Smoky Mountain Bible Institute
(Est. 2009) Lesson #90
The source of the
following information is http://historylists.org/events/9-crusades-into-the-holy-land.html
if you go to this website you will also see some nice art work for each crusade. Copyright © 2012-2016 - historylists.org
The
Crusades were a series of 9 military
expeditions which sought to recapture Jerusalem and other places sacred to
Christianity from the Muslims. They were formally launched by Pope Urban II in
the late 11th century to help the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks.
Soon, however, the Holy Land became the primary objective of the crusaders,
many of which weren't led only by noble motives but economic, political and
social as well. Listed below are 9 crusades (will probubly take two articles) to the Holy Land between the 11th and 13th
centuries.
First Crusade (1096 - 1099)
The First Crusade was launched after
Pope Urban’s call to help the fellow Eastern Christians against the Muslims.
Conquered lands supposed to be returned to the Byzantine Empire but after
capturing Jerusalem in 1099, the leaders of the crusade divided the territories
among themselves. They created the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Principality of
Antioch, County of Tripoli and County of Edessa and established themselves as
the rulers of the newly formed crusader states in the Holy Land.
Second Crusade (1147 - 1149)
The second military expedition to
the Holy Land was called for by the Church to recapture the County of Edessa
that fell to the Muslims in 1144. Two kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III
of Germany, decided to lead the crusade. One year later, they laid siege to
Damascus but after failing to capture the city, the German king decided he had
enough and left the Holy Land. His French counterpart soon followed his example
and the Second Crusade came to an end, failing to achieve anything.
Third Crusade (1189 - 1192)
Also known as the Kings’ Crusade
because it was participated by as many as three European kings, the Third
Crusade was launched after the fall of Jerusalem to the Muslim leader Saladin
in 1187. However, Frederick I (Barbarossa) of Germany died on the way to the
Holy Land, while Philip II soon departed for France due to conflicts with
Richard I of England. The latter won several notable battles but failed to
recapture Jerusalem. Before returning to Europe, however, the English king
managed to negotiate a free access to Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.
Fourth Crusade (1202 - 1204)
Unable to cope with the loss of
Jerusalem, Pope Innocent III energetically preached for crusade. He succeeded
to raise an army of crusaders who, however, never made it to the Holy Land. On
their way to Jerusalem, they captured the Adriatic city of Zara for Venice and
shortly thereafter got involved in the struggle for the Byzantine throne.
Instead of recapturing Jerusalem as the Pope hoped, the Fourth Crusade ended with
the Sack of Constantinople and formation of the short-lived Latin Empire on the
conquered Byzantine territories.
That’s
all for this month we will wrap things up in the next lesson
Till then in Christ Pastor Portier
