1096 first crusade. Crusades (briefly)

In Clermont (Southern France) a large church council gathered, at which Pope Urban II announced the beginning of the Crusade and delivered a long speech to numerous listeners who had gathered on the Clermont plain outside the city. “The land that you inhabit,” said the Pope, addressing the audience, “... has become cramped with your large numbers. It is not rich in riches and hardly gives bread to those who cultivate it. Hence it comes that you bite each other and fight with each other ... Now your hatred can stop, enmity will cease and civil strife will fall asleep. Take the path to the holy sepulcher, uproot that land from the wicked people and subjugate it to yourself. “He who is woeful here,” Papa continued, “and is poor, will be rich there.” Enticing those present with the prospect of rich booty in the East, Urban II immediately found a warm response from them. Electrified by the enticing promises, the listeners shouted, "It's God's will!" - and rushed to sew red crosses on their clothes. The news of the decision to go to the East quickly spread Western Europe. The members of the movement were called crusaders. The church promised all the crusaders a number of benefits: deferment of debt payments, protection of families and property, forgiveness of sins, etc.

1095-1096 LEADERS OF THE FIRST CRUSAD.

Among those who led the campaign, first of all, it should be noted the French bishop Ademar du Puy - a brave and prudent warrior-priest, appointed by the papal legate and often mediating disputes between intractable military leaders; the Norman prince of Southern Italy and Sicily, Bohemond of Tarentum (son of Robert Guiscard); Count Raymond of Toulouse; Duke of Lorraine Gottfried of Bouillon; his brother Baldwin; Duke Hugh of Vermandois (brother of the French king); Duke Robert of Normandy; Count Etienne de Blois and Count Robert II of Flanders.

March 1096 THE CRUSADERS SET OFF

Jewish pogroms in Europe accompany the departure of the first crusaders.

April-October 1096 THE POOR CRUSAISE.

A crowd of unarmed pilgrims led by the preacher Peter the Hermit and an impoverished knightWalter Golyak went overland to the Holy Land. Many died of starvation; the rest, almost without exception, were killed by the Turks in Anatolia.

The crusade of the feudal lords was preceded by a campaign of the poor, which, both in terms of the composition of the participants and in its goals, differed from the military-colonization movement of the feudal lords. Therefore, this campaign should be considered as something independent and separate.

The peasants sought to find in the East deliverance from the oppression of the feudal lords and new lands for settlement. They dreamed of hiding from the endless feudal strife that ruined their economy, and saved themselves from famine and epidemics, which, under the conditions of a low level of technology and the most severe feudal exploitation, were a common occurrence in the Middle Ages. Under these conditions, the preachers of the Crusade met with a lively response to their preaching from the broadest peasant masses. Following the Church's call for a Crusade, the peasants began to leave their lords in great numbers.

In the spring of 1096 unorganized detachments of the peasant poor set off. Having shoed bulls, as they do with horses, the peasants harnessed them to carts and, placing their simple property there, together with children, old men and women, moved to Constantinople. They walked unarmed, having neither supplies nor money, engaging in robbery and begging along the way. Naturally, the population of those countries through which these "crusaders" moved mercilessly exterminated them.

In the words of the chronicler, countless, like the stars in the sky or the sand of the sea, masses of peasants came mainly from Northern and Central France and from Western Germany up the Rhine and further down the Danube. The peasants had no idea how far away Jerusalem was. At the sight of every major city or castle, they asked if this was Jerusalem, to which they were striving.

October 1096 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE "PEASANT" CRUSADE.

The greatly depleted peasant detachments reached Constantinople and were hastily transported to Asia Minor by the Byzantine emperor, who expected not such help from the West at all. There, in the very first battle, detachments of peasants were utterly defeated by the Seljuk army. Peter of Amiens left the peasant detachments to their fate and fled to Constantinople. The vast majority of the peasants were destroyed, and the rest were enslaved. The peasants' attempt to escape from their feudal masters and find land and freedom in the East thus ended tragically. Only small remnants of the peasant detachments subsequently joined with detachments of knights and took part in the battles near Antioch..

1096-1097 GATHERING FORCES IN CONSTANTINOPOLE.

Various troops moved to the agreed gathering place - Constantinople - in four main streams. Gottfried and Baldwin with their troops and others German armies followed the Danube valley through Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria, and then through the Balkans; along the way there were skirmishes with local forces. This army reached Constantinople first and camped under the city walls for the whole winter. Bishop Ademar, Count Raymond and others marched from southern France through northern Italy in a grueling march along the deserted Dalmatian coast, past Durazzo (modern city of Durres in Albania) and further east to Constantinople. Hugo, both Robert and Etienne, with troops from England and northern France, crossed the Alps and headed south through Italy. Leaving his companions to spend the winter in southern Italy, Hugo sailed to Constantinople, was shipwrecked, but was rescued by the Byzantines and sent to the capital, where he actually became a hostage of Emperor Alexei I Comnenus. The following spring, both Robert and Étienne sailed across the Adriatic, landed at Durazzo, and headed east towards Constantinople. The Norman army of Bohemond and Tancred followed the same route from Sicily.

1096-1097 FRICTION BETWEEN BYZANTINE AND THE CRUSADERS.

Alexei I hoped that, at best, several thousand mercenaries would respond to his call for help - this would make it possible to replenish the thinned ranks of the Byzantine army. But the basileus did not expect (and certainly was not interested in this) that an independent, violent army, far exceeding 50 thousand people, would gather under the walls of his capital. Due to long-standing religious and political differences between Byzantium and Western Europe, Alexei I did not trust the crusaders - especially in view of the presence of Bohemond, with whom the basileus fought quite recently and who proved to be an extremely dangerous adversary. In addition, Alexei I, who only had to recapture the lost possessions of Asia Minor from the Turks, was not too interested in the main goal of the crusaders - the capture of Jerusalem. The crusaders, in turn, trusted the Byzantines with their cunning diplomacy no more. They did not have the slightest desire to fight as pawns and win back the empire from the Turks for Alexei I. Mutual suspicions seriously affected the outcome of this and subsequent Crusades. In the very first winter, when the Crusaders camped near Constantinople, because of general suspicion, small skirmishes with the Byzantine guard constantly took place.

Spring 1097 AGREEMENT BETWEEN ALEXIUS I KOMNINES AND THE CRUSADERS.

Gottfried of Bouillon takes the oath to Alexei Comnenus and the crusader army passes through Anatolia.

Combining firmness with diplomacy, Alexei I managed to avoid serious conflicts. In exchange for a promise of help, he received an oath of allegiance from the commanders of the campaign and assurances that they would help him recapture Nicaea (the modern city of Iznik in Turkey) and any other former Byzantine possessions from the Turks. Alexei then ferried them across the Bosporus, carefully avoiding any brief accumulation of large crusader contingents within the walls of his capital. In addition, he provided them with provisions and escort of the Byzantine troops to Jerusalem itself (the latter also pursued a second goal: to make sure that the crusaders did not ravage the Byzantine lands along the way).

Together with Alexios I Komnenos and his main forces, the Crusaders laid siege to Nicaea. The situation of the besieged was noticeably facilitated by the availability of water in Lake Askaniev, which, moreover, prevented the closing of the blockade ring. However, the crusaders with great difficulty dragged the boats from the sea to the lake and thus were able to completely surround the city. Combining a skillful siege with skillful diplomacy, Alexei I agreed with the Nicaeans that the city would be surrendered to him, after which the combined forces of the Byzantines and crusaders successfully stormed the outer fortifications. The crusaders were offended that the basileus refused to give them the city for plunder. Then, in two parallel columns, they continued their advance to the southeast. There was no unity of command; all decisions were made at a military council, and Bishop Ademar du Puy acted as mediator and conciliator.

The left column, led by Bohemond, was unexpectedly attacked by a Turkish cavalry army under the personal command of Kilij-Arslan, the Sultan of the Konian Seljuks.
Using the traditional tactics of horse archers, the Turks (according to some reports, their number exceeded 50 thousand people) inflicted heavy damage on the column of crusaders, who, not only were in a clear minority, but also could not engage in close combat with the elusive, mobile adversary. Bohemond's column was about to break formation when the heavy cavalry of the second column, led by Gottfried of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse, crashed into the left flank of the Turks from the rear. Kilij-Arslan failed to provide cover from the south. The Turkish army was squeezed in a vise and lost about 3 thousand people killed; the rest fled in panic. The total losses of the crusaders amounted to approximately 4 thousand people. (Other sources bring the number of troops of Kilij-Arslan to 250 thousand people, and the losses of the Turks are considered to reach 30 thousand people. There are also statements that Sultan Suleiman commanded the Turks under Dorilei.)

July-November 1097 ADVANCING TO SYRIA.

The crusaders continued their offensive and captured Iconium (the modern city of Konya in Turkey), the capital of Kilij-Arslan. (Meanwhile, under their cover and taking advantage of the weakening of the Turks, Alexei and his Byzantine army occupied the western provinces of Anatolia.) Another battle followed - at Heraclea (the modern city of Eregli in the Turkish province of Konya); then the Crusaders crossed the Taurus Mountains and headed for Antioch. During this offensive, a detachment under the command of Tancred and Baldwin took a hard fight near Tarsus. After that, Baldwin branched off from the main column, crossed the Euphrates and captured Edessa (otherwise Bambika, or Hierapolis; the modern city of Membij in Syria), which became the center of an independent county.

October 21, 1097-June 3, 1098 SIEGE OF ANTIOCHY BY THE CRUSADERS (modern city of Antakya in Turkey).

Emir Bagasian skillfully and energetically set up the defense of the city. Shortly after the siege began, the Turks made a successful sally that resulted in heavy casualties among the disorganized crusaders, and subsequently this kind of tactic was often resorted to. From Syria, the Turkish armies came to the aid of the besieged twice, but both times they were repulsed in the battles of Kharenk (December 31, 1097; February 9, 1098). For some time, hunger raged among the crusaders, because they did not take care of the supply of provisions, and the supplies quickly melted away. The besiegers were saved by the extremely timely arrival of small English and Pisan fleets, which captured Laodikeia (the modern city of Latakia in Syria) and Saint-Simeon (the modern city of Samandag in Turkey) and delivered provisions. During the seven months of the siege, relations between the commanders of the crusader troops escalated to the limit, especially between Bohemond and Raymond of Toulouse. In the end - mainly thanks to Bohemond and the betrayal of one of the Turkish officers - Antioch was captured (June 3), with the exception of the citadel. A little more, and it might have been too late: on the way, two days away, was at least seventy-five thousandth army of the Mosul Emir Kirbogi. Étienne de Blois, feeling that the situation was becoming hopeless, fled. A bloody massacre continued in the city for several days, and four days later the Muslim army of Kirboga arrived at the walls of Antioch and, in turn, laid siege to the city.

The crusaders were blocked and cut off from their ports. Bagasian still held the citadel. The crusaders were again on the brink of starvation; urban population caught between two fires. Alexei I, who was crossing the Taurus Mountains with his army in order to occupy Antioch, according to the agreement concluded with the crusaders, met Etienne Blois, and the latter assured the basileus that the crusaders were doomed. Accordingly, the Byzantine army retreated to Anatolia. The despair that reigned in the city was suddenly dispelled by the discovery of the Holy Spear (the one that pierced the side of Jesus during the crucifixion). Few historians or theologians believe that the spear was exactly that (in fact, even among the crusaders themselves, even then, many doubted), but it had a truly miraculous effect. Confident in victory, the crusaders launched a massive sortie.

The starving crusaders managed to recruit only 15,000 combat-ready warriors (less than a thousand of them were cavalry). Under the command of Bohemond, they crossed the Orontes before the eyes of the astonished Muslims. Then, repulsing the attacks of the Turks, the crusaders counterattacked. Squeezed between the river and the nearby mountains, the Muslims were unable to maneuver and could not withstand the selfless attacks of the crusaders. Having suffered heavy losses, the Turks fled.

July-August 1098 PLAGUE IN ANTIOCHIA.

One of the victims of the epidemic was Bishop Ademar du Puy. After his death, relations between the commanders of the campaign heated up even more, especially between Bohemond (who was determined to retain control of Antioch) and Raymond of Toulouse (who insisted that the crusaders were obliged to return the city to Byzantium, according to the oath given to Alexei).

January-June 1099 ADVANCING JERUSALEM.

After much debate, all the crusaders, except for Bohemond and his Normans, agreed to go to Jerusalem. (Bohemond remained in Antioch, where he founded an independent principality.) The crusaders, now numbering 12,000, slowly marched along the seashore to Jaffa (the Pisan fleet was supplying provisions), and then turned away from the coast and moved to Jerusalem.

The city was defended by a strong Fatimid army, which far outnumbered the besiegers. By this time, almost all the crusaders recognized Gottfried of Bouillon as commander; Raymond of Toulouse and Tancred helped him. To completely block the city, the crusader troops were not enough, and it was not necessary to count on the besieged to be starved to death. Despite the severe shortage of water, the crusaders began to resolutely prepare for the assault: to build a high wooden siege tower and a battering ram. Showered with arrows from the city fortifications, they rolled the tower against the wall, threw over a wooden bridge, and Gottfried led the troops to attack (part of the army climbed the walls along the assault ladders). Apparently, this was the only operation in the entire two-year campaign that was coordinated from start to finish. Having made their way into the city, the crusaders ruthlessly cut the entire garrison and the population, both Arab and Jewish (according to the chronicles, up to 70 thousand people died in the massacre that began after the assault). Gottfried, who renounced his royal title, was elected Guardian of Jerusalem.

Having learned that the fifty-thousandth army of Emir al-Afdal was moving from Egypt to liberate Jerusalem, Gottfried led out 10,000 of the remaining crusaders to meet her. Unlike the Turks, whose armies consisted mostly of mounted archers, the Fatimids relied on a combination of bigotry with striking power; this combination served faithfully at the dawn of Islam. Against the heavily armed and armored crusaders, the Fatimid army was powerless. Gottfried smashed them to smithereens, and the battle culminated in a crushing cavalry charge.

The first crusade was organized in 1096. The decision was made by Pope Urban II. One of the reasons was the call for help, with which the Byzantine Emperor Alexei I Komnenos addressed the pope. In 1071, the army of Emperor Roman IV Diogenes was defeated by the Sultan of the Seljuk Turks Alp-Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert. This battle and the subsequent overthrow of Roman IV Diogenes led to the outbreak of a civil war in Byzantium, which did not subside until 1081, when Alexei Komnenos ascended the throne. By this time, various leaders of the Seljuk Turks had managed to take advantage of the fruits of civil strife in Constantinople and captured a significant part of the territory of the Anatolian plateau. In the first years of his reign, Alexei Komnenos was forced to wage a constant struggle on two fronts - against the Normans of Sicily, who were advancing in the west and against the Seljuk Turks in the east. The Balkan possessions of the Byzantine Empire were also subjected to devastating raids by the Polovtsians.

The appeals of the Pope, the frantic sermons of Peter the Hermit and other religious figures caused an unprecedented upsurge. Campaigns were hastily equipped in various places in France, Germany and Italy. In addition, thousands of people spontaneously gathered in detachments and moved to the East.

On November 26, 1095, a council was held in the French city of Clermont. Pope Urban II, in the face of the nobility and clergy, delivered an impassioned speech, urging the audience to go to the East and liberate Jerusalem from Muslim rule. This call fell on fertile ground, since the ideas of the Crusade were already popular among the people, and the campaign could be organized at any moment. The pope's speech only indicated the aspirations of a large group of Western European Catholics.

2 Peasants' Crusade

Urban II determined the start of the crusade on August 15, 1096. However, long before that, an army of peasants and petty chivalry, led by the Amiens monk Peter the Hermit, independently advanced to Jerusalem. Pope Urban II expected to attract only a few thousand knights to the campaign. And Peter the Hermit in March 1096 led a crowd of thousands. But it consisted for the most part of the unarmed poor who set off on the road with their wives and children. According to objective estimates, about 50-60 thousand poor people marched on the Campaign in several "armies", of which more than 35 thousand people concentrated in Constantinople, and up to 30 thousand crossed to Asia Minor.

This huge unorganized horde encountered its first difficulties in Eastern Europe. Descending along the Danube, the participants of the campaign plundered and devastated the Hungarian lands, for which, not far from Nis, they were attacked by the combined army of the Bulgarians, Hungarians and Byzantines. About a quarter of the militias were killed, but the rest reached Constantinople by August. There, the followers of Peter the Hermit were joined by armies that advanced from Italy and France. Soon, the crusading poor who flooded the city began to arrange riots and pogroms in Constantinople, and Emperor Alexei had no choice but to transport them across the Bosphorus.

In Asia Minor, the participants of the campaign were attacked by the Seljuk Turks. On the side of the attackers there was a significant advantage - they were more experienced and organized warriors, and besides, unlike the Christians, they knew the area very well, so soon almost all the militias were killed. This 1st battle in the north-west of Asia Minor at Dorileum, "in the valley of the Dragon", can hardly be called a battle - the Seljuk cavalry attacked and destroyed the first smaller group of poor crusaders, and then fell upon their main forces. Almost all the pilgrims died from arrows or sabers. The Seljuks did not spare anyone - neither children nor the elderly, who were many among the "unfortunate crusaders" and for whom it was impossible to get good money when sold on the market as slaves.

Of the approximately 30 thousand participants in the “Campaign of the Beggars”, only a few dozen people managed to reach the possessions of the Byzantines, approximately 25-27 thousand were killed, and 3-4 thousand, mostly young boys and girls, were captured and sold to Muslim markets of Asia Minor. The military leader of the "Campaign of the Poor" knight Walter Golyak died in the battle at Dorileum. The spiritual leader of the "unfortunate crusaders" Peter Hermit, who managed to escape, later joined the main army of the 1st Crusade. Soon the approaching Byzantine corps could only lay down a hill up to 30 meters high from the bodies of the fallen Christians and perform the funeral ceremony for the fallen.

After the defeat of the army of the poor in August 1096, the chivalry finally advanced under the leadership of powerful nobles from different regions of Europe. Count Raymond of Toulouse, together with the papal legate Adémar of Monteil, Bishop of Le Puy, led the knights of Provence. The Normans of Southern Italy were led by Prince Bohemond of Tarentum and his nephew Tancred. The brothers Gottfried of Boulogne, Eustache of Boulogne and Baldwin of Boulogne were commanders of the Lorraine, and the soldiers of Northern France were led by Count Robert of Flanders, Robert of Normandy (the eldest son of William the Conqueror and brother of William the Red, King of England), Count Stefan of Blois and Hugo of Vermandois (son of Anna of Kyiv and the youngest brother of Philip I, King of France).

3 Siege of Nicaea

The crusaders left Constantinople at the end of April 1097. On May 6, Gottfried of Bouillon appeared at the walls of the city and laid siege to the city from the north. Then came Bohemond of Tarentum, his nephew Tancred (they set up camp in the east of Nicaea), Robert of Normandy, Robert of Flanders and the rest of the participants in the campaign. The Provencals of Raymond of Toulouse arrived last on May 16 and blockaded the city from the south. But it was not possible to completely surround Nicaea. The crusaders could exercise control only on the roads. And the ships of Nicaea sailed freely on the lake.

On May 21, a week after the start of the siege, the Seljuks approached the city. Not knowing about the arrival of the Count of Toulouse, they were going to attack the crusaders from the south, but unexpectedly encountered the Provençal warriors, who were soon helped by the detachments of Robert of Flanders, Bohemond of Tarentum and Gottfried of Bouillon. In the ensuing battle, the Christians won, losing about 3,000 soldiers killed, and the Saracens left 4,000 dead on the battlefield. Then, wanting to intimidate the enemy, the crusaders "charged throwing machines large quantity heads of the killed enemies and threw them into the city.

For several weeks, the crusaders repeatedly tried to break through the walls of Nicaea and take the city. However, not a single assault was successful, despite the fact that during the attacks they used military vehicles - built under the leadership of the Count of Toulouse ballista and a siege tower. The siege tower was brought to Gonat, the most vulnerable tower of Nicaea, which was damaged during the time of Emperor Basil II. The crusaders managed to tilt it strongly - “instead of the stones taken out, they laid wooden beams and set them on fire. But then the Muslims, who threw stones at the crusaders from the walls, managed to destroy the siege tower, and, falling apart, it buried all the soldiers inside under its rubble.

The siege continued without much fruit. The Christians continued to fail to take control of the Lake of Askana, through which supplies were delivered to the besieged before their eyes. It was possible to cut off Nicaea from the water side only after Emperor Alexei Komnenos sent a fleet to help the crusaders, accompanied by a detachment under the command of the military leaders Manuel Vutumit and Tatikiy. The ships were brought on wagons on June 17, launched and thus blocked the besieged access to the lake. After that, the crusaders again took up arms and began to attack the city with renewed vigor. The opposing armies pelted each other with a hail of arrows and stones, the crusaders tried to break through the wall with a battering ram.

In the meantime, Manuel Vutumit, on the orders of Alexei Komnenos, agreed with the besieged on the surrender of the city and kept this agreement a secret from the crusaders. The emperor did not trust the leaders of the campaign. He rightly suspected that it would be difficult for them to resist the temptation to break the promise made to him in Constantinople to transfer the conquered cities to Byzantium. On June 19, when, according to the plan of the emperor, Tatikiy and Manuel, together with the crusaders, stormed the walls of Nicaea, the besieged suddenly stopped resisting and surrendered, letting the troops of Manuel Vutumit into the city - from the side it seemed that the victory was won only thanks to the efforts of the Byzantine army.

Having learned that the Byzantines occupied the city and took the citizens under the protection of the emperor, the crusaders became indignant, as they expected to plunder Nicaea and thereby replenish their stocks of money and food. By order of Manuel Vitumit, the crusaders were allowed to visit Nicaea in groups of no more than ten people. To soften the anger of the crusaders, the emperor gave them money and horses, but they still remained dissatisfied and believed that the booty could be much larger if they captured Nicaea themselves. Manuel also insisted that those of them who escaped the oath in Constantinople swore allegiance to Alexei. Tankred of Tarentum did not accept these conditions for a long time, but in the end both he and Bohemond were forced to take the oath.

The crusaders left Nicaea on June 26, 1097 and headed further south towards Antioch. In the forefront were Bohemond of Tarentum, Tancred, Robert of Normandy and Robert of Flanders. The movement was closed by Gottfried of Bouillon, Raymond of Toulouse, Baldwin of Boulogne, Stephen of Blois and Hugh of Vermandois. In addition, Alexei Komnenos sent his representative Tatikiy on a campaign to monitor compliance with the agreement on the transfer of Muslim cities to Byzantium.

4 Siege of Antioch

Antioch stood 20 km from the Mediterranean coast on the eastern bank of the Orontes River. It was one of the most significant cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1085, Antioch was conquered by the Seljuks, who partially rebuilt the city fortifications of the times of Justinian I - the wide walls of the city were now guarded by 450 towers - and significantly increased the defensive capabilities of the city, already well protected by mountains in the southwest and swamps in the northwest. Since 1088, Antioch was under the rule of Emir Yagi-Sian. Realizing the danger posed by the crusaders, he turned to the neighboring Muslim states for support, but he did not receive help immediately. In preparation for the arrival of the Christians, Yagi-Sian imprisoned the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, John Ocsites, and expelled the Orthodox Greeks and Armenians.

In October 1097, the crusaders entered the valley of the Orontes. Between the three leaders of the Christians - Gottfried of Bouillon, Bohemond of Tarentum and Raymond of Toulouse - there was no agreement on what actions to take next: Raymond offered to immediately storm Antioch, and Gottfried and Bohemond insisted on a siege. In the end, on October 21, 1097, the crusaders dug a moat at the city walls, laid down their equipment and began to lay siege to the city. During the siege of Antioch, the Cilician princes and monks of the Black Mountain supplied the crusaders with provisions.

Bohemond's detachments took up a position on the northeast side of the city at the gates of St. Paul. Further, before the Dog Gate, the soldiers of Robert of Normandy (the eldest son of William the Conqueror), Robert of Flanders, Stephen of Blois and Hugh of Vermandois camped. The army of Raymond of Toulouse was located west of the Dog Gate, and Gottfried of Bouillon - at the Duke's Gate near the bridge over the Orontes. The citadel on the slope of Mount Silpius in the south and the gates of St. George in the northwest were not blocked by the crusaders - they controlled only a quarter of the total perimeter of the fortress wall - thanks to which provisions freely flowed into Antioch throughout the siege.

At first, the siege went well. By mid-November, Bohemond's nephew, Tancred of Tarentum, arrived with reinforcements at the walls of Antioch. In addition, throughout the autumn, the crusaders did not lack food - the fertile environs of Antioch opened up wide opportunities for providing the army with provisions, and 14 Genoese ships that landed in the harbor of St. Simeon on November 17 delivered additional supplies of food to the crusaders. As winter approached, the situation began to worsen. In December, Gottfried of Bouillon fell ill, food supplies were running out. At the end of the month, Bohemond of Tarentum and Robert of Flanders went foraging, and on December 29, shortly after their departure, Yagi-Sian and his soldiers made an armed sortie through the gates of St. George and attacked the camp of Raymond of Toulouse. The chronicle of an anonymous warrior who witnessed the attack tells that the Muslims who attacked under cover of night "killed a large number of knights and foot soldiers who were not well protected." However, the crusaders repulsed the attack, but it was still not possible to storm the city.

Meanwhile, the detachment of Bohemond of Tarentum and Robert of Flanders clashed with the army of Dukak Melik, the ruler of Damascus, who was heading to the aid of the besieged Antioch. On December 31, 1097, a battle took place between Christians and Muslims, as a result of which both opponents returned to their original positions - the crusaders, who did not have time to collect provisions, turned to Antioch, and Dukak Melik returned to Damascus.

With the onset of winter, food shortages became more and more acute, and soon famine began in the crusader camp. In addition to hunger, the crusaders suffered severely from disease and bad weather.

In February, the camp unexpectedly left the Byzantine legate Tatikiy, the representative of the emperor Alexios Komnenos with the army of the crusaders. Anna Komnena, daughter of the emperor and one of the first female historians, apparently spoke personally with Tatikiy after his arrival in Byzantium and learned the circumstances of the escape. As it turned out, Bohemond informed Tatikiy that the crusader leaders suspected him of conspiring with the Seljuks and therefore allegedly planned to kill him. Tatikiy and his small detachment were with the crusaders in order to protect imperial interests - according to the oath given to Emperor Alexei, the crusaders had to give the cities captured from the Muslims under the rule of Byzantium. This oath went against the plans of Bohemond of Tarentum, who planned to keep Antioch for himself. He did not dare to physically eliminate Tatikiy, since Byzantium was an ally of the crusader army, so he was forced to remove the Byzantine by cunning. The reason for the escape of Tatikiy was unknown to other leaders of the Christian army, and therefore Bohemond declared him a coward and a traitor, which affected the attitude of the crusaders towards Byzantium.

Shortly after this incident, the army of Ridwan, the emir of Aleppo, appeared on the Orontes River, who advanced to the aid of his neighbor Yagi-Sian. On February 9, a battle took place near the Harim fortress between the Seljuks and the cavalry detachment of Bohemond of Tarentum, in which the crusaders won.

In March 1098, the fleet of the former king of England, Edgar Etling, arrived from Constantinople in the harbor of St. Simeon. The British brought materials for the construction of siege weapons, which the crusaders almost lost on March 6: returning with a valuable cargo to Antioch, Raymond and Bohemond (who did not trust each other, they went to meet the ships together) were attacked by the Yagi-Sian detachment. In this skirmish, the Seljuks killed more than five hundred Christian infantrymen, but then Gottfried of Bouillon arrived in time to help, and the attack was repulsed.

Having received necessary materials, the crusaders built siege towers. As a result, it was possible to isolate the road leading from the harbor of St. Simeon from the attack of the Yagi-Sian garrison, along which provisions began to flow into the camps.

In April, ambassadors from the Fatimid Caliph of Cairo arrived at the crusader camp. They hoped to conclude an alliance with the Christians against the Seljuks, their common enemy with the crusaders. A well-versed in Arabic Peter Pustynnik was sent to meet with the ambassadors. It turned out that the caliph offered the crusaders to conclude an agreement according to which Syria remained behind the crusaders, but in exchange they pledged not to attack Fatimid Palestine. Such conditions were undoubtedly unacceptable for Christians - after all, Jerusalem was the main goal of the campaign.

Spring was drawing to a close, but the siege still bore no fruit. In May 1098, news reached Antioch that the army of the Mosul emir Kerboga had advanced to Antioch. This time, the Muslim forces outnumbered all previous detachments sent to help the besieged city: Kerbog was joined by the armies of Ridwan and Dukak (Emirs of Aleppo and Damascus), as well as additional detachments from Persia and detachments of the Artuqids from Mesopotamia. Fortunately for the crusaders, Kerboga, before attacking Antioch, went to Edessa, where he stayed for three weeks in fruitless attempts to recapture it from Baldwin of Boulogne.

It was obvious to the Crusaders that Antioch must fall before Kerboga arrived. Therefore, Bohemond of Tarentum entered into a secret agreement with a certain Armenian gunsmith Firuz, who was in the garrison of the Tower of the Two Sisters and held a grudge against Yagi-Sian. Having promised the Armenian a generous reward, Bohemond received in return a promise to provide the crusaders with access to the city.

On the night of June 2, Firuz, as agreed, let Bohemond's detachment into the tower along the stairs, which had already been placed and attached to the city wall, and in the early morning of June 3, the prince ordered the signal to be fired with a trumpet. The whole city woke up from a piercing sound, and then the crusaders broke into Antioch. Seized with a thirst for revenge for eight months of a grueling siege, they staged a bloody massacre in the city: countless men, women and children were killed, captured and taken prisoner.

Accompanied by 30 warriors, Yagi-Sian fled the city, but, moving several kilometers away from Antioch, “began to grieve and regret that he had left his family and children and all Muslims.” Then the escorts left him and rode on, and on the same day the ruler of Antioch was killed and beheaded by the local Armenians, who then took his head to Bohemond of Tarentum.

By the evening of June 3, the crusaders controlled most of Antioch, with the exception of the citadel located in the southern part of the city, which was held by Shams ad-Din, the son of Yagi-Sian. Now, when the city was practically conquered and soon had to go to Bohemond, it became necessary to maintain the illusion of an alliance with Byzantium, and therefore, by the authority of the papal legate Adémar Monteilsky, Bishop of Le Puy, Patriarch John Oksit, deposed by Yagi-Sian, was restored to his rights.

Two days later, the army of Kerboga arrived at the walls of Antioch. On June 7, Kerboga attempted to take the city by storm, but failed and besieged it on June 9. The position of the Christians was unenviable. They were locked in Antioch without any opportunity to receive military assistance and provisions, and were forced to defend themselves both from the Seljuks settled in the citadel and from the soldiers of Kerbogi who surrounded the city. The situation was aggravated by the fact that a significant part of the crusaders left the city shortly after the assault and joined the army of Stephen of Blois in Tarsus. Stephen, having learned about the attack of Kerboga, concluded - and the fugitives who arrived from Antioch confirmed his fears - that the Muslim army was too strong and there was no way to hold the city.

On the way to Constantinople, Stephen met with the army of Emperor Alexios, who, being in the dark about the fall of Antioch and a second siege, advanced to the aid of the crusaders. Alexei believed Stephen's assurances that the army of Bohemond of Tarentum was most likely defeated and exterminated, and, in addition, having received news of the Muslim troops settled near Anatolia, he decided not to move further, so that, hurrying to the aid of Antioch, not to lose Constantinople itself and returned back.

On June 10, Pierre Barthelemy, a monk from Marseilles who had joined the crusade, publicly spoke about his vision - allegedly the apostle Andrew appeared before him and told that a spear was hidden in Antioch, which perforated the body of Jesus. Another monk named Stefan Valensky claimed that the Virgin Mary and the Savior himself appeared to him. And on June 14, a meteor was seen in the sky above the enemy army by the crusaders - its appearance was interpreted as a good sign.

Bishop Ademar was skeptical about Barthelemy's stories about a spear hidden in the city, since he had previously seen this relic in Constantinople. Nevertheless, the leaders of the crusaders believed in the story of the monk, began searching in the church of St. Peter and soon discovered "the spear of the Lord, which, being thrown by the hand of Longinus, pierced the side of our Savior." Raymond of Toulouse regarded the find as divine evidence of the coming victory. Pierre Barthelemy did not fail to tell about his next meeting with the apostle Andrew, who this time ordered the crusaders to fast for five days before the victorious breakthrough - the advice was completely unnecessary, since by that time the provisions had ended, and the Christian army again suffered from hunger.

On June 27, Bohemond sent Peter the Hermit to negotiate in the Kerbogi camp, but they failed to agree, and the battle with the Muslims became inevitable. Before the battle, Bohemond divided the army into six large detachments and led one of them. The remaining parts were led by Gottfried of Bouillon, Hugh of Vermandois, together with Robert of Flanders, Robert of Normandy, Adémar Monteilsky and Tancred of Tarentum with Gaston of Bearn. In order not to lose control over the Seljuk citadel, the sick Raymond of Toulouse was left in Antioch with a detachment of only two hundred people.

On Monday, June 28, the crusaders, ready for battle, left the city. The phalanxes, lined up in order, stood opposite each other and prepared to start the battle, the Count of Flanders got off his horse and, prostrating three times on the ground, appealed to God for help. Then the chronicler Raimund of Azhilsky carried the Holy Spear in front of the soldiers. Kerboga, deciding that he could easily deal with a small enemy army, did not heed the advice of his generals and decided to attack the entire army as a whole, and not each division in turn. He went to the trick and gave the order to depict a retreat in order to drag the crusaders into more difficult terrain for battle.

Dispersing over the surrounding hills, the Muslims, by order of Kerboga, set fire to the grass behind them and showered the Christians pursuing them with a hail of arrows, and many soldiers were killed. However, the inspired crusaders were unstoppable. Their zeal flared up to such an extent that many soldiers had a vision of Saints George, Demetrius and Mauritius, galloping in the ranks of the Christian army. The battle itself was short - when the crusaders finally caught up with Kerboga, the Seljuks panicked, the advanced cavalry units fled.

Returning to the city, the crusaders began negotiations with the defenders of the citadel, that last Muslim stronghold in Antioch after the defeat of Kerboga. Its defense was no longer led by the son of Yagi-Sian, but by Kerbogi's henchman Ahmed ibn Mervan. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, ibn Merwan surrendered the citadel to Bohemond, who declared his rights to Antioch. The Bishop of Le Puy and Raymond of Toulouse did not like the claims of the prince, and they sent Hugh of Vermandois and Baldwin, Comte de Hainaut to Constantinople. When it became known that Alexei did not want to send an embassy to Antioch, Bohemond began to convince his comrades that the emperor had lost interest in the campaign, which means that they had the right to backtrack on the word given to him. Although Bohemond occupied the palace of Yagi-Sian together with Raymond, it was he who almost single-handedly ruled the city, and it was his banner that flew over the defeated citadel.

In July, an epidemic (probably typhus) broke out in Antioch, which claimed the life of Bishop Ademar on August 1. On September 11, the crusaders sent a message to Pope Urban II, the mastermind behind the crusade, asking him to take over Antioch, but he refused. Despite the lack of horses and food, in the autumn of 1098 the crusaders took control of the outskirts of Antioch. Then the warriors from among the common foot soldiers and small knights began to show dissatisfaction with the fact that the campaign was dragging on, and began to threaten to move on - without waiting for their commanders to divide the city. In November, Raymond finally gave in to Bohemond's demands, and in early 1099, after Bohemond was proclaimed prince of Antioch, the army advanced towards Jerusalem.

5 Siege of Jerusalem

The Christian army met little resistance as it advanced along the Mediterranean coast. The supply of provisions was carried out by the Pisan fleet. Another delay occurred near Tripoli, which was besieged by Raymond of Toulouse. The siege lasted more than six months and was terminated at the request of the bulk of the troops. Further, in order not to waste time, the crusaders bypassed Tire, Acre, Caesarea and other well-fortified cities. Having reached Ramla, the commanders of the campaign again disagreed on how to proceed further - to attack Damascus or defeat the Fatimids in Cairo. However, it was decided not to retreat from the intended goal and continue the attack on Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, June 7, 1099, the crusaders reached Jerusalem. In total, an army of 40,000 people approached the city, half of which were foot soldiers, and one and a half thousand knights. Many warriors in a religious impulse knelt down, wept and prayed, seeing from afar in the dawn rays of the sun the much-desired walls of the Holy City, for the sake of which they set out on a campaign three years ago and traveled many thousands of kilometers. Jerusalem was under the rule of the Fatimid caliph, who took it from the Seljuks. The Emir of Jerusalem, Iftikar ad-Daulan, sent an embassy to the crusaders, offering them to freely make pilgrimages to holy places, in small and, moreover, unarmed groups. However, the leaders of the campaign responded to this proposal with a categorical refusal, not thinking of leaving the greatest Christian shrines under the rule of infidel Muslims.

Robert of Normandy camped on the north side near St. Stephen's Church. Next was the army of Robert of Flanders. The detachments of Gottfried of Bouillon and Tancred of Tarentum stood in the west opposite the Tower of David and the Jaffa Gate, through which pilgrims usually arrived from Europe. Raymond of Toulouse took up positions in the south, fortifying himself on Mount Zion near the Church of St. Mary. The crusader army, according to the chronicle of Raymond Azhilsky, consisted of 1200-1300 knights and 12,000 infantrymen (at the beginning of the campaign there were about 7,000 and 20,000, respectively). In addition to this, there could have been several thousand more Maronite warriors, a few local Christians and the remnants of the Christian militia who arrived here earlier and joined the Crusader army. In view of this, the total number of Christians could well be 30-35 thousand people, which was much less than the garrison and the inhabitants of the city. But the Christian army was inspired by the proximity of the cherished goal and was in good moral condition.

The siege of Jerusalem largely repeated the history of the siege of Antioch. Before the arrival of the enemy, the emir of the Fatimids expelled local Christians from Jerusalem and fortified the fortress walls. The crusaders, just like six months ago, suffered greater torment than the besieged because of the lack of food and water. Muslims poisoned and polluted all the surrounding wells, so the crusaders had to bring water from a source 10 kilometers from the city in skins hastily sewn from bull skins.

Realizing that time is precious and every day the situation will only get worse, on June 13 the crusaders stormed the fortress walls. Climbing up ladders, they entered into a fierce battle with the garrison, however, due to the height and power of the walls, the besieged managed to repulse the attack. At this time, news came that the main forces of the Genoese squadron, sent to help the crusaders, were defeated by the Egyptian fleet. However, on June 17, six surviving food ships arrived in Jaffa, thanks to which the threat of starvation receded for a while. Various tools for the construction of military vehicles were also delivered. Realizing the importance of the delivered cargo, Raymond of Toulouse sent a detachment of hundreds of knights to the harbor to guard the ships, but they ran into an ambush of the Muslims, and in the ensuing battle, both sides suffered losses. At the end of June, disturbing rumors began to be confirmed, and news reached the knightly army that the Fatimid army had advanced from Egypt to help Jerusalem.

In early July, one of the monks had a vision of Bishop Ademar of Monteil, who died a year ago in Antioch, who instructed the soldiers to “arrange for God the procession of the cross around the fortifications of Jerusalem, pray earnestly, do alms and keep fasting” and then on the ninth day Jerusalem will fall. On July 6, the military leaders and bishops held a council, at which they decided to fulfill the prescription of Ademar, and on Friday, July 8, the barefoot crusaders, accompanied by their spiritual mentors - Peter the Hermit, Raymond Azhilsky and Arnulf of Shokes - held a procession around the walls of Jerusalem and, singing psalms, reached Mount of Olives, which caused bewilderment, fear and fury of Muslims, who, while the bishops were reading prayers, shouted insults at Christians and sacred sacraments. The latter caused the wrath of the crusaders both during the assault and during the capture of the city.

Realizing that a passive siege could drag on for a long time, the Crusaders went deep into the surrounding lands of Samaria to cut trees for siege engines, after which the carpenters built two siege towers, throwing machines and other military devices. Then a council was held at which the order was given to prepare for the fight.

The assault on Jerusalem began at dawn on July 14. The crusaders threw stones at the city from throwing machines, and the Muslims showered them with a hail of arrows and threw stones from the walls, poured boiling water, dropped tarred pieces of wood studded with nails, wrapping them in burning rags. The shelling of stones, however, did not cause much harm to the city, since the Muslims protected the walls with bags stuffed with cotton, which softened the blow. Under incessant shelling, the crusaders began to move siege towers to the walls of Jerusalem, but they were prevented by a deep ditch encircling the city, which they began to fill up on July 12.

The battle went on all day, but the city held out. When night fell, both sides remained awake - the Muslims were afraid that a new attack would follow, and the Christians feared that the besieged could somehow set fire to the siege weapons. The morning of July 15, began with a common prayer and hymns, the Christians loudly sang the sacred psalms and, raising hundreds of banners, rushed to the walls with steel wedges. European crossbowmen, shooting accurately, pierced the Muslims with arrows through and through, which caused fear of these weapons. And when the ditch was filled up, the crusaders were finally able to bring the towers closer to the fortress walls without hindrance, the archers set fire to the bags protecting them and swept away the defenders from the walls. Crowds of warriors and knights in sacred zeal and ecstasy rushed to the walls, smashing with long double-edged swords and heavy axes, breaking Arab crooked sabers, breaking leather helmets and turbans, sweeping away everything in their path. The Muslims could not withstand such incredible pressure, the defenders faltered, and nothing could stop the Christians from entering the city.

This was a turning point in the attack - the crusaders, under the incessant roar and warlike cries, threw wooden walkways onto the walls and crushed the defenders - they rushed behind the walls in crowds. Raymond of Toulouse, whose army stormed the city from the other side, learned about the breakthrough and also rushed to Jerusalem through the southern gate. Seeing that the city had already fallen, the emir of the garrison of the tower of David was broken by what was happening and opened the Jaffa gate.

After the crusaders broke into the city, a massacre began. The attackers killed everyone. Some of the townspeople tried to hide on the roof of the temple. At first, Tancred of Tarentum and Gaston of Bearn took them under their protection, passing their banners as a security symbol, but by morning the crusaders killed all the survivors. The synagogue was burned along with the people who were there. So, by the morning of July 16, almost the entire population of Jerusalem was killed. According to Western chroniclers, about 10 thousand inhabitants were destroyed, Arab sources cite many times more figures. In addition to the destruction of the inhabitants, the crusaders completely plundered the city. They broke into houses and temples, taking all the valuables they could find.

After the fall of the city, Gottfried of Bouillon became the ruler of the newly formed Kingdom of Jerusalem. Gottfried did not want to be called king in the city where Christ was crowned with a crown of thorns, so on July 22, 1099 he took the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulcher. On August 1, the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was elected. They became Arnulf of Shokessky, chaplain of Robert of Normandy. On August 5, after interrogating several miraculously surviving citizens, Arnulf found out the location of the sacred relic - the Life-Giving Cross, on which Jesus was crucified, which caused a new religious upsurge.

In early August, Gottfried led a campaign against the approaching Egyptian army of al-Afdal and on August 12 defeated the Muslims at Ascalon. After this victory, the threat to Jerusalem was eliminated and the soldiers of Christ considered their duty fulfilled, most of them returned to their homeland. The first crusade was successful, resulting in the formation of several crusader states in the East. These states were the foothold of the "Western world" in a hostile environment and required constant outside help, which made subsequent crusades inevitable.

Crusades - an armed movement of the peoples of the Christian West to the Muslim East, expressed in a number of campaigns over the course of two centuries (from the end of the XI to the end of the XIII) with the aim of conquering Palestine and liberating the Holy Sepulcher from the hands of the infidels; it is a powerful reaction of Christianity against the power of Islam (under the caliphs) that was growing stronger at that time and a grandiose attempt not only to take possession of the once Christian areas, but in general to widen the limits of the dominance of the cross, this symbol of the Christian idea. Participants in these trips crusaders, wore a red image on the right shoulder cross with a saying from Holy Scripture (Luke 14, 27), thanks to which the campaigns got their name crusades.

Causes of the Crusades (briefly)

Performance in was scheduled for August 15, 1096, but before the preparations for it were over, crowds of ordinary people, led by Peter the Hermit and the French knight Walter Golyak, set off on a campaign through Germany and Hungary without money and supplies. Indulging in robbery and all sorts of outrages along the way, they were partly exterminated by the Hungarians and Bulgarians, partly reached the Greek empire. The Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos hastened to transport them across the Bosporus to Asia, where they were finally killed by the Turks at the Battle of Nicaea (October 1096). The first disorderly crowd was followed by others: thus, 15,000 Germans and Lorraine, led by the priest Gottschalk, went through Hungary and, having engaged in beating Jews in the Rhine and Danube cities, were exterminated by the Hungarians.

The crusaders set off on the first crusade. Miniature from a manuscript by Guillaume of Tyre, 13th century.

The real militia set out on the First Crusade only in the autumn of 1096, in the form of 300,000 well-armed and excellently disciplined warriors, led by the most valiant and noble knights of that time: next to Gottfried of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, the main leader, and his brothers Baldwin and Eustathius (Estachem), shone; Count Hugh of Vermandois, brother of the French king Philip I, Duke Robert of Normandy (brother of the English king), Count Robert of Flanders, Raymond of Toulouse and Stephen of Chartres, Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum, Tancred of Apulism and others. As papal governor and legate, the army was accompanied by Bishop Ademar of Monteil.

Participants of the First Crusade arrived by various routes to Constantinople, where the Greek emperor Alexei forced from them a fealty oath and a promise to recognize him as a feudal lord of future conquests. At the beginning of June 1097, the crusader army appeared before Nicaea, the capital of the Seljuk sultan, and after the capture of the latter, it was subjected to extreme difficulties and hardships. Nevertheless, they took Antioch, Edessa (1098) and, finally, on June 15, 1099, Jerusalem, which at that time was in the hands of the Egyptian sultan, who unsuccessfully tried to restore his power and was utterly defeated at Ascalon.

The capture of Jerusalem by the crusaders in 1099. Miniature of the XIV or XV centuries.

Under the influence of the news of the conquest of Palestine in 1101, a new army of crusaders moved to Asia Minor, led by the Duke of Welf of Bavaria from Germany and two others, from Italy and France, amounting to a total army of 260,000 people and exterminated by the Seljuks.

Second Crusade (briefly)

The Second Crusade - Briefly, Bernard of Clairvaux - Brief Biography

In 1144, Edessa was taken by the Turks, after which Pope Eugene III declared Second crusade(1147-1149), freeing all the crusaders not only from their sins, but at the same time from their obligations regarding their fief masters. The dreamy preacher Bernard of Clairvaux managed, thanks to his irresistible eloquence, to attract King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Hohenstaufen to the Second Crusade. Two troops, totaling, according to Western chroniclers, about 140,000 armored horsemen and a million infantrymen, set out in 1147 and headed through Hungary and Constantinople and Asia Minor. Due to lack of food, illness in the troops and after several major defeats, the reconquest plan Edessa was abandoned, and the attempt to attack Damascus failed. Both sovereigns returned to their possessions, and the Second Crusade ended in complete failure.

Crusader states in the East

Third Crusade (briefly)

Reason for Third Crusade(1189–1192) was the conquest of Jerusalem on October 2, 1187 by the powerful Egyptian sultan Saladin (see the article The Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin). Three European sovereigns participated in this campaign: Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, French king Philip II Augustus and English Richard the Lionheart. The first to march on the Third Crusade was Frederick, whose army increased to 100,000 along the way; he chose the path along the Danube, along the way he had to overcome the intrigues of the incredulous Greek emperor Isaac Angelus, who was only prompted by the capture of Adrianople to give free passage to the crusaders and help them cross to Asia Minor. Here Frederick defeated the Turkish troops in two battles, but soon after that he drowned while crossing the Kalikadn (Salef) River. His son, Frederick, led the army further through Antioch to Akka, where he found other crusaders, but soon died. The city of Akka in 1191 surrendered to the French and English kings, but the discord that opened between them forced the French king to return to his homeland. Richard remained to continue the Third Crusade, but, desperate in the hope of conquering Jerusalem, in 1192 he concluded a truce with Saladin for three years and three months, according to which Jerusalem remained in the possession of the Sultan, and the Christians received coastal strip from Tire to Jaffa, as well as the right to freely visit the Holy Sepulcher.

Frederick Barbarossa - crusader

Fourth Crusade (briefly)

For more details, see separate articles Fourth Crusade, Fourth Crusade - briefly and Capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders

Fourth Crusade(1202-1204) was originally aimed at Egypt, but its participants agreed to assist the exiled emperor Isaac Angel in his quest to regain the Byzantine throne, which was crowned with success. Isaac soon died, and the crusaders, deviating from their goal, continued the war and took Constantinople, after which the leader of the Fourth Crusade, Count Baldwin of Flanders, was elected emperor of the new Latin Empire, which lasted, however, only 57 years (1204-1261).

Members of the Fourth Crusade near Constantinople. Miniature to the Venetian manuscript of Villehardouin's History, c. 1330

Fifth Crusade (briefly)

Ignoring the strange Cross hiking children in 1212, caused by the desire to test the reality of the will of God, Fifth Crusade one can name the campaign of King Andrew II of Hungary and Duke Leopold VI of Austria to Syria (1217–1221). At first, he walked sluggishly, but after the arrival of new reinforcements from the West, the crusaders moved to Egypt and took the key to access this country from the sea - the city of Damietta. However, an attempt to capture the large Egyptian center of Mansour was not successful. The knights left Egypt, and the Fifth Crusade ended with the restoration of the former borders.

Assault by the crusaders of the Fifth campaign of the tower of Damietta. Painter Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen, c. 1625

Sixth Crusade (briefly)

sixth crusade(1228–1229) committed by the German Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen. For the long delay in starting the campaign, the pope excommunicated Frederick from the church (1227). The next year, the emperor nevertheless went to the East. Taking advantage of the strife of the Muslim rulers there, Frederick started negotiations with the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil on the peaceful return of Jerusalem to the Christians. To back up their demands with a threat, the emperor and the Palestinian knights besieged and took Jaffa. Threatened also by the Sultan of Damascus, al-Kamil signed a ten-year truce with Frederick, returning to the Christians Jerusalem and almost all the lands once taken from them by Saladin. At the end of the Sixth Crusade, Frederick II was crowned in the Holy Land with the crown of Jerusalem.

Emperor Frederick II and Sultan al-Kamil. 14th century miniature

The violation of the truce by some pilgrims led a few years later to the resumption of the struggle for Jerusalem and to its final loss by the Christians in 1244. Jerusalem was taken from the crusaders by the Turkic tribe of the Khorezmians, who were ousted from the Caspian regions by the Mongols during the movement of the latter to Europe.

Seventh Crusade (briefly)

The fall of Jerusalem caused Seventh Crusade(1248–1254) Louis IX of France, who, during a serious illness, vowed to fight for the Holy Sepulcher. In August 1248 the French crusaders sailed to the East and spent the winter in Cyprus. In the spring of 1249 the army of Saint Louis landed in the Nile Delta. Due to the indecision of the Egyptian commander Fakhreddin, she took Damietta almost without difficulty. After lingering there for several months in anticipation of reinforcements, the crusaders moved to Cairo at the end of the year. But at the city of Mansura, the Saracen army blocked their path. After hard efforts, the participants of the Seventh Crusade were able to cross the branch of the Nile and even break into Mansura for a while, but the Muslims, taking advantage of the separation of the Christian detachments, inflicted great damage on them.

The crusaders should have retreated to Damietta, but due to false notions of knightly honor, they were in no hurry to do so. They were soon surrounded by large Saracen forces. Having lost many soldiers from disease and hunger, the participants in the Seventh Crusade (almost 20 thousand people) were forced to surrender. Another 30 thousand of their comrades died. Christian captives (including the king himself) were released only for a huge ransom. Damietta had to be returned to the Egyptians. Sailing from Egypt to Palestine, St. Louis spent about 4 years in Akka, where he was engaged in securing Christian possessions in Palestine, until the death of his mother Blanca (regent of France) recalled him to his homeland.

Eighth Crusade (briefly)

Due to the complete failure of the Seventh Crusade and the constant attacks on the Christians of Palestine by the new Egyptian (Mamluk) Sultan Baybars the same king of France, Louis IX the Saint, undertook in 1270 Eighth(And last) cross hike. The crusaders at first thought again to land in Egypt, but the brother of Louis, king of Naples and Sicily Charles of Anjou, persuaded them to sail to Tunisia, which was an important commercial rival of southern Italy. Coming ashore in Tunisia, the French participants in the Eighth Crusade began to wait for the arrival of Charles' troops. A plague broke out in their cramped camp, from which Saint Louis himself died. Mor caused such losses to the crusader army that Charles Anjou, who arrived shortly after the death of his brother, chose to stop the campaign on the terms of the payment of indemnity by the ruler of Tunisia and the release of Christian captives.

Death of Saint Louis in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Painter Jean Fouquet, c. 1455-1465

End of the Crusades

In 1286, Antioch went to Turkey, in 1289 - Lebanese Tripoli, and in 1291 - Akka, the last major possession of Christians in Palestine, after which they were forced to abandon the rest of the possessions, and the whole Holy Land was united again in the hands of the Mohammedans. Thus ended the Crusades, which cost the Christians so many losses and did not reach the originally intended goal.

Results and consequences of the Crusades (briefly)

But they did not remain without a profound influence on the entire structure of the social and economic life of the Western European peoples. The consequence of the Crusades can be considered the strengthening of the power and importance of the popes, as their main instigators, further - the rise royalty due to the death of many feudal lords, the emergence of the independence of urban communities, which, thanks to the impoverishment of the nobility, received the opportunity to buy benefits from their fief owners; the introduction in Europe of crafts and arts borrowed from the eastern peoples. The result of the Crusades was the increase in the West of the class of free farmers, thanks to the liberation from serfdom of the peasants participating in the campaigns. The crusades contributed to the success of trade, opening up new routes to the East; favored the development of geographical knowledge; expanding the scope of intellectual and moral interests, they enriched poetry with new subjects. Another important result of the Crusades was the promotion to the historical stage of the secular knighthood, which constituted an ennobling element of medieval life; their consequence was also the emergence of spiritual knightly orders (Johnites, Templars and Teutons), which played an important role in history. (For more details, see separate articles

Each era in world history carries its own, incomparable, unique charm. But it is difficult to imagine a more attractive modern man, in its romance period, than the "knightly" Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is the world of classical fairy tales our childhood. And although a closer acquaintance with history debunks children's ideals, the very concept of chivalry as such is so embedded in our hearts that the image of a knight, almost completely separated from his historical original, remains in our imagination as if woven from light.

And isn't it interesting how the people of the Middle Ages lived, who created such attractive ideals of nobility, dignity, selflessness and selflessness? And the more surprising the latter, the greater the contrast with them real life, and the more someone really aspired to them and took them seriously. The heyday of medieval chivalry is associated with the era of the Crusades (1096-1270), which had a huge impact on it. And in this work, which is purely overview in nature, which is only possible in such a small volume, we will once again turn to the beginning of these legendary times, equally famous for their rudeness and idealism, to the First Crusade.

Nine centuries ago, in the year 1095 from the birth of Christ, the head of the Universal Church, Pope Urban II, called on the entire Christian world to a holy war to liberate the Holy Land from the dominion of "infidels." There were reasons and conditions for this.
Despite the opinion prevailing in Russian historiography that: "National disasters in the XI century reached the extreme limit in Western Europe; incessant feudal wars, destroying the harvest every now and then, often gave rise to famine years; ruin also affected the feudal lords themselves, which caused a general gloomy mood , from which people sought consolation in religion and religious exploits.", another seems more likely, described, in particular, in "The Crusades" by David Nicol: The 11th century was marked by a major economic boom, and although it was accompanied by ups and downs, it would be a mistake The first Crusade was a product of impoverishment, despair, which led to religious hysteria. It is quite logical that such a grandiose international enterprise required a sufficient material base for its implementation. Of course, religious hysteria is not excluded in itself. And the idea of ​​a holy war has always existed, akin to Muslim jihad, developed by the most prominent theologians. St. Aurelius Augustine in his writings, in particular "On the City of God", carefully examines this problem. "Fair, in his opinion, is the war that is waged in the name of protecting a person from a ferocious aggressor: "Usually, those wars that are waged in order to avenge an insult, to compensate for the damage suffered by one people from another" are usually called fair.
In Palestine in the 11th century there were internecine wars between the Fatimids and the Seljuks, the Sheyit and Sunni branches of Islam. The Seljuks were gaining the upper hand, and in such a difficult situation, Christians living in the Middle East found themselves in a rather unpleasant situation. And since “brothers and sisters in Christ suffered multiple insults and humiliations, sometimes accepting martyrdom,” then the pagan custom of blood vengeance, which has not been outlived among the European peoples, organically turned into the Christian concept of just wars, demanded quick and severe retribution against the offenders, who, moreover, on the other hand, they "illegally" own the main Christian shrine - the Holy Sepulcher - Jerusalem. The Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos directly asked for help against the Turks. At the same time, the danger of direct raids on Western Europe by "wild" peoples such as the Hungarians subsided. Here the pagan danger was over. But in Europe there remained a huge social layer of professional warriors who, in the absence of a common enemy, usually turned their aggressive attention to each other. Turning them to the East was in this case a very useful thing for the economic and cultural life of the West.
From a purely astrological, mystical point of view, a number of all kinds of signs were observed: meteors, lunar eclipses, staining the moon in a bloody color, signs in the sun. And the largest "harvest" of observed comets occurred in the autumn of 1097.
The positions of Eastern Christianity were significantly weakened at this time. "By the end of the eleventh century Byzantine Empire lost almost all possessions in Africa and Asia ", which is usually explained by the" gradual decomposition and demoralization of the Byzantine society and government. "The great Muslim state also broke up into three parts: the Cordoba Caliphate was formed in Spain, the Egyptian Caliphate in North Africa, and the Baghdad Caliphate in Asia Soon the latter also broke up into many small possessions, which were in purely nominal dependence on the Caliph of Baghdad.

Apparently, feudal fragmentation at the beginning of the second millennium AD was general trend, and in the West - not in the first place.
The Holy Land - Jerusalem and all of Palestine, was part of the Damascus Sultanate, which from the middle of the 11th century fell into the hands of the Seljuk Turks.
In an atmosphere of constant strife among the new Muslim states and attempts by the Egyptian rulers to take away Syria from the Caliph of Baghdad, Christian rulers were not averse to joining this division, whose lands were also fragmented, but apparently, at war with each other a little less fiercely, and ready to unite for the sake of some common purpose, common ideal. And what goal could be higher and more common for them than the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher, the highest shrine on Earth? In addition, Europe has been fragmenting for almost three centuries since the collapse of the empire of Charlemagne, and managed to adapt to this state. Therefore, the request of the Byzantine emperor for help to Western Christians fell on fertile ground.
"Pope Urban II saw a favorable moment with his authority to excite a religious struggle, which, of course, should have further strengthened papal authority." He preached a campaign for the liberation of Palestine at the cathedrals in Piacenza and Clermont in 1095, promising the expedition members absolution, by virtue of their charitable deed, and hinting at the fabulous riches of the East, for a more practically oriented public. Enthusiasm seized the vast masses of the people, who saw the opportunity to satisfy their spiritual and material needs. At the same time, the majority sincerely believed in the sanctity of the enterprise. "... all those who wished to participate in this campaign sewed a red cross on their shoulder, hence the name of the Crusades." However, in fact, they officially received this name much later. And in those days they were simply called Pilgrimages or Expeditions.
The First Crusade took place from 1096 to 1099. In general, in the period from 1096 to 1270, eight large and several small campaigns were organized and carried out, not counting the so-called Children's Crusades, and campaigns in Europe.
The most famous leaders of the first crusaders were: Duke Godfried of Bouillon, his brother Baldwin, papal legate Bishop Ademar, Duke of Normandy Robert II, Bohemond of Tarentum from Sicily, his nephew Tancred, Raymond of Toulouse and others. The performance of the crusaders was scheduled for August 15, 1096, on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. However, crowds of excited pilgrims, for the most part from the common people, did not wait for this period and set out on a campaign in the spring of 1096, not without the intention of "wiping the nose" of the upper classes. The "army" consisted mainly of foot "warriors", including women, children and monks, and a few horsemen, armed and dressed in any way.
On March 8, Peter of Amiens (The Hermit) and the knight Walter the Indigent, "accompanied by a great number of Franks on foot from Gaul, and having only eight knights with them, entered Hungary and directed their path to Jerusalem." Other motley detachments from Germany, Flanders and Lorraine set off at the beginning of summer, led by the priests Gottschalk and Volkmar, and Count d "Emico. All these overly enthusiastic hordes, of which the first included, according to legend, 100 thousand people, were not considered necessary take care of their own provision, and therefore lived mainly by robbing the local population. And the irritated inhabitants, of course, tried at every opportunity to take revenge on the offenders, sometimes beating them in hundreds. For example, at Merseburg in Hungary and at Niss in Bulgaria. "In Constantinople the robberies of the crusaders prompted Emperor Alexei to quickly transport this rabble to Asia Minor, where they were soon exterminated by the Turks. "Only three thousand, led by Peter the Hermit, managed to return back to Constantinople.
The main troops of the crusaders, as planned, set out in mid-August from various points in Europe. Total number participants is not identifiable. According to some sources, it was 100 thousand knights and 600 thousand infantry. according to others, as a whole did not exceed 300 thousand.

The assembly point was Constantinople, to which the crusaders went by four different routes. From Southern France and Northern Italy, under the leadership of Bishop Ademar and Raymond of Toulouse - through Italy, Dalmatia and the Epirus mountains. From Germany and East France - down the Danube, they were led by: Godfried of Bouillon, Baldwin and Renard of Toul. From southern Italy and the Norman possessions in Sicily, led by Bohemond of Tarentum and Tancred, they crossed the Adriatic Sea on ships, and then proceeded through Epirus and Thrace. Detachments from Northern France, their leaders were Hugues de Vermandois (brother of Philip I, whose mother was the famous Russian princess Anna Yaroslavna), Duke Robert of Normandy and others, crossed France and Italy to Brandisi, then repeating the path of Raymond of Toulouse.
These armies, not as hasty as the previous ones, were incomparably better equipped and provided with everything necessary. And they went through Europe much more calmly, without wasting strength and people on robberies. They did not obey a single command, each detachment was independent. But still, Bishop Ademar, the papal legate, and Godfried of Bouillon enjoyed the greatest influence.
The first to arrive at Constantinople was the detachment of Godfried of Bouillon. And then misunderstandings arose between the crusaders and the Byzantine emperor. Emperor Alexei considered the lands to be liberated from the adherents of Mahomet his property, and demanded from the crusaders a fief oath to himself as overlord. But the Duke of Bouillon and his associates were not going to win anything for someone else, believing that the lands should go to the one who would be granted victory by God. And, of course, they refused. Then Alexey Komnen decided to boycott the aliens, forbidding them to sell food. In response, the crusaders took by force what they were not given good, robbing the outskirts of Constantinople.
But such relations were not included in the plans of either side. The crusaders relented and took the required oath. And the emperor, with relief, transported them by ship to Asia Minor, where the first camp was located near a well-fortified Turkish city Nicaea. The rest of the troops arrived here, including a detachment of the Byzantines.
"In May 1097, all Christian detachments finally concentrated and at the general review there were up to 100 thousand cavalry, 300 thousand infantry and 100 thousand monks, women and children." Further, it is customary to mention the extreme disorganization and lack of discipline of these troops. "At one time, there was even a whole trend in science, which based its research on the indiscipline of first the Germans, and then the knights. At present, such judgments do not inspire much confidence." It's just that their idea of ​​discipline was somewhat different than it is now, and was based on a certain system of military values: love of freedom, courage, neglecting security considerations, a sense of tribal and squad solidarity, the concept of "holy revenge" - for the death of a dead comrade, contempt for fear and death. Their disorganization is quite natural in the setting of a multinational enterprise. Rather, one can be surprised at their, at the same time, cohesion. And as for their own detachments, they were quite disciplined and loyal to their commanders, without which their idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhonor is impossible.
Also, the traditional concept invariably refers to the terrifyingly heavy defensive equipment and weapons of the crusaders, as opposed to the "light and mobile" enemy. This moment is usually described very picturesquely: “The heavy and clumsy knightly cavalry of the West had to fight the light cavalry of the East, which was distinguished by high mobility. The tactics of the Turks were also facilitated by natural conditions: the sun glowed the iron knight's equipment, people and horses could not stand the heat and fell from sun and heat strokes. When reading, there is an illusion of an incredible abundance of iron, heavy solid metal plates. Fortunately, this is not true. Especially in the first crusade. Solid metal armor appeared much later, and the distribution of their weight over the body and the skillful articulation of parts made them not as bulky and clumsy as it seems at first glance. In addition, wearers of armor, for the most part, learned this skill from an early age, which made their task even easier. And, finally, in the 16th century, at the very end of the Middle Ages, special tournament armor (not combat!), In which it was not necessary to move actively without outside help, appeared.
In the East, the tradition of truly heavy cavalry was even more developed. Recall at least the famous formidable Persian cataphracts (cataphracts, cataphracts), who were the shock part of the army. Their horses were also covered with armor - the head, neck and chest were well protected. Such a heavy cavalry pierced the enemy's defense line and swept away everything in its path, like an iron-bound ram head. The remnants of the enemy were finished off by other, lighter and more mobile units of the army. So, the manner of shackling yourself and your horses in steel was adopted precisely from the East. And even the method of climbing on a horse with the help of a servant was called "eastern". Among the ancient Germans, for example, it was considered dishonor to defend oneself too much, and this opinion was not suddenly overcome.

In addition, the heavier and more reliable the armor, the more expensive it is. Consequently, not everyone could afford such a luxury. And, therefore, only a small core of the crusader army had a relatively heavy penetrating power. As for the Saracens, according to the same David Nicol, the elite cavalry of the Fatimids was no less heavily armed than the elite cavalry of the crusaders, although their weapons technology was much more developed.
The European armor of the beginning of our millennium was usually a dress made of leather or fabric, covered for strength with scales, plaques, iron circles, sewn in a special way. Tanned leather armor was called curie (cuirie), from cuir - leather. Iron plate armor - cotte maclee. Also known is the so-called mesh shell, which was a network of thin leather belts superimposed on a dress made of leather or thick fabric. The intersections of these belts were fixed with carnations with large convex hats.
"In the 11th century, in addition to these two types of armor, there are two others. Their image is preserved on carpets in Bayo, where we see the Normans in such weapons." These are ringed and scaly shells. In the first case, iron rings were sewn onto the skin in rows, in the second, the rings were sewn, overlapping part of the neighboring one. "An improved view of the last shell is represented by armor and chain mail - the main armor of knights until the middle of the Middle Ages, when they began to make solid iron armor."
Armor - all on the same leather base, rows of iron rings are sewn on, strung on belts and covering part of the neighboring one. Each of these rings was firmly sewn to the base. Chain mail consists of iron rings fastened different ways between themselves. The base is missing. There is a theory, which, in particular, is followed by P.P. von Winkler, a prominent historian of the end of the last century, that chain mail is of purely eastern origin and appears in Europe only as a result of the Crusades, not earlier than the 12th century. “In fact, chain mail was known and made in Europe since antiquity and throughout the first millennium of our era,” writes a no less significant connoisseur of ancient weapons, our contemporary M.V. Gorelik, whom we fully trust in this matter.
In the 11th century, "... lorica is no longer just a cloth or leather jacket sheathed with metal plates, but a real iron chain mail up to the knees, with sleeves and a hood, .." . This is an elite and expensive type of military clothing. Not too common yet - lamellar and scaly shells are not only cheaper, but also more reliable. A gambizon, a thick quilted dress, was usually worn under chain mail. In addition, chain mail needed additional protection, which became large almond-shaped shields. Wooden, usually covered with thick bovine skin and reinforced with an iron pommel - umbon. A particularly insidious detail was the skin, elastic, dense, absorbing the blow, and often tightly grasping the weapon that pierced it. Since the 11th century, hauberk - chain mail, equipped with sleeves, mittens, a hood and stockings, has really begun to come into fashion. "The French called her halberc, hauberc, haubert - most likely from the German halsberg, that is," covering the neck "".
Helmets until the 11th century were mostly made of copper. The usual was a riveted, domed helmet, with a pointed top, without a visor, invented later, with a wide nosepiece (Norman helmet). "... a coverlet was attached to the helmet, falling on the back, the purpose of which was to protect the helmet from the sun's rays, as well as to somewhat weaken the force of the blow."
Horse armor appeared in the 12th century, being so far only a thick cloth or felt blanket. Iron, starting with chain mail, began to protect the horse as early as the 13th century. "The very idea of ​​booking a horse came to Europe from the East - from Muslim countries or from the Tatar-Mongols - through Russia."
The timing of the arrival of the first crusaders favored them. "The Fatimids, in fact, had just taken Jerusalem from the Turks, a few months before the appearance of the crusaders." The former parts of the caliphate were constantly at enmity with each other, being in a weakened state. The Iconic sultan Kilij-Arslan came out against the crusaders, who managed to gather a significant number of his subjects and allies from all over Asia Minor and Persia (up to 100 thousand are mentioned), strengthen and supply the fortress city of Nicaea with everything necessary, from the siege of which military operations of the First Crusade open. Nicaea was conquered on June 20, 1097, or rather, it recognized the power of the Byzantine emperor over itself, thus avoiding severe destruction.
On June 27, the crusader army moved on to Antioch, through Phrygia and Cilicia. Two days later, the troops split up: Godfried of Bouillon and Bishop Ademar led the first column, marching along the Dorilei valley, Bohemond of Tarentum and Robert of Normandy, the second, heading east, inland, along the Gorgoni valley. Literally on the same day, the second column was attacked by Sultan Suliman of Nicaea, who gathered troops from Antioch, Tarsus, Aleppo and other cities. "Sending for help to Godfrid, Bohemond gathered everything that was possible and put up a desperate resistance to the attackers." The resistance was successful - the Turks fled. The crusaders, after a three-day rest, decided not to separate anymore and went on in a single column. With great difficulty and considerable losses, they managed to cross the desert and reach Cilicia, where they were warmly welcomed by friendly Armenians who were striving to get rid of the Turkish yoke.
Most of the crusaders sought to reach Jerusalem as soon as possible. But their leaders "dragged out the movement and took advantage of every opportunity to secure for themselves some kind of land possession." But was it just profit? Or a completely justified desire to strengthen the position of Christianity in the East? The second seems to be preferable, and besides, it does not exclude the first. Let us not follow the pernicious theory that the Crusaders were distinguished not only by unscrupulousness, but by a small consideration, which accuses them of both greed and carelessness in relation to strengthening their rear and establishing bases. So, Tancred and Baldwin of Flanders separated from the main army and captured together the seaside city of Tarsus. However, in some ways their views diverged and it even came to an open battle, in which Baldwin emerged victorious. Later, he went to Armenia, where he soon conquered a considerable territory for himself and proclaimed himself the count of Edessa, overthrowing the previous ruler. So, in 1098, the first Latin state arose in the East. In the same year, Antioch, Marra and Acre were captured. And on July 15, 1099, after a long siege and a bloody assault, Jerusalem itself was finally taken. The most prominent figure in the crusading movement, Godfried of Bouillon, became the head of the new - Jerusalem state. Initially, his title sounded - Baron of the Holy Sepulcher.
The wars between the cross and the crescent did not stop. But the Crusaders managed to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and held it for a long time. So, the main task of the Christians was completed. And with this victory, the sacred significance of which for medieval Europe can hardly be overestimated, the history of the First Crusade ends.
Given the significant successes of Christians in the East, it is impossible to agree with the contemptuous remarks found in fairly authoritative literature about the stupidity, mediocrity and complete professional unsuitability of European commanders. In the First Crusade, they managed to show themselves with better side waging war, albeit according to the "old German school" (also, of course, not everywhere and not always), but quite unitedly, consistently and purposefully, with rare devotion to the idea. Subsequently, when the strength of the idea weakened, no progressive military reforms and tactics saved the position of Christian states in the East, and did not stop internal strife. And the strength of the Spirit of the first crusaders truly deserves all the songs sung in their honor, and not just epigrams and ditties, albeit no less deserved.

Briefly about the first crusade 1096-1099 we can say that it was the beginning of a cycle of European military campaigns in the Middle East. Its participants, aiming at the liberation of the Holy Land, aggravated relations between Christians and Muslims, but at the same time contributed to the revival of international trade.

Reason for starting the first trip

At the end of the XI century. Islamic influence has increased in the Middle East. In 1071 the Christians were severely defeated by the Muslims in Eastern Anatolia. The wrath of the Pope was also caused by the news from the Holy Land that pious Christian pilgrims were allegedly subjected to bullying by "non-Christians". This was the reason for the "armed pilgrimage" to Jerusalem and the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher.

Rice. 1. Clermont Cathedral.

Pope Urban II at Clermont church cathedral in November 1095, he did not skimp on words, vividly describing all the horrors of the unfortunate Christians in Palestine. Obviously, he exaggerated a little. It is a fact that the Muslim rulers of Jerusalem charged a fee "to enter" the city. This seemed humiliating to Christian pilgrims. Moreover, in Jerusalem the holy places were really destroyed and the monuments of Christianity were destroyed. Putting an end to this is the goal of the first crusade.

Participants of the campaign

Representatives of all segments of the population of Europe participated in the military campaign. These were:

• large and medium feudal lords;
• small knights;
• peasants and urban poor;
• artisans and merchants;
• Catholic Church.

Each group had its own reasons and goals for participating in the crusades.

The rulers and secular feudal lords saw in them an opportunity to enrich themselves, expand their possessions or get new ones, and lead states. Merchants and artisans believed that as a result of the Crusades they would be able to enrich themselves by opening up new trade routes and markets. Peasants, the urban poor, small artisans sought to gain freedom, land, or start a business. The Catholic Church saw campaigns as a way to spread influence to the East.

Course of events

Date 1096 - performance of Western European knights to the East. The direction of the first crusade took to the Holy Land. Pope Urban II tried to support the fighting spirit of the participants by promising to forgive all sins - both those that were committed in the past and those that will be committed in the future.

TOP 4 articleswho read along with this

In the spring of 1096, thousands of peasants, sometimes joined by groups of small knights and townspeople, united in detachments and moved to the East. Before reaching Nicaea in Asia Minor, they were defeated by the Seljuks. The knightly army set off in several columns later, in August 1096, under the leadership of Gottfried IV, Duke of Bouillon.

During the years of the campaign, the crusaders (they were so nicknamed for the crosses sewn on their cloaks) more than once came across ambushes, fought off robbers, and suffered from heat. In July 1099 the crusaders approached Jerusalem. Christian knights shouting "So God wants!" broke into the city and staged a bloody massacre there.

Rice. 2. The capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders.

The result and consequences of the campaign

The results and consequences of the campaign of 1096-1099 were ambiguous.
They can be presented in the form of a table.

As a result of the campaign in the Middle East and Asia Minor, a number of crusader states arose. They did not last long. Several spiritual and knightly orders also appeared: the Templars, the Teutons, the Hospitallers and others.