Harassment began after the "disinterested" help of fraternal peoples. When the Turks and Arabs saw what the Europeans were doing, they began to expel Christians from the cities, fearing that they would help co-religionists from within.
Thus, the purpose of the first crusades was sharply adjusted after European soldiers hit the promised land. They saw with their own eyes the peaceful attitude of local residents, as well as wealth, wealth and the presence of no man's land. After that, the crusaders were mainly guided only by greed.
Events of the peasant campaign
The participants in the first crusades were people from the most diverse walks of life. Therefore, in the article we will actually talk about the three movements of the masses, which in history are called the First Campaign.
A few months before Pope Urban II officially announced the start of the First Crusade, a huge “army of beggars” advanced from many European lands. They were led by Peter the Hermit, a monk from Amiens. He lit the people with the idea of ​​wealth and satiety in the new lands.
The year the First Crusade began in Western Europe coincided with the first rich harvest after many years of drought. But the bulk of the poor did not see him, as they left whole families on a journey in early spring. They believed that the "Christian brothers" would help them with food. This practice did exist, but for a few pilgrims.
There was also a hungry crowd of men, women, the elderly and children. They gradually became embittered and began to rob settlements that came in the way. They were rebuffed by local organized troops. The beggars of the First Crusades constituted the bulk of the dead, since they did not have weapons, the strength for battles and the skills to fight.
With great difficulty, this rabble reached Constantinople, losing about fifteen thousand people, a quarter of the original number. In the capital, they organized atrocities, which forced the Byzantine emperor to transport them to Asia Minor.
There, the peasant army was met by armed Seljuk detachments.
The result of the First Crusade for poverty was deplorable. According to researchers of this period, about ten thousand young men and women were sold into slavery. More than fifty thousand old people, children and people of adulthood fell from diseases and sabers of regular armies.
Judging by the surviving sources, only about a hundred people out of sixty thousand reached Byzantine Christian cities.
German campaign
The next stream was the movement in German and French lands, which was organized by one petty knight, nicknamed Gauthier the Pauper.
The motives that inspired the ten thousandth trained army on this campaign were simply unique. They are fully consistent with the thinking and worldview of the European burghers of that time.
Pope Urban II called on everyone to arms in order to protect Christianity from the Gentiles, as well as to conquer the Holy Sepulcher. But these knights heard only the first part of the appeal. The Germans decided that they should not go to the other end of the world, because here they live well, and faith must be defended.
Therefore, ten thousand armed Germans and French simply went on a “hunt”, engaged in Jewish pogroms. It is noteworthy that they advanced to the northwest, in the completely opposite direction from Jerusalem.
Although the Catholic Church tried to condemn such behavior, no obvious measures were taken. Jews tried to organize defense themselves or hired soldiers for protection. But nothing helped. For several years, the forcible conversion of Gentiles to Christianity continued. Those who refused were inevitable death.
Thus, the result of the First Crusade for European Jews was disastrous. But such actions of the knights only increased the hatred of the Jews and Muslims towards them. Thousands of gold coins begin to flock from the Semitic communities of different countries to help Muslims in Africa and the Middle East who opposed the crusaders.
Nobles in the First Crusade
The greatest success during the years of the First Crusade was achieved by the army led by the nobles. Although they did not constitute a single whole, they had many well-trained warriors, armored men, crossbowmen and cavalrymen.
Unlike the helpless peasant army, these could repel regular Turkish and Arab troops.
The nobles advanced detachments of various sizes from their possessions, gradually merging into the stretched train of many thousands. So, according to various estimates, from fifty to one hundred thousand soldiers approached Constantinople.
But this movement began only after the death of the peasant army and the Jewish pogroms in Europe. Noble people did not want to lose a rich harvest. On the road, in contrast to poverty, they went with food, weapons and other necessary things. Each unit constituted an independent combat unit.
The reasons for the First Crusade for these gentlemen were obvious. "Landless houses will become the owner of servants and fabulous riches in the Kingdom of Heaven in Jerusalem."
All events that occurred in the Middle East from 1096 to 1099 can be divided into several periods. The border between them will be the most significant sieges in which participants were involved in the First Crusade.
A table of these events is often set at home in history classes in the sixth grade. Let's take a closer look at them to help students.
The course of events in 1096-1099
In fact, the crusade itself began only after the armies left Constantinople. There, European nobles secured the support of the Byzantine emperor. In return, they promised to transfer to him all the captured lands that once belonged to the Byzantine Empire.
The first test of the oath of strength was the siege of the Turkish city of Nicaea. It began in 1097. The assault was unsuccessful because the crusader army was unable to continue the offensive after defeating the Turkish sultan. The vlog lasted several months.
Byzantine Emperor Alexei Komnin rightly suspected the leaders of the knightly army in a desire to violate the contract. Therefore, at a critical moment, when it was already clear that the city would fall in the coming days, he sent his parliamentarian to the townspeople. The latter agreed on the surrender of the city to the Byzantine forces, in order to avoid robbery by the crusaders.
And so it happened. Reluctantly, the knights had to keep an oath and move on. The next item was Antioch. The city, which was half way to Jerusalem.
The siege lasted from October 1097 to June 1098. Boehmund of Tarento, the Norman prince from southern Italy, managed to bribe one officer from the besieged city. He promised to lower the stairs on one section of the wall and help in the capture of the fortress.
For a similar service to the European armies, Boemund demanded that Antioch be transferred to his possession after the capture. It was possible to partially convince the remaining knights only by threatening defeat in case of long deliberation. On the approach was the thousands of Turkish army of Kerboga.
After taking the fortress in the city, almost all the inhabitants were killed. A few days after the capture of Antioch by the crusaders, she was again under siege. Turkish troops approached. The siege was endured by the Europeans hard, as there was very little food left.
Boemund decided to give an open battle to the Turks. But before that, by cunning (as many researchers believe) he raised the morale of the army. One morning it was told about a vision that happened to a peasant. According to him, in the walls of Antioch, near one of the churches, a spear was buried, which killed Christ. Indeed, it was dug up.
The armies, “led by the hand of the Lord,” were able to defeat the soldiers of Kerboga.
The next step was Jerusalem. He managed to capture only at the cost of many thousands of lives. I had to fill up the moat around the city so that the siege towers approached the walls. After the capture of the city, according to the chronicles, the massacre began in it, and after the robbery. According to the chroniclers, more than seventy thousand citizens were destroyed in Jerusalem in a few days.
Thus, the result of the First Crusade was mixed and divided the history of the Middle East and Europe into the periods “before” and “after”.
The consequences of the campaign
We can name the following results of the First Crusade.
Firstly, this is the only time that the goals set initially were fully achieved.
Secondly, having got acquainted with oriental culture, having received property, lands, servants, many soldiers did not want to return to their homeland. They settled and gradually adopted the culture of the local population.
But the main event that took place during the years of the First Crusade was the foundation of four new Christian states. They were scattered throughout the Levant (an area that included the south of modern Turkey and the Middle East), were ruled by various feudal lords and existed for about a century.
So, the county of Edessa was the first to be formed. Actually, it received the name by the name of the capital. It was founded by Baldwin of Boulogne, one of three brothers - the Lorraine knights. He separated from the army of the crusaders in 1098, on the way to Antioch, and went east. There he conquered this territory and created his own state, which lasted about half a century.
In the same year, the Principality of Antioch was formed. Its founder and ruler was Boemund of Tarents, which we mentioned earlier. The state lasted one hundred and seventy years.
After the capture of Jerusalem, in 1099, the kingdom of Jerusalem was created . The first ruler was Gottfried of Bouillon, the brother of Baldwin, who settled in Edessa. In the possession of the king were also the territories of four seigniori. The monarchy lasted until the Third Crusade, and fell in 1291, after the capture of Acre.
The fourth state of the crusaders was founded in 1105 by the Count of Toulouse. Raymond IV, his first ruler, named the territory the county of Tripoli. It lasted until 1289.
Thus, in this article, we learned about the premises, goals and events of the First Crusade, and also talked about its consequences.