To What Extent Can The Establishment Of The Crusader States From 1099 1118 Be Attributed To The Leadership Of Tancred And Baldwin I?

Muslim disunity is a major factor for the success of the Crusader States. The Crusader States were always under attack from the Muslims but never from one unified army. If the Muslims had put aside their differences to fight their common enemy then they defiantly would have been more successful in defeating the Crusaders however the opposite came to pass with Muslim leaders making pacts with the Crusaders such as Chavli and Damascus. If the Muslims had concentrated their attacks and formed a coalition army like the Crusaders then they would have been more successful however unlike the Crusaders they chose not to cooperate and act separately from each other bringing defeat. Aleppo is a perfect example of Muslim disunity, when Ridwan died there was a power struggle between Bursuq a Muslim general and Tughtegin of Damascus. This lead to Tughtegin asking for help from Roger of Antioch, who attacked Bursuq with 500 knights and defeats him. If the two leaders had put aside their personal ambition then they could have attacked the crusaders with a large effect however they did not. Muslim disunity meant that the crusaders would never suffer a knockout blow because they could deal with each attack as it came, however if the Muslims had acted in unison against the crusaders then they would have had much more success in preventing the establishment of the Crusader States.

Military superiority is also a major factor for crusader success. The crusaders used their position well and when under attack regularly chose to stay on the defensive rather than meet the enemy, this meant they cut their losses and more often than not successful. They also co-operated well militarily forming coalition armies both to attack and defend for example in Tripoli. The professional knights that the Franks had were highly trained and effective and an army of a few hundred of them could effectively defeat thousands of Turks. The crusaders were good military strategists and used European tactics to their advantage, for example the heavy cavalry charge was used effectively to swing battles in the crusader’s favour. The military competence of the crusaders and their knowledge from previous battles mean that they could effectively protect the crusader states.

In conclusion I agree that the knowledge and leadership skills of Tancred and Baldwin lead to the establishment of the crusader states however this is not the only factor for their success, Muslim disunity is a major reason for their survival as was their military competence. If any one of these factors not been present then I do not believe that the Crusader states would have survived during this period.