Crusades to the East. Crusades to the East Consequences of the Crusades history

3.2 Consequences crusades

The Crusades, however, did not remain without important consequences for the whole of Europe. Their unfavorable result was the weakening of the eastern empire, which gave it over to the power of the Turks, as well as the death of countless people, the introduction of cruel eastern punishments and gross superstitions into Western Europe by the crusaders, the persecution of Jews, and the like. But much more significant were the consequences beneficial for Europe. For the East and Islam, the Crusades did not have the same significance that they had in the history of Europe: they changed very little in the culture of Muslim peoples and in their state and social system. The Crusades undoubtedly had a certain influence (which, however, should not be exaggerated) on the political and social system of Western Europe: they contributed to the fall of medieval forms in it. The numerical weakening of the baronial knightly class, which was a consequence of the outflow of knights to the East, which lasted almost continuously for two centuries, made it easier for the royal authorities to fight against the representatives of the feudal aristocracy who remained in their homeland. The hitherto unprecedented development of trade relations contributed to the enrichment and strengthening of the urban class, which in the Middle Ages was the support of royal power and the enemy of the feudal lords. Then, the Crusades in some countries facilitated and accelerated the process of liberating the villans from serfdom: the villans were freed not only as a result of leaving for the Holy Land, but also by purchasing their freedom from the barons, who needed money when going on a crusade and therefore willingly entered into such transactions. Representatives of all those groups into which the population of medieval Western Europe was divided took part in the Crusades, starting from the largest barons and ending with the masses of simple villans; therefore, the Crusades contributed to the rapprochement of all classes among themselves, as well as the rapprochement of various European nationalities. The Crusades for the first time united in one cause all the social classes and all the peoples of Europe and awakened in them the consciousness of unity. On the other hand, by bringing the various peoples of Western Europe into close contact, the Crusades helped them understand their national characteristics. By bringing Western Christians into close contact with the foreign and heterodox peoples of the East (Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and so on), the Crusades helped weaken tribal and religious prejudices. Having become closely acquainted with the culture of the East, with the material situation, morals and religion of Muslims, the crusaders learned to see in them similar people and began to appreciate and respect their opponents. Those whom they at first considered half-savage barbarians and rude pagans turned out to be culturally superior to the crusaders themselves. The Crusades left an indelible mark on the knightly class; the war, which previously served the feudal lords only as a means to achieve selfish goals, received a new character in the Crusades: the knights shed their blood because of ideal, religious motives. The ideal of the knight, as a fighter for higher interests, a fighter for truth and religion, was formed precisely under the influence of the Crusades. The most important consequence of the Crusades was the cultural influence of the East on Western Europe. From the contact in the East of Western European culture with Byzantine and especially Muslim culture, extremely beneficial consequences flowed for the first. In all areas of material and spiritual life, in the era of the Crusades one encounters either direct borrowings from the East, or phenomena that owe their origin to the influence of these borrowings and the new conditions in which Western Europe then became.

Navigation reached unprecedented development during the Crusades: most of the crusaders went to the Holy Land by sea; Almost all of the extensive trade between Western Europe and the East was carried out by sea. The main figures in this trade were Italian merchants from Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Amalfi and other cities. Lively trade relations brought a lot of money to Western Europe, and this, together with the development of trade, led to the decline of forms of subsistence farming in the West and contributed to the economic revolution that was noticed at the end of the Middle Ages. Relations with the East brought many useful items to the West, which until then were either completely unknown there, or were rare and expensive. Now these products began to be imported in larger quantities, became cheaper and came into general use. This is how carob, saffron, apricot (Damascus plum), lemon, pistachios (the very words denoting many of these plants are Arabic) were transferred from the East. Sugar began to be imported on a large scale, and rice came into widespread use. Works of highly developed eastern industry were also imported in significant quantities - paper materials, chintz, muslin, expensive silk fabrics (satin, velvet), carpets, jewelry, paints, and the like. Familiarity with these objects and the method of their manufacture led to the development of similar industries in the West (in France, those who made carpets based on eastern models were called “Saracens”). Many items of clothing and home comfort were borrowed from the East, which bear evidence of their origin in their names (Arabic) (skirt, burnous, alcove, sofa), some weapons (crossbow) and the like. A significant number of eastern, mainly Arabic words that entered Western languages ​​during the era of the Crusades usually indicate the borrowing of what is denoted by these words. These are (except for those mentioned above) Italian. dogana, fr. douane - customs, - admiral, talisman, etc. The Crusades introduced Western scientists to Arabic and Greek science (for example, with Aristotle). Geography made especially many acquisitions at this time: the West became closely acquainted with a number of countries little known before; the widespread development of trade relations with the East made it possible for Europeans to penetrate into such remote and then little-known countries as Central Asia (the travels of Plano Carpini, William of Rubruk, Marco Polo). Significant progress was also made then in mathematics, astronomy, natural sciences, medicine, linguistics, and history. In European art since the era of the Crusades, a certain influence of Byzantine and Muslim art has been noticed.

Such borrowings can be traced in architecture (horseshoe-shaped and complex arches, trefoil-shaped arches and pointed, flat roofs), in sculpture (“arabesques” - the very name indicates borrowing from the Arabs), in artistic crafts. Poetry, spiritual and secular crusades provided rich material. Having a strong effect on the imagination, they developed it among Western poets; they introduced Europeans to the treasures of the poetic creativity of the East, from where a lot of poetic material and many new subjects were transferred to the West. In general, the acquaintance of Western peoples with new countries, with political and social forms different from those in the West, with many new phenomena and products, with new forms in art, with other religious and scientific views - should have extremely expanded the mental horizons of Western peoples, informed to him a hitherto unprecedented breadth. Western thought began to break free from the grip in which the Catholic Church had hitherto held all spiritual life, science and art. The authority of the Roman Church was greatly undermined by the failure of those aspirations and hopes with which the Church led the West into the Crusades. The widespread development of trade and industry under the influence of the Crusades and through the mediation of Syrian Christians contributed to the economic prosperity of the countries that took part in this movement, and gave scope to various worldly interests, and this further undermined the decrepit edifice of the medieval church and its ascetic ideals. Having familiarized the West more closely with the new culture, making accessible to it the treasures of thought and artistic creativity of the Greeks and Muslims, developing worldly tastes and views, the Crusades prepared the so-called Renaissance, which chronologically directly adjoins them and is largely their consequence. In this way, the Crusades indirectly contributed to the development of a new direction in the spiritual life of mankind and prepared, in part, the foundations of a new European civilization.

There was also an increase in European trade: due to the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the dominance of Italian merchants in the Mediterranean began.

Conclusion

Although the Crusades did not achieve their goal and, begun with general enthusiasm, ended in disaster and disappointment, they constituted an entire era in European history and had a serious impact on many aspects of European life.

Byzantine Empire.

The Crusades may have indeed delayed the Turkish conquest of Byzantium, but they could not prevent the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The Byzantine Empire was in a state of decline for a long time. Its final death meant the emergence of the Turks on the European political scene. The sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and the Venetian trade monopoly dealt the empire a mortal blow, from which it could not recover even after its revival in 1261.

Trade.

The biggest beneficiaries of the Crusades were the merchants and artisans of the Italian cities, who provided the crusader armies with equipment, provisions and transport. In addition, Italian cities, especially Genoa, Pisa and Venice, were enriched by a trade monopoly in the Mediterranean countries.

Italian merchants established trade relations with the Middle East, from where they exported them to Western Europe. various items luxury - silks, spices, pearls, etc. The demand for these goods brought super profits and stimulated the search for new, shorter and safer routes to the East. Ultimately, this search led to the discovery of America. The Crusades also played an extremely important role in the emergence of the financial aristocracy and contributed to the development of capitalist relations in Italian cities.

Feudalism and the Church.

Thousands of large feudal lords died in the Crusades, in addition, many noble families went bankrupt under the burden of debt. All these losses ultimately contributed to the centralization of power in Western European countries and the weakening of the system of feudal relations.

The impact of the Crusades on the authority of the church was controversial. If the first campaigns helped strengthen the authority of the Pope, who took on the role of spiritual leader in the holy war against Muslims, then the 4th Crusade discredited the power of the Pope even in the person of such an outstanding representative as Innocent III. Business interests often took precedence over religious considerations, forcing the crusaders to disregard papal prohibitions and enter into business and even friendly contacts with Muslims.

Culture.

It was once generally accepted that it was the Crusades that brought Europe to the Renaissance, but now such an assessment seems overestimated to most historians. What they undoubtedly gave the man of the Middle Ages was a broader view of the world and a better understanding of its diversity.

The Crusades were widely reflected in literature. A countless number of poetic works were composed about the exploits of the crusaders in the Middle Ages, mostly in Old French. Among them there are truly great works, such as the History of the Holy War (Estoire de la guerre sainte), describing the exploits of Richard the Lionheart, or the Song of Antioch (Le chanson d'Antioche), supposedly composed in Syria, dedicated to the 1st Crusade New artistic material, born of the Crusades, also penetrated into ancient legends. Thus, the early medieval cycles about Charlemagne and King Arthur were continued.

The Crusades also stimulated the development of historiography. Villehardouin's Conquest of Constantinople remains the most authoritative source for the study of the 4th Crusade. Many consider the best medieval work in the biography genre to be the biography of King Louis IX, created by Jean de Joinville. One of the most significant medieval chronicles was the book written in Latin by Archbishop William of Tyre, History of Deeds in Overseas Lands (Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum), vividly and reliably recreating the history of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1144 to 1184 (the year of the author’s death).

Bibliography

1. Vasiliev A. A. History of the Byzantine Empire: From the beginning of the Crusades to the fall of Constantinople. SPb.: Aletheia. 1998. 581 p. (Byzantine library.)

2. Villehardouin J. de. Conquest of Constantinople Trans., article and commentary. M. Zaborov. M.: Science. 1993.. 296 p. (Monuments of historical thought.)

3. Ertov I. History of the Crusades for the liberation of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the hands of infidels, selected from general history. SPb.: type. H. Ginz. 1835. 375 p.

4. Zaborov M. A. Historiography of the Crusades. (XV-XIX centuries) M.: Nauka. 1971. 386 p.

5. Clary, R. de. Conquest of Constantinople Trans., Art. and comm. M. Zaborov. M.: Science. 1986. 174 p. (Monuments of historical thought.)

6. Uspensky F.I. History of the Crusades, St. Petersburg, 1900-1901, 230 p.

7. Shishnev U. G. History of Europe M: Science. 1985. 415 p.

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Participants in the Crusades were called crusaders.

The Crusades began in 1095, when Pope Urban II, at a church council in the southern French city of Clermont, called on all devout Christians to go to Palestine and liberate the “Holy Sepulcher” from the hands of Muslims. The Pope’s call found an immediate response in the souls of people, but, in addition to a sincere religious impulse, one can also discover a number of social reasons that contributed to the beginning of a mass movement for the liberation of the “Holy Sepulcher.”

In the 11th century law is being established in Europe majorate, according to which the feud was inherited only by the eldest son of the feudal lord, while the younger sons were forced to seek income for themselves by serving at the court of more powerful lords or the king. Therefore, for them, the Crusade seemed a real opportunity to obtain profitable land ownership in the East.

For impoverished peasants, the Crusade seemed to be a means of improving their financial situation, acquisition of land free from the power of the lord.

The Pope's promise to forgive all participants in the Crusade for their sins and debts to the church prompted them to go to the East.

The papacy itself viewed the crusading movement as an opportunity to strengthen its authority, which was especially important in the era of the struggle for investiture with the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.

The most successful was First Crusade (1096–1099), during which a number of territories in the Middle East were conquered from the Seljuks, including the city of Jerusalem. The success of the crusaders was largely determined by the fragmented actions of Muslim states against the Europeans.

In the conquered territories, four Christian states were created (the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch and the County of Tripoli), into which the feudal system that dominated Western Europe was transferred. All other Crusades, in fact, were only attempts to retain the conquered territories, but the crusaders failed to complete this task. By the end of the 13th century. Europeans lost all their possessions in the Middle East.

The Crusades to the East were the most general and long-lasting manifestation of the crusader movement. However, they also took place in other directions.

Crusades in the Baltics

At the beginning of the 13th century. Toulouse became the center of the Albigensian heresy, and the Toulouse count even patronized the heretics. Several Crusades were organized against the Albigensians. In 1226, the French king Louis VIII, at the head of a crusading army, conquered the County of Toulouse, which was included in the royal domain. In an effort to no longer allow such a large-scale and deep spread of heretical teachings, the Catholic Church in the 13th century. established the Inquisition- a special body whose main function was to identify and eradicate heresies.

The Crusades to the East had serious consequences for Europeans: acquaintance with Eastern culture, introducing European lords to Eastern luxury, expanding the diet, acquiring new geographical knowledge, etc.

At the end of the 1st Crusade, four Christian states were founded in the Levant:

1. The County of Edessa is the first state founded by the Crusaders in the East. Was founded in 1098 year Baldwin I of Boulogne. Lasted until 1146 of the year. Its capital was the city of Edessa.

2. Principality of Antioch - was founded by Bohemond I of Tarentum in 1098 after the capture of Antioch. The principality existed until 1268 of the year.

3. The Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted until the fall of Acre in 1291 year. The kingdom was subordinate to several vassal lordships, including the four largest:

A. Principality of Galilee

b. County of Jaffa and Askalon

V. Transjordan - lordship of Krak, Montreal and Saint Abraham

Senoria Sidona

4. The County of Tripoli is the last of the states founded during the First Crusade. Was founded in 1105 Count of Toulouse Raymond

IV. The county existed until 1289 of the year.

The Crusader states completely covered the territory through which Europe traded with India and China at that time (“The Great Silk Road”, “The Route of Incense”), without occupying any extra territory. Egypt was cut off from this trade. Delivery of goods to Europe in the most economical way from Baghdad, bypassing the crusader states, became impossible. Thus, the crusaders acquired a kind of monopoly in this kind of trade. Conditions were created for the development of new trade routes between Europe and, for example, China, such as the route along the Volga with transshipment into rivers flowing into the Baltic and the Volga-Don route. In this one can see the reasons for the shift in the political center of Rus' just after the first crusade to the area where international cargo was transshipped from the Volga basin to the Western Dvina basin, as well as the reasons for the economic and political rise of Volga Bulgaria. The subsequent seizure by the Crusaders of the mouth of the Western Dvina and the Neman, their capture of Constantinople, through which the cargo of the Volga-Don route and the route along the Kura River passed, as well as the attempt of the Swedes to seize the mouth of the Neva, can also be regarded as an attempt to establish control over the trade routes of this type of trade. The economic rise at that time in the northwestern part of Western Europe against the southern one became the reason that for Europeans, international trade with the East through the Baltic and further through North-Eastern Rus' became more economically profitable. Perhaps it was in this regard that the crusades to the Holy Land lost popularity among Europeans, and the crusader states lasted the longest in the Baltic states, disappearing only when the Europeans opened direct sea routes to China and India.

Second Crusade

Prerequisites

The main mistake that accompanied the policy of the Christian authorities in the East was the destruction of Byzantine rule in Asia and the weakening of the Greek element, which naturally had to be counted on in the destruction of Muslims. Its result was a new

strengthening of Muslims in the Mesopotamian region, where they were forced

retreat after I crusade.

One of the most powerful Muslim emirs, Imad ad-Din Zangi of Mosul, began to seriously threaten the advanced Christian principalities. IN 1144 year, he organized a decisive offensive, which ended with the capture of Edessa and the fall of the Principality of Edessa.

Such a blow was difficult to ignore: the Principality of Edessa

constituted an outpost against which waves of Muslim raids broke; it was a stronghold that protected the entire Christian world.

At the same time, other Christian principalities were either in a cramped position or were busy with issues of a purely selfish nature and therefore could neither provide assistance to the Principality of Edessa nor replace its strategic and symbolic significance for Christians.

Shortly before these events, King Fulk of Jerusalem died. His place as head of the kingdom was taken by the widow, Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, guardian of Baudouin III. The princes, who were in vassal relations with Fulk, categorically refused to obey the queen, thereby depriving her of any chance to protect her own possessions - Jerusalem itself was in danger and could not provide any assistance to Edessa. As for Antioch, Prince Raymond started a war with Byzantium, which ended in a crushing defeat for him, i.e. Edessa did not have to wait for help from him either.

But with all this, as a result of a number of reasons, there was no opportunity to launch a new crusade in Western Europe.

IN 1144 The Roman throne was occupied by Pope Eugenius III. It would seem that his direct duty was, taking advantage of the indisputable authority of the church, to take under his own hand the cause of protecting the East Asian principalities. However, by this time the position of the pope, even in Italy itself, was far from powerful: inter-party fights for the Roman throne and the activities of Arnold of Brescia, who headed a new democratic movement that fought against the participation of the church in secular power, seriously undermined Eugene’s position III.

The German king Conrad III was also put in difficult circumstances by the struggle with the Welfs (the Welfs (German: Welfen) are one of the oldest European dynasties of Frankish origin, whose representatives occupied the thrones of a number of European states, in particular various German and Italian principalities, as well as Russia and Great Britain ).

Considering all this, it was impossible to hope that the Pope or the King of Germany would take the initiative for a new campaign.

Louis was the King of France at that time. VII. Being a “knight at heart,” he felt connected to the East and was inclined to undertake a crusade. Before deciding to take such an important step as going to

Holy Land, he asked the opinion of Abbot Suger, his tutor and adviser, who, without dissuading the king from his good intentions, advised him to take all measures to ensure proper success for the enterprise. Eugene III approved the king's plan and entrusted Saint Bernard with preaching about the crusade, providing him with an appeal to the French people.

IN 1146 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was present at

State Assembly in Vezelay (Burgundy). He sat down next to King Louis, put a cross on him and made a speech in which he proposed to arm himself to defend the Holy Sepulcher against the infidels. Thus with 1146 In 2010, the question of the crusade was resolved from the point of view of the French. Southern and central France put forward a large army, which was quite sufficient to repel the Muslims.

The ideas of the Second Crusade reached not only France, but also spread spontaneously to Germany, which caused a wave of anti-Semitic sentiment. Bernard of Clairvaux had to appear in person across the Rhine to reproach the clergy who allowed such sentiments to arise. During his visit to Germany, the day before 1147 of the year, Conrad III invites Bernard to celebrate New Year's Day. After the solemn mass, the Pope gives a speech that convinces the German Emperor to take part in the Second Crusade.

Conrad's solution III participation in the Second Crusade found a lively response among the entire German people. WITH 1147 year, and in Germany the same animated general movement began as in France.

Progress of hostilities

Led by its king, France was able to field significant forces. Like King Louis himself VII, and the feudal French princes showed much sympathy for the cause of the Second Crusade. The number of the detachment reached about 70 thousand Human.

His main task was to weaken the Musul emir Zangi and return the city of Edessa. According to historians, the French army alone, consisting of well-trained and armed soldiers, would have been quite enough (especially considering that as it advanced, it almost doubled, thanks to the influx of volunteers). But, under pressure from the allied German army, this militia was forced to advance along a longer and more dangerous path than if it had acted alone.

Sicilian King Roger II and the French king were on friendly terms. As a result, it was wiser for the French king to choose the route through Italy, from where he could, using the Norman fleet and the fleet of trading cities, conveniently and quickly arrive in Syria. In addition, the route through southern Italy also had the advantage that the Sicilian king could join the militia.

When the question of the route and means of movement arose, the German king proposed choosing the path that the first German crusaders followed - to Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Thrace and Macedonia.

The Germans insisted that the French king also move this way, motivating their proposal by the fact that it is better to avoid a division of forces, that movement through the possessions of the allied sovereign is completely protected from all kinds of accidents and surprises, and that negotiations have begun with the Byzantine king on this issue, in the favorable outcome of which Conrad had no doubt.

In summer 1147 year the crusaders moved through Hungary: Conrad III walked ahead, a month later Louis followed him.

Roger II The Sicilian, who had previously not declared a desire to participate in the Second Crusade, but who, however, could not remain indifferent to its outcome, demanded that Louis fulfill the agreement concluded between them - to move through Italy. After much hesitation, Louis chose the point of view of the German king.

Roger II realized that if he now did not take part in the campaign, his position would become isolated. He equipped the ships, armed himself, but not in order to provide assistance general movement. He began to act in accordance with the Norman policy regarding the East: the Sicilian fleet began to plunder the islands and coastal lands belonging to Byzantium, the shores of Illyria, Dalmatia and southern Greece. Devastating the Byzantine possessions, the Sicilian king took possession of the island of Corfu and, in order to successfully continue his naval operations against Byzantium, entered into an alliance with African Muslims.

Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus was afraid that Conrad III It will not be possible to curb his violent and rebellious army, which is capable of causing unrest in the capital of the empire through robbery and violence. Therefore, Manuel tried to move the crusader army away from Constantinople and advised Conrad to cross to the Asian coast of Gallipoli.

But Manuel’s hopes were not justified: already in September 1147 For a year, irritated Germans stood at the walls of Constantinople, betraying everything to plunder; in two or three weeks it was necessary to expect the arrival of the French crusaders, who were also not distinguished by their courtesy. At the same time, news reached the Byzantine king about the capture of Corfu, about the attacks of the Norman king on the coastal Byzantine possessions, about the alliance of Roger II with Egyptian Muslims.

As a result, he was forced to enter into an alliance with the Seljuk Turks, which was intended to secure the empire and threaten the Latins in

case if the latter decided to threaten Constantinople. Protecting his personal interests, Manuel washed his hands, leaving the crusaders to act on our own and means.

Thus, two Christian-Muslim alliances were formed against the crusader militia: one - directly hostile to the crusader militia - the alliance of Roger II with the Egyptian Sultan, the other - the alliance of the Byzantine king with the Iconian Sultan - was not in the interests of

crusade.

The German army was soon transported across the Bosphorus. The crusaders gave themselves their first rest in Nicaea, where a detachment of fifteen thousand separated from the German militia and, at their own peril, headed along the seaside route to Palestine. Conrad and the rest of the army chose the path taken by the first crusader militia - through Dorylaeum, Iconium and Heraclea.

Already the first battle that took place in Cappadocia, near Dorileum on October 26, 1147, the German army, taken by surprise, was completely defeated. Very few returned with the king to Nicaea, where Conrad began to wait for the French.

At the same time, Louis VII was approaching Constantinople. To quickly get rid of them, King Manuel used cunning. A rumor was spread among the French that the Germans, who had crossed over to Asia, were rapidly moving forward, step by step winning brilliant victories. After this, the French demanded that they be transported as quickly as possible across the Bosphorus. Here, on the Asian coast, they learned about the fate of the German army. In Nicaea, Louis and Conrad decided to continue their journey together, in a faithful alliance.

Since the path from Nicaea to Dorylaeum was covered with corpses, both kings wanted to spare the army from the painful spectacle and therefore went in a roundabout way, to Adramytium, Pergamon and Smyrna. This path was extremely difficult, slowing down the movement of the army. The Turkish riders kept the crusader army in constant tension, slowed down the journey, robbed, and repulsed people and convoys. In addition, the lack of food supplies and fodder forced Louis to abandon a lot of pack animals and luggage. The French king, not foreseeing all these difficulties, took with him a large retinue, including his wife Eleanor. The crusader militia moved very slowly, losing a lot of people, pack animals and luggage along the way.

Failure of the campaign

At first 1148 years, both kings arrived in Ephesus with the pitiful remnants of their army. In Ephesus, the kings received a letter from the Byzantine emperor, in which the latter invited them to Constantinople to rest. Conrad went there by sea, and Louis, having reached the seaside city of Antalya, begged the Byzantine government for ships and the remnants of the army in March 1148 arrived in Antioch. As a result, the huge armies of the kings melted under the blows of the Muslims. The kings, French and German, united for one goal, soon diverged and began to pursue opposing goals.

Raymond of Antioch received the French very cordially. It soon became known that Eleanor entered into a relationship with Raymond. It goes without saying that Louis felt insulted, humiliated, he

I lost energy, inspiration and desire to carry on the business I had started.

Conrad's stay III in Constantinople in winter 1147/48 years was accompanied by a cooling of relations between him and the Byzantine emperor. in spring 1148 year Conrad went from Constantinople to Asia Minor straight to Jerusalem. For both Raymond and Louis, the news was extremely unpleasant that Conrad had abandoned the tasks of the crusade and devoted himself to the interests of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Baldwin III, the king of Jerusalem, prompted Conrad to become the head of the 50,000-strong Jerusalem army and undertake a campaign against Damascus. It was a mistake.

This campaign ended very sadly. In Damascus, it is true, there was a rather formidable force, but the entire center of gravity of the Muslim East, all the power and danger for Christians was concentrated at that time not in Damascus, but in Mosul, led by Nur ad-Din Mahmud, the son of the deceased Zangi.

The offensive of the German king led to the formation of an anti-Christian coalition: Damascus entered into an alliance with Nur ad-Din.

After a bloody and exhausting siege, and learning of the approach of Nur ad-Din, Conrad and Baldwin III were forced to lift the siege of Damascus

Conrad's energy and knightly enthusiasm soon weakened, and he decided to return to his homeland. in autumn 1148 year on Byzantine ships he arrived in Constantinople, and from there at the beginning 1149 years returned to Germany, having essentially done nothing for the cause of Christians in the East, but, on the contrary, disgraced himself and the German nation.

At first 1149 Louis VII on Norman ships he crossed to southern Italy, where he had a meeting with the Norman king and in the fall 1149 arrived in France.

The Crusades are 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 11th to the end of the 13th) with the goal of conquering Palestine and liberating the Holy Sepulcher from the hands of infidels; it is a powerful reaction of Christianity against the strengthening power of Islam at that time (under the caliphs) and a grandiose attempt not only to take possession of the once Christian regions, but also to generally broadly expand the limits of the rule of the cross, this symbol of the Christian idea. The participants of 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 received the name crusades.

Causes of the Crusades (briefly)

Performance in was scheduled for August 15, 1096. But before preparations for it were completed, crowds of common people, led by Peter the Hermit and the French knight Walter Golyak, set off on a campaign through Germany and Hungary without money or supplies. Indulging in robbery and all sorts of outrages along the way, they were partly exterminated by the Hungarians and Bulgarians, and partly reached the Greek empire. The Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comnenus hastened to transport them across the Bosphorus 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 Lorraineers, under the leadership of the priest Gottschalk, went through Hungary and, having engaged in the beating of Jews in the Rhine and Danube cities, were exterminated by the Hungarians.

The Crusaders set out on the First Crusade. Miniature from a manuscript by Guillaume of Tire, 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 superbly disciplined warriors, led by the most valiant and noble knights of the time: next to Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, the main leader, and his brothers Baldwin and Eustache (Estache), shone; Count Hugo 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 Apulia and others. Bishop Adhémar of Monteillo accompanied the army as papal viceroy and legate.

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

Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099. Miniature from the 14th or 15th centuries.

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

Second Crusade (briefly)

The Second Crusade - briefly, Bernard of Clairvaux - short 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 duties regarding their feudal 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 armies, which, according to Western chroniclers, totaled about 140,000 armored horsemen and a million infantry, set out in 1147 and headed through Hungary and Constantinople and Asia Minor. Due to a lack of food, diseases in the troops and after several major defeats the plan to recapture 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)

The reason for Third Crusade(1189–1192) was the conquest of Jerusalem on October 2, 1187 by the powerful Egyptian Sultan Saladin (see the article Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin). Three European sovereigns took part in this campaign: Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, the French king Philip II Augustus and the English Richard the Lionheart. Frederick was the first to set out on the Third Crusade, whose army along the way increased to 100,000 people; he chose the path along the Danube, on the way he had to overcome the machinations of the incredulous Greek emperor Isaac Angel, 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 Acre, 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, despairing of 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 Christians received the coastal strip from Tire to Jaffa, as well as the right to free visiting the Holy Sepulchre.

Frederick Barbarossa - Crusader

Fourth Crusade (briefly)

For more details, see the 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 Angelos in his quest to re-assume 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).

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

Fifth Crusade (briefly)

Without taking into account the strange Cross children's hike in 1212, caused by the desire to experience the reality of God's will, Fifth Crusade can be called the campaign of King Andrew II of Hungary and Duke Leopold VI of Austria in Syria (1217–1221). At first he went 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, the attempt to capture the major Egyptian center of Mansur was unsuccessful. The knights left Egypt, and the Fifth Crusade ended with the restoration of the former borders.

The assault of the Crusaders of the Fifth Campaign on the tower of Damietta. Artist Cornelis Claes van Wieringen, c. 1625

Sixth Crusade (briefly)

Sixth Crusade(1228–1229) was committed by the German Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. For the long delays in starting the campaign, the pope excommunicated Frederick from the church (1227). The following year, the emperor nevertheless went to the East. Taking advantage of the discord among the local Muslim rulers, Frederick began negotiations with the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil on the peaceful return of Jerusalem to Christians. To support their demands by threat, the emperor and the Palestinian knights besieged and took Jaffa. Threatened by the Sultan of Damascus, al-Kamil signed a ten-year truce with Frederick, returning Jerusalem and almost all the lands that Saladin had once taken from them to the Christians. 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 a renewal of the struggle for Jerusalem and to its final loss by Christians in 1244. Jerusalem was taken from the Crusaders by the Turkic tribe of Khorezmians, driven out of the Caspian regions by the Mongols during the latter’s movement to Europe.

The 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 indecisiveness of the Egyptian commander Fakhreddin, she took Damietta almost without difficulty. After staying there for several months waiting for reinforcements, the crusaders moved to Cairo at the end of the year. But near the city of Mansura, the Saracen army blocked their path. After hard efforts, the participants of the Seventh Crusade were able to cross the Nile branch and even break into Mansura for a while, but the Muslims, taking advantage of the separation of the Christian troops, inflicted great damage on them.

The crusaders should have retreated to Damietta, but due to false concepts 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 of 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. Having sailed from Egypt to Palestine, Saint Louis spent about 4 more years in Acre, where he was engaged in securing Christian possessions in Palestine, until the death of his mother Blanche (regent of France) recalled him to his homeland.

Eighth Crusade (briefly)

Due to the complete ineffectiveness 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) crusade hike. At first the Crusaders again thought of landing in Egypt, but Louis's brother, king of Naples and Sicily Charles of Anjou, persuaded them to sail to Tunisia, which was an important trading competitor of southern Italy. Coming ashore in Tunisia, the French participants in the Eighth Crusade began to wait for the arrival of Charles's army. A plague began in their cramped camp, from which Saint Louis himself died. The pestilence caused such losses to the crusader army that Charles of Anjou, who arrived shortly after the death of his brother, chose to stop the campaign on the terms of the ruler of Tunisia paying an indemnity and releasing Christian captives.

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

End of the Crusades

In 1286, Antioch went to Turkey, in 1289 - Tripoli of Lebanon, and in 1291 - Akka, the last major possession of Christians in Palestine, after which they were forced to give up the rest of their possessions, and the entire Holy Land was united again in the hands of the Mohammedans. Thus ended the Crusades, which cost Christians so many losses and did not achieve their 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 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 of royal power due to the death of many feudal lords, the emergence of independence of urban communities, which, thanks to the impoverishment of the nobility, received the opportunity to buy benefits from their feudal rulers; introduction in Europe of crafts and arts borrowed from eastern peoples. The results of the Crusades were an increase in the class of free farmers in the West, thanks to the liberation of the peasants who participated in the campaigns from serfdom. The Crusades contributed to the success of trade, opening up new routes to the East; favored the development of geographical knowledge; Having expanded the sphere of mental and moral interests, they enriched poetry with new subjects. Another important result of the Crusades was the emergence onto the historical stage of the secular knightly class, which constituted an ennobling element of medieval life; their consequence was also the emergence of spiritual knightly orders (Johannites, Templars and Teutons), which played an important role in history. (For more details, see separate articles

Among the reasons for the unsuccessful outcome of the Crusades in the Holy Land, the feudal nature of the crusader militias and the states founded by the crusaders is in the foreground. To successfully fight the Muslims, unity of action was required; instead, the Crusaders brought feudal fragmentation and disunity with them to the East. The weak vassalage in which the crusader rulers were from the king of Jerusalem did not give him the real power that was needed here, on the border of the Muslim world.

The largest princes(Edessa, Tripoli, Antioch) were completely independent of the king of Jerusalem. The moral shortcomings of the crusaders, the selfishness of their leaders, who sought to create special principalities in the East and to expand them at the expense of their neighbors, and a poor understanding of the political situation made them unable to subordinate their personal narrow motives to higher goals (there were, of course, exceptions). Added to this from the very beginning were almost constant strife with the Byzantine Empire: the two main Christian forces in the East were exhausted in mutual struggle. The rivalry between popes and emperors had the same influence on the course of the Crusades. Further, it was important that the possessions of the crusaders occupied only a narrow coastal strip, too insignificant for them to successfully fight the surrounding Muslim world without outside support. Therefore, the main source of strength and resources for Syrian Christians was Western Europe, but it lay far away and the migration from there to Syria was not strong enough, since most of the crusaders, having fulfilled vow, were returning home. Finally, the success of the Crusaders' cause was harmed by the difference in religion between the Crusaders and the native population.

Consequences of the Crusades

The Crusades did not remain without important consequences for the whole of Europe. Their unfavorable result was the weakening of the eastern empire, which gave it over to the power of the Turks, as well as the death of countless people, the introduction of cruel eastern punishments and gross superstitions into Western Europe by the crusaders, the persecution of Jews, and the like. But much more significant were the consequences beneficial for Europe. For the East and Islam, the Crusades did not have the same significance that they had in the history of Europe: they changed very little in the culture of Muslim peoples and in their state and social system. The Crusades undoubtedly had a certain influence (which, however, should not be exaggerated) on the political and social system of Western Europe: they contributed to the fall of medieval forms in it. The numerical weakening of the baronial knightly class, which was a consequence of the outflow of knights to the East, which lasted almost continuously for two centuries, made it easier for the royal authorities to fight against the representatives of the feudal aristocracy who remained in their homeland. The hitherto unprecedented development of trade relations contributed to the enrichment and strengthening of the urban class, which in the Middle Ages was the support of royal power and the enemy feudal lords. Then, the Crusades in some countries facilitated and accelerated the process of liberation Villanov from serfdom: villans were freed not only as a result of leaving for the Holy Land, but also by purchasing freedom from the barons, who needed money when going on a crusade and therefore willingly entered into such transactions. Representatives of all those groups into which the population of the medieval West was divided took part in the Crusades. Europe, starting from the largest barons and ending with the masses of ordinary Villanov; therefore, the Crusades contributed to the rapprochement of all classes among themselves, as well as the rapprochement of various European nationalities. The Crusades for the first time united in one cause all the social classes and all the peoples of Europe and awakened in them the consciousness of unity. On the other hand, by bringing the various peoples of Western Europe into close contact, the Crusades helped them understand their national characteristics. By bringing Western Christians into close contact with the foreign and heterodox peoples of the East (Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and so on), the Crusades helped weaken tribal and religious prejudices. Having become closely acquainted with the culture of the East, with the material situation, morals and religion of Muslims, the crusaders learned to see in them similar people and began to appreciate and respect their opponents. Those whom they at first considered half-savage barbarians and rude pagans, turned out to be culturally superior to the crusaders themselves. The Crusades left an indelible mark on the knightly class; war, previously served feudal lords only a means to achieve selfish goals, in the Crusades it acquired a new character: knights shed their blood for ideological and religious reasons. The ideal of the knight, as a fighter for higher interests, a fighter for truth and religion, was formed precisely under the influence of the Crusades. The most important consequence of the Crusades was the cultural influence of the East on Western Europe. From the contact in the East of Western European culture with Byzantine and especially Muslim culture, extremely beneficial consequences flowed for the first. In all areas of material and spiritual life, in the era of the Crusades one encounters either direct borrowings from the East, or phenomena that owe their origin to the influence of these borrowings and the new conditions in which Western Europe then became.

Sailing reached unprecedented development during the Crusades: most of the crusaders went to the Holy Land by sea; Almost all of the extensive trade between Western Europe and East. The main figures in this trade were Italian merchants from Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Amalfi and other cities. Lively trade relations were brought to the West. Europe had a lot of money, and this, together with the development of trade, led to the decline of forms of subsistence farming in the West and contributed to the economic revolution that was noticed at the end of the Middle Ages. Relations with the East brought many useful items to the West, which until then were either completely unknown there, or were rare and expensive. Now these products began to be imported in larger quantities, became cheaper and came into general use. Thus the carob tree was brought from the East, saffron,apricot(damask plum) lemon,pistachios(the very words for many of these plants are Arabic). It began to be imported in large quantities sugar, came into widespread use rice. Products of highly developed eastern industry were also imported in significant quantities - paper materials, chintz,muslin, expensive silk fabrics ( atlas,velvet), carpets, jewelry, paints and the like. Familiarity with these objects and the method of their manufacture led to the development of similar industries in the West (in France, those who made carpets based on oriental patterns were called “ Saracens"). Many items of clothing and home comfort were borrowed from the East, which bear evidence of their origin in their very names (Arabic) ( skirt,burnous,alcove,sofa), some weapons ( crossbow) etc. A significant number of eastern, mainly Arabic words that entered Western languages ​​during the era of the Crusades usually indicate the borrowing of what is denoted by these words. These are (except those mentioned above) Italiandogana,fr.douane-customs, -admiral,mascot and others. The Crusades introduced Western scientists to Arabic and Greek science (for example, with Aristotle). Geography made especially many acquisitions at this time: the West became closely acquainted with a number of countries little known before; the widespread development of trade relations with the East made it possible for Europeans to penetrate into such remote and little-known countries as Central Asia (travel Plano Carpini,William of Rubruk,Marco Polo). Significant progress was also made then by mathematics (see), astronomy, natural sciences, medicine, linguistics, and history. In European art since the era of the Crusades, a certain influence of Byzantine and Muslim art has been noticed.

Such borrowings can be traced in architecture (horseshoe-shaped and complex arches, trefoil-shaped arches and pointed, flat roofs), in sculpture (“arabesques” - the very name indicates borrowing from the Arabs), in artistic crafts. Poetry, spiritual and secular crusades provided rich material. Having a strong effect on the imagination, they developed it among Western poets; they introduced Europeans to the treasures of the poetic creativity of the East, from where a lot of poetic material and many new subjects were transferred to the West. In general, the acquaintance of Western peoples with new countries, with political and social forms different from those in the West, with many new phenomena and products, with new forms in art, with other religious and scientific views, should have enormously expanded the mental horizons of Westerners. peoples, to impart to it a hitherto unprecedented breadth. Western thought began to break free from the grip in which the Catholic Church had hitherto held all spiritual life, science and art. The authority of the Roman Church was greatly undermined by the failure of those aspirations and hopes with which the Church led the West into the Crusades. The widespread development of trade and industry under the influence of the Crusades and through the mediation of Syrian Christians contributed to the economic prosperity of the countries that took part in this movement, and gave scope to various worldly interests, and this further undermined the decrepit edifice of the medieval church and its ascetic ideals. Having familiarized the West more closely with the new culture, making accessible to it the treasures of thought and artistic creativity of the Greeks and Muslims, developing worldly tastes and views, the Crusades prepared the so-called Renaissance, which chronologically directly adjoins them and is largely their consequence. In this way, the Crusades indirectly contributed to the development of a new direction in the spiritual life of mankind and prepared, in part, the foundations of a new European civilization.

There was also an increase in European trade: due to the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the dominance of Italian merchants in the Mediterranean began.