Jerusalem is the objective of the crusades. To capture Jerusalem and its holy saints, namely the Holy Sepulchre, Christ’s tomb.
From 1096 to 1291 thousands of christians from the latin west headed to Palestine convinced that their salvation would come in liberating Christ’s place of rest. The first crusade in 1096 came in two waves, the first made up of common people, the peasantry, which was wiped out by tthe Turks; and, the second, made up of lords. They managed to take Jerusalem on the 15th of July 1099 by inflicting a tremendous massacre upon the muslim population.
2. The Latin East: occupation and colonisation
Once in Syria and Palestine, the leaders of the Crusades impose the western feudal order in the 4 principalities of Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli and Edesse. In order to secure the area they build enormous fortresses and mobilise monk-soldiers from different military orders that guard the access to the holy sites for pilgrimmages.
Between 1120 and 1187 a peace of sorts was reached. This permitted the collection of taxes from the local muslim population and to bring in merchants, particular Italians who set up shop at the ports along the coast.
Nevertheless, contact between the different civilisations remained circumscribed. The Poulains, however, ate an eastern diet, dressed in local attire, and the Italians brought back from the east silk, glass, sugar, paper, etc. Greater intellectual exchange is limited by the language barrier that divides these peoples. As a result, these 2 different civilisations undergo evolve without really mixing with one another.
3. The Muslim Response and the fall of the Latin East.
While at first divided amongst themselves, the muslims finally unite to expel the westerners which invites further crusades. Sea access had been cut off to the muslim; this combined with the religious intolerance of the westerners (mosques closed down), caused the Syrians to call for a holy war of their own (Jihad) beginning in the mid XII century.
Edesse was seized in 1144 causes Bernard de Clairvaux to call for a second crusade. This, however, proves ineffective and in 1187, the Sultan of Egypt, Saladin, takes control of Jerusalem and the whole Latin East except the coastline. The 3rd crusade (1187-1192) wasn’t successful in reconquering the Holy Land. The fourth crusade (1202-1204), modified in its goals by the Venetians, sets its sight on Constantinople, taking control of the city and establishing a latin empire rather than the Byzantine empire.
Notwithstanding the diplomatic efforts that existed between leaders of the 2 civilisations, the crusades succeeded only in reinforcing the mutual distrust and incomprehension between christians in the west, byzantines and muslims.
