The first crusade began in. Participants of the first crusade. Europe at the end of the 11th century

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER FIRST. PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST CRUSADE. THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPAIGN OF THE WESTERN EUROPEAN KNIGHTS

CHAPTER TWO. CAMPAIGN OF WESTERN EUROPEAN KNIGHTS. ACTS OF THE CRUSADS IN THE EAST

CONCLUSION

LIST OF SOURCES AND REFERENCES USED

Introduction

The relevance of studying the era of the Crusades for a modern researcher lies in the fact that, for a broader understanding of the essence of the processes of international integration, one should delve into their history. The result of the first crusade is the primary dialogue between Muslim and Christian cultures. The Crusaders founded their states, captured cities and converted them to Christianity, and in the arid desert that is Palestine, cities were the center of trade and the economy as a whole, which led to a mixture of cultures and the emergence of tolerance towards representatives of other religions.

“By their motives, as well as by their immediate consequences, especially by their varied and profound influence on the mutual relations of the East and the West, the Crusades are not without special significance for the history of the Eastern European peoples. Constituting a very important department in Western European history, the Crusades are abundant in external facts and rich in results, which, although purchased at a very high price, powerfully influenced the spiritual development of European peoples.<…>In the East, a new world with completely new and alien concepts, a way of life and a political structure opened up before Europeans.”

We should also not forget about the problem of holy war, which is so pressing today. Today it manifests itself more in terrorism than in open hostilities, but it has common roots with the war of the late 11th century.

The work uses excerpts from the following sources:

Robert of Reims - "Jerusalem Story". This chronicle was written in 1118, 23 years after the events described that interest us. Monk Robert was not a direct participant in the crusades, but he turned out to be a rare eyewitness to the Council of Clermont, the event that gave impetus to the entire crusader movement as a whole. In his narrative, the chronicler quite accurately cites the speech delivered by the Pope in Clermont, which is of great value for research.

One of the most important works for our study is the work of William of Tire entitled “Historia belli sacri a principibus christianis in Palaestina et in Oriente gesti”, written between 1170 and 1184. It is a detailed first-hand account of what was seen and heard. Here the chronicler describes many events, from the preparations for the crusade and the campaign of the poor, to the founding of the kingdom of Jerusalem and further events. He also talks in detail about the fighting that took place during the campaign. Unfortunately, very little is known about the author himself, but from the information he himself provided, it can be judged that he was born in Palestine, studied at the University of Paris, and upon returning to his homeland became one of the close associates of King Amalric of Jerusalem. He was a representative of the Christian clergy and occupied the highest government positions in the kingdom of Jerusalem, but this did not prevent him from writing about the events of the late 11th century impartially and objectively. He lived in an era when fanaticism and poetic mood subsided, and therefore Wilhelm is free from prejudices, gives justice to Muslims, does not spare fellow believers, and generally speaks as it was necessary to speak to someone who lived and wrote not in an era of heroic inspiration, but almost on the eve of the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin.

Another important source for our research is the Alexiad, written by the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, Anna Komnena. The Alexiad was written around 1140. It covers a significant period of time from 1056 to 1118. It also describes in detail the events of the First Crusade. We should start with the fact that this work is, first of all, not a historical, but a literary monument: it is full of vivid images and portraits of people of that era, but this is precisely what allows us to form an objective idea of ​​​​some of the leaders of the crusaders. In her work, Anna Komnena tried to exaggerate the significance of Alexius’s time and for the same reason, in the history of the First Crusade, she depicted both him and the court in the most brilliant colors, in contrast to the Latin barbarians, whom she constantly speaks of with contempt. Of particular value for our work here is the correspondence between Bohemond of Tarentum and Emperor Alexius Comnenus after the capture of Antioch by the crusaders.

The History of Jerusalem, written by Fuckerius of Chartres, is another significant source for this research. It was written in 1127. The author himself was a direct participant in the events described. He went on a campaign with the troops of Stephen of Bloa and Robert of Normandy, but was later appointed chaplain to Baldwin of Boulogne and separated from the main stream of crusaders, going after his master, who soon founded the Principality of Edessa. It is also known that many of the author’s contemporaries, for example, William of Tire, used his chronicle to write their works. “This historian was not writing a simple chronicle; he knew how to insert details and various observations of nature into his stories; His presentation is simple: the naivety that makes up the whole charm of his stories is visible everywhere. Fulkerius does not tell a single event that he witnessed without at the same time communicating the impressions it made on his spirit; joy, fear, sadness, even dreams - he expresses all this with frankness, which sometimes makes you smile, but also serves as a guarantee of the truth of the story.”

Albert of Aachen, who wrote around 1120. The Jerusalem Chronicle of the Holy War, like William of Tire, is one of the later historians of the First Crusade. He was born and raised in Aachen, where he was appointed to the post of canon at the cathedral church. He was not a participant or eyewitness to the events, but collected all the data first-hand. He tells his story based on the stories of pilgrims returning from Jerusalem. His chronicle is full of emotion and empathy, it does not have a research approach, unlike the work of William of Tire, but this feature only helps us better understand the way of thinking of a person of that era.

The last source used in the work is “The History of the Franks who took Jerusalem,” written by Raymond of Agil in 1099. The author wrote this chronicle of the crusaders' battle camp, i.e. was a direct participant in the events. He was the chaplain (camping priest) of Raymond of Toulouse. In his chronicle, he sets out with extreme precision and detail everything that happened in the crusader camp: the hardships of the long journey, the mood of the common people, the relationship between the leaders. He also conveys his personal feelings and emotions experienced during the hike. For this study, it is important to describe the events that occurred after the capture of Antioch, when Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse quarreled over the right to own the Tower of David, and the offended Raymond soon retired to Jericho.

This work is based mainly on the works of such eminent historians as F.I. Uspensky and J.F. Michaud.

“The History of the Crusades,” written by F.I. Uspensky at the very beginning of the 20th century, is distinguished by the objectivity of its presentation. The author examines certain events from different angles, analyzes the actions of their participants and tries to give them an objective assessment of a person living many centuries after the events described. This work is the quintessence of not only his talent as a historian, but also as a writer. The book is written in a rather unconventional style for such literature: it is full of vivid descriptions and personal assessments of the author, which, however, does not prevent the reader from forming his own opinion regarding the events that took place in the 11th century.

J.F. Michaud wrote his “History of the Crusades” after a long collection of materials in Syria and Egypt at the beginning of the 19th century. (the first volume was published in 1808) This work has a drier language, but it is here that the author gives his subjective assessment of the events. In general, he has a rather positive attitude towards the phenomenon of the Crusades, although he does not restrain himself from giving negative assessments of individual events and characters.

The tasks set for this work include:

Highlighting the reasons and prerequisites for the start of the First Crusade, describing the preparation for the campaign, as well as its initial stages, which did not affect the most influential strata of European society.

Description of the main stage of the First Crusade, analysis of its results, as well as the establishment of cause-and-effect historical connections between its events.

To achieve the objectives set in the course work, a general scientific systematic approach was used.

Chapter first. Preparations for the First Crusade. The beginning of the campaign of Western European knights

The strong development of papal power, which dreamed of at the end of the 11th century. to convert the Greeks to obedience to the Roman Church, the deep influence of the clergy, which moved the Western peoples to fulfill the will of the Roman high priest, the difficult economic and social situation of the masses, the habit of war and the thirst for adventure - these are the reasons that explain the beginning of the Crusades. The decisive and final impulse was the appeal of Tsar Alexei I Komnenos to Pope Urban II in 1094 with a request for help against the Seljuk Turks. By the 11th century. they conquered almost all of Asia Minor, forming a powerful sultanate with its capital at Iconium, and threatened Constantinople itself.

“Speaking about the state of the Muslim world on the eve of the Crusades, one cannot ignore the European relatives of the Seljuks, well known from the Russian chronicle of the Polovtsians and Pechenegs, who at the end of the 11th century. spread throughout Southern Rus' and, crossing the Danube, more than once disturbed the Byzantine Empire. As recently as the summer of 1088, the Pechenegs inflicted a terrible defeat on Alexei Komnenos at Derstra (Silistria), captured many noble Byzantines, and forced the emperor himself to seek salvation in a shameful flight. The rich booty that went to the Pechenegs aroused greedy envy in their allies - the Polovtsians, who came to their aid. Having paid off his predatory neighbors and subjects with gold (the Pechenegs had already been accepted onto Byzantine soil), Alexey, however, could not be calm for the immediate future, while the Pechenegs crossed the Balkans without fear and attacked the Byzantine cities of Adrianople and Philippopolis, even reaching the walls of the capital.”

While the Pechenegs were stationed in the Adrianople region in the winter of 1089/1090, preparing for spring raids into the heart of the empire, the Turkish pirate Chakha, brought up in Constantinople and well familiar with the state of affairs, equipped his own fleet and drew up a plan of action against the Empire from the sea, while the Pechenegs will divert her forces from land. As expected, the emperor spent the entire summer on a campaign against the Pechenegs. Military operations are concentrated in the Churlya region, which was only one day's journey from the capital. “The winter of 1090/91 passed in constant battles, which, however, had no decisive significance for either side. The capital was locked, residents were not allowed out, because Pecheneg riders were prowling outside the city walls. In difficult circumstances, such as Byzantium could remember from previous history, it was saved by the possibility of maritime relations. But now Chakha was planning to cut off the sea for Constantinople. Thus, the position of the empire becomes close to critical. It is unlikely that she had been threatened with such imminent and imminent death before. The Emperor, says Anna Komnena, seeing that both from the sea and from the land our situation was very disastrous... with messages sent in different directions, he hurried to gather a hired militia. Some of these letters were appointed to the Polovtsian vezhi, others - to the Russian princes; Without a doubt, there were messages to the West, especially to friends who had already proven their affection for the emperor, such as Robert, Count of Flanders, who sent an auxiliary detachment to Alexei.”

In the West, the messages of Alexei Komnenos, as expected, aroused a strong movement among the knightly layer. Alexei promised the saviors the empire, Constantinople, and all the riches, as long as they did not go to the Turks. The Holy Sepulcher and Jerusalem, desecrated by infidels, were a sufficient banner for believers in simplicity of heart, among whom other preachers acted, among whom Peter the Hermit enjoyed particular fame.

Alexey also starts talking about the unification of the two churches, to which the pope reacts favorably. The fact that he considered it possible to resolve these issues amicably is already evidenced by the release of Emperor Alexei from church excommunication, which lay on him as a schismatic.

However, “while negotiations were taking place in the West and considerations were being drawn up, Emperor Alexei Komnenos not only managed to survive the painful moments of despair that inspired the cowardly message, but also eliminated the danger that threatened his empire. In the spring of 1091, Chakha was preparing a landing in Gallipoli, the Pecheneg horde was drawn here, but he was distracted from the timely arrival at the gathering place by the Greek naval forces, and then he was killed by the Nicene Sultan. 40 thousand Polovtsians under the leadership of Tugorkan and Bonyak and a detachment of the Russian prince Vasilko Rostislavich contributed to the fact that the Pechenegs were destroyed on April 29, 1091. The Polovtsian leaders Tugorkan and Bonyak provided a tremendous service to Byzantium. The Pecheneg horde was destroyed by them, its remnants could no longer raise fears; on the contrary, they served usefully in the Byzantine army as light reconnaissance detachments.”

The movement in favor of the Crusades was already quite noticeable in the knights' castles and villages when Pope Urban II took a direct part in it. One might even think that the first crusade would have been carried out without the famous Clermont speech, as the course of events shows. In the summer of 1095, the pope was in southern France; on November 18, a council was held in Clermont. The actions of this council are far from being distinguished by the nature of military decisions, but on the contrary are limited to the church sphere. On November 26, when the council had already completed its work, Urban addressed a huge audience, probably numbering several thousand representatives of the highest nobility and clergy, and called for a war against infidel Muslims in order to liberate the Holy Land. In his speech, the pope emphasized the sanctity of Jerusalem and the Christian relics of Palestine, spoke of the plunder and desecration to which they were subjected by the Turks, and outlined the numerous attacks on pilgrims, and also mentioned the danger facing Christian brothers in Byzantium. Then Urban II called on his listeners to take up the holy cause, promising everyone who went on the campaign absolution, and everyone who laid down their lives in it - a place in paradise. The pope called on the barons to stop destructive civil strife and turn their ardor to a charitable cause. He made it clear that the crusade would provide the knights with ample opportunities to gain lands, wealth, power and glory - all at the expense of the Arabs and Turks, whom the Christian army would easily deal with. When Pope Urban, in his skillful speech, said all this and much more of this kind, all those present were so imbued with one thought that they exclaimed with one voice: “This is how God wants, this is how God wants!” These words became the battle cry of the crusaders. Thousands of people immediately vowed that they would go to war. It should be noted that the speech of Urban II was by no means divine inspiration. It was a well-prepared and carefully prepared performance, designed for knights and major lords. He also said: “...We do not convince or persuade the elderly, the sick and those incapable of arms to take this path; and women must not go without husbands, brothers, or any legal witnesses. They will be more of an obstacle than a help, and will be a burden rather than a benefit.”

One of the most important events leading up to the First Crusade is the Peasants' Crusade or the Poor People's Crusade. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it was not a military campaign in the full sense of the word. Here, first of all, the popular movement comes to the fore; it went ahead and, in all likelihood, it was it that caused the movement of the upper classes. Tradition places Peter the Hermit, or Amiens, at the head of the preachers who acted on the common people.

“He was very short in stature and had a pitiful appearance, but great valor reigned in his small body. He had a quick, penetrating mind and spoke pleasantly and freely<…>...he was a cautious man, very experienced and strong not only in word, but also in deed.”

He was from Picardy and for a long time was a monk of one of the most severe monasteries. He left it only to see the Holy Places. Seeing the suffering of the Palestinian people, he was inflamed with a desire to help. “Peter the Hermit, together with Patriarch Simon, wept over the disasters of Zion, over the enslavement of the followers of Jesus Christ. The Patriarch handed the hermit letters in which he begged the Pope and the sovereigns for help, Peter promised him not to forget Ikrusalim. And so from Palestine he goes to Italy, falls at the feet of Pope Urban II, asks for and achieves his representation in favor of the liberation of Jerusalem. And after that, Peter the Hermit, mounted on a mule, with bare feet, with a bare head, in simple rough clothes, with the Crucifix in his hands, sets off from city to city, from province to province, preaching in the squares and along the road.”

“His preaching was such a success that no one could have expected. The Franks were shocked by his voice; everyone was burning with the same desire and flocked from everywhere with weapons, horses and other military supplies.<…>In addition to the Frankish regiments and detachments, there came an unarmed mob, outnumbering sand and stars, with wives and children. They wore red crosses on their shoulders; it was a sign and at the same time a military distinction. The troops converged and merged together, like the waters of rivers flowing into one pool.”

Thus, as a result of his preaching activities, Peter managed to gather around him many people with complete confidence in him as a prophet of God. At the same time, a certain Walter (Gautier) the Poor from the knightly class, as well as the priest Gottschalk, gathered masses of people in other places. Walter, by the end of winter, he already had up to 15 thousand. Gottschalk first acted together with Peter, then separated from him and himself gathered a huge crowd of Franks, Swabians and Lorraineers. “Passing through Germany, these crowds attacked villagers, carried out robbery and generally did not want to obey the orders of their little-respected leaders. In the Rhine cities of Trier, Mainz, Speyer and Worms, crowds of crusaders attacked Jews, killed many and plundered their property. The aforementioned leaders and their associates, who set out on a campaign in the spring of 1096, stood at the head of, although numerous, but the most pitiful rabble, to which belonged criminals, runaway peasants and monks who did not live well in monasteries. These first crusader crowds had neither supplies nor baggage with them, did not recognize any discipline and allowed themselves unimaginable violence along the way, leaving behind the most bad memories. It was for the first time that the Greeks and Seljuk Turks became acquainted with such discordant masses and based on them they formed an understanding of the goals, means and forces of the crusaders.”

When the crusader militia approached the borders of Hungary, they already knew who they were dealing with and took precautions. King Kaloman stood with his army on the border and waited for the crusaders. He agreed not only to let them through, but also to provide them with food supplies if they did not allow themselves violence and disorder. The first crowd that came to Hungary was led by Gottschalk. Here she heard that another detachment, led by Count Emikon Leiningen, was almost completely destroyed in the Czech Republic by Prince Bryachislav. Then Gottschalk's militia, considering it their duty to avenge their brothers, began to devastate the country through which they passed. Kaloman attacked the crusaders and with one blow decided the fate of the entire detachment. Later, crowds led by Peter and Walter passed along the same road. Taught by experience, they passed through Hungary in due order and without any special adventures. But a hostile reception awaited them at the Bulgarian border. Peter passed through Bulgaria as through enemy land and, very weakened, reached the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The number of crusaders, after all the losses, reached 180 thousand.

When Peter's militia reached the border of the Byzantine Empire, Tsar Alexei Komnenos sent ambassadors to meet him and promised to supply Peter with all food supplies if he rushed to Constantinople without delay. At the stopping places, the crusaders actually found supplies, and the Greek population treated them with trust and did not scatter when they appeared. Peter stopped in Adrianople only for two days and on August 1, 1096, arrived at the capital. Here he was joined by the remnants of Walter’s detachment; imperial officials showed them their stopping place and location. “Peter the Hermit turned out to be the subject of great curiosity at the imperial court, Alexei showered him with gifts, ordered his army to be supplied with money and provisions and advised him to wait for the arrival of the ruling princes to start the war.” The crusaders wandered around the city, marveling at the luxury and wealth; The poor were not allowed to take whatever they liked for money, so they began to take by force. Inevitable clashes with the police, fires and devastation followed. Thus, all these newly arrived “militia” became dangerous guests for Alexei: already several houses, palaces and even Byzantine churches were burned and plundered by these unbridled pilgrims. The emperor forced them to cross to the other side of the Bosphorus, and the crusaders camped in the vicinity of Nicomedia." On enemy soil, in view of the Seljuk Turks, whose possessions then extended almost to the very shore of the sea, the crusaders had to be careful and in complete subordination to one leader. But Peter was unable to maintain his influence: crowds spread throughout the surrounding area, plundered villages and devastated the country; one even managed to defeat a Turkish detachment near Nicaea. All this was done apart from Peter the Hermit, against his advice and warnings. With disappointment, he left the crusaders' camp and returned to Constantinople to await the knightly militia. Then the entire crusader army suffered the most pitiful fate. A crowd consisting of Italians and Germans took the Exerogorgo fortress from the Muslims, but was soon locked in and almost completely destroyed by the Turks. “Having learned about the sad fate of the Italians and Germans, the French demanded from their leader Gautier that he lead them towards the enemy in order to avenge their Christian brothers.<…>Immediate defeat was the punishment for this outrage. Gautier, who would have been worthy to lead the best warriors, fell struck by seven arrows.” This was in early October 1096.

The events of 1096 were supposed to accelerate the movement of the main troops under the leadership of the heads of state. The preaching of the crusade evoked a response among the upper strata of society, but it did not touch those who could direct the movement along one plan and towards one goal. Neither the French, nor the English, nor the German kings took part in this movement. “This is explained by the fact that they all had unfavorable relations with the Roman throne. Philip I, King of France, incurred the wrath of the Holy See with his divorce proceedings. The German king Henry IV was in the most critical situation; he was involved in a difficult and dangerous struggle for investiture and at this time was preparing to wash away the shame of the Canos meeting. But without taking personal participation, none of them could stop the movement that had begun. The middle and upper classes - knights, barons, counts, dukes - were carried away by the strong movement of the lower classes, which also attracted the cities, and could not help but succumb to the general trend. Seeing the masses of people who, without weapons, without provisions, were rushing to unknown lands for an unknown risky enterprise, the military people considered it dishonorable to remain calm in their places.”

In the summer of 1096, the movement of counts, dukes and princes began. The lords stocked up on money for the long journey through Europe and took military and other equipment with them. In addition, the organization of the knightly militia was more correct and effective than the peasant one. However, there were also disadvantages here: the individual detachments were not connected with each other, there was no exact route, no single campaign plan, no commander in chief.

In mid-August, Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Taring, prepared for a campaign. “Eighty thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry gathered under the banner of Godfrey.” In order to have funds for the campaign, the Duke sold some of his possessions to the bishops of Liege and Verdun for 3,000 silver marks, and also forced the Jews of Cologne and Mainz to pay him 1,000 silver marks. Godfrey was accompanied by his brothers Eustathius and Baldwin, his cousin Baldwin Le Bourg, as well as many vassals.

The transition through Bulgaria, Hungary and Byzantine lands took place quite peacefully, and by Christmas 1096 the German crusaders arrived in Constantinople.

The militia of Southern France was led by Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, who became famous as a commander in the wars with the Arabs for the Iberian Peninsula, and the papal legate Ademar de Puy. Having crossed the Alps, Lombardy, Frioul, Dalmatia, the troops of Raymond of Saint-Gilles. The main castle of Raymond of Toulouse was called Saint-Gilles. entered the territory of Byzantium and soon reached Constantinople.

In August 1096, Count Hugo of Vermandois, brother of the French king Philip I, set out on a campaign. With a small detachment, he headed to Italy, visiting Rome along the way, where he received the banner of St. Petra. From Bari he sailed to Constantinople, but on the eastern shores of the Adriatic, the ship of Hugo Vermandois was caught in a storm and crashed, and the count himself was thrown onto the Byzantine coast near Drach. The local governor, John Komnenos, nephew of Alexei Komnenos, handed Hugo over to the emperor, who kept him as an honorary prisoner.

The forces of Northern France were led by three major feudal lords. The Crusaders of Normandy, as well as troops from England, were led by William the Conqueror's son, Duke Robert of Normandy. Due to a lack of funds, the Duke had to mortgage Normandy to his brother William II the Red, the English king, for 10,000 marks in silver.

In October 1096, the army of Prince Bohemond of Tarentum sailed from Baria. Cousins ​​Richard, Prince of Salerno, and Ranulf, as well as Bohemond’s nephew Tancred, whom European chroniclers unanimously call the bravest knight, went with him to the East. Bohemond's detachment arrived in Constantinople on April 9, 1097.

It should be noted that back in the early 80s. XI century Bohemond of Tarentum took part in his father Robert Guiscard's campaign against the Greeks and was defeated at Larissa in 1083. Therefore, the attitude of Alexei Komnenos towards the Prince of Tarentum was special. Fearing intrigues on the part of Bohemond, the emperor was in a hurry to meet him before the other counts arrived, wanted to listen to him and convince him to cross the strait before their arrival, for he feared that Bohemond might turn their thoughts in a bad direction. In turn, Bohemond was aware of all the peculiarities of his position at the court of the Byzantine emperor and therefore agreed to all the conditions of Alexei Komnenos and took an oath of allegiance to him. As a reward, he received a promise that the territory near Antioch would be given to him as his property. Initially, Bohemond wanted to achieve the title of “Great Domestic of the East”, i.e. commander-in-chief of the troops in the East, but received a polite refusal.

Alexei Komnenos could not help but be concerned about the number and strength of the crusader army. The presence of foreign troops (and the presence of Italo-Norman troops among them) made Alexei fear not only for the safety of the capital, but also the entire state. Therefore, the emperor had to pursue his policy here in two directions. On the one hand, to constantly restrain the robberies and riots of the crusaders, to show that the empire has sufficient forces to repel in the event of an attack on it. On the other hand, enlist the support of leaders to use the campaign for their own purposes.

It was also necessary to take an oath of allegiance to Godfrey's empire. However, although he behaved quite peacefully, he flatly refused the vassal oath. By this time, Godfrey IV of Bouillon was already a vassal of the German emperor, from whom he received Lower Lorraine as a fief. "Emperor<…>prohibited all trade with the troops accompanying the Duke." Later, Alexei was forced to use military force against the duke, using Pecheneg horsemen and personal guards. Gottfried was forced to yield. “The emperor publicly announced that, under penalty of death, everything necessary for the duke’s army should be delivered at a cheap price and the right weight. And the duke, for his part, forbade, through a herald, under pain of death, the infliction of violence or untruth on any of the emperor’s people. Thus, getting along quite well with each other, they continued their relationship in silence.” After taking the oath, Godfrey “received a lot of money and became the emperor’s guest and table companion. After sumptuous feasts, he crossed the strait and set up his camp near Pelekan.

Robert of Normandy, whose troops came after the forces of Godfrey of Bouillon and Bohemond of Tarentum, also swore allegiance to the emperor. “It was necessary for our leaders to enter into friendly relations with the emperor in order to receive, both now and in the future, advice and help both for themselves and for those who would follow us on the same path. Upon conclusion of this agreement, the emperor endowed them with a coin with his image and gave them horses, cloth and silver from his treasury, which they needed to complete such a long journey. Having completed all these matters, we swam across the sea, which is called the arm of St. George, and hastily set off for the city of Nicaea.”

Taking the oath meant transferring all cities and fortresses that the crusaders would take over under the authority of people appointed by the emperor. Almost all the leaders of the crusader army took similar oaths. Etienne of Blois, for example, was persuaded by the emperor to do this with his generosity and courtesy. With Raymond of Toulouse, who, by the way, stubbornly refused to take an oath (all that Alexei Comnenus managed to get from the count was a promise not to harm the life and possessions of the emperor), the Byzantine autocrat became close on the basis of enmity with Bohemond. Only Tancred, who crossed the strait with a group of knights one night, managed to avoid the vassal oath.

Thus, in April-May 1097, the knightly militias were transferred to Asia Minor, to the territory controlled by the Seljuks. Taking an oath to the emperor had both positive and negative aspects for them. Being Alexei's vassals, the crusaders could expect military and economic assistance from him during the campaign. However, now Byzantium received an official reason to lay claim to the lands conquered by Western European knights from the Seljuks.

Chapter two. Campaign of Western European knights. Acts of the Crusaders in the East

At the beginning of May 1097, the crusaders, concentrated on the shores of the Gulf of Nicomedia, set out on a campaign. It was decided to move to the capital of the Seljuk state of Nicaea in two detachments: one through Bithynia and Nicomedia, the other through the Kivot Strait.

Nicaea was an important strategic point, the capture of which was very important for both the Byzantines and the Crusaders. For the former, the capture of Nicaea meant strengthening their positions in the region and eliminating the threat to Constantinople, because the distance from Nicaea to the Sea of ​​Marmara was about 20 km. For the second to successfully advance across Anatolia, it was also necessary to take possession of the Seljuk capital, located on the main military road.

Naturally, the advance of the crusaders did not go unnoticed. Sultan Kilij-Arslan (Kylych-Arslan) I began to gather his subjects to protect the city. “The Sultan of Rum with his hundred thousand army settled in the mountains near Nicaea. From there he must have looked with horror at the Christian army scattered throughout the valley; this army consisted of more than one hundred thousand cavalry and five hundred thousand infantry troops.” The first to approach Nicaea was the detachment of Godfrey of Bouillon, blocking the city from the north. The eastern section of the city wall went to Tancred, the southern section to Raymond of Toulouse.

In May, the Seljuks, approaching the city from the south, immediately rushed towards the Provencals occupying the fighting positions here. Lorraine troops came to the aid of the latter. The battle lasted the whole day. It cost the Crusaders heavy losses (up to 3 thousand people fell) and even heavier losses for the Seljuks. The latter were forced to retreat.

“The Celts, having won a brilliant victory, returned, impaling the heads of their enemies on spears and carrying them like banners, so that the barbarians, seeing them from afar, would be afraid of such a beginning and give up persistence in battle. This is what the Latins did and intended. The Sultan, seeing the countless number of Latins, whose courage he tested in the battle, conveyed the following to the Turks - the defenders of Nicaea: “From now on, do as you see fit.” He knew in advance that they would prefer to give the city to the emperor than to fall into the hands of the Celts.” As the Sultan expected, the defenders of the city did not surrender to the mercy of the crusaders. They fiercely defended the fortifications, repelling all attempts by the Latins to occupy Nicaea. A long siege of the city began.

The Crusaders did not immediately notice that the Turks were replenishing their ranks through Lake Askan, which adjoined the city on the southwestern side. Only in the seventh week of the siege did they send for boats, which were loaded onto carts and delivered to Nicaea in one night. The very next morning the entire lake was covered with crusader ships. “The defenders of Nicaea were surprised and amazed at such a spectacle. After several intensified attacks by the crusaders, they lost all hope of salvation. Nicaea should have either surrendered or fallen after the last attack, but Alexei’s policy snatched this victory from the hands of the Latins.” In the ranks of the crusaders there were two Byzantine detachments, one of which was tasked with infiltrating the city and convincing its defenders to come under the rule of Alexius Komnenos. The plan worked, and the crusaders could only contemplate in amazement the Greek banners hung by the Muslims on all the fortifications. Nicaea was taken and came under the rule of the Byzantine emperor. This event significantly spoiled the relationship between the leaders of the campaign and Emperor Alexei, but their mutual feelings of hostility never resulted in open conflict.

June 1097 The crusaders moved from Nicaea in two armies to the southeast. In view of this threat, Sultan Kilij Arelan made peace with all his closest neighbors, and they began to jointly prepare for the attack. On July 1, the combined forces of the Seljuks, who took positions on the neighboring hills at night, gave battle to the crusaders. They attacked their camp in the early morning, attacking the advance troops led by Bohemond of Tarentum and Robert of Normandy. The Seljuks surrounded the crusaders and began to shower them with a hail of arrows, but Bohemond managed to repel the attack. By noon, the vanguard of the second army, which followed, arrived in time, and even later - the rest of the crusader army. “Duke Godfrey, having a fast horse under him, arrived first with 50 of his comrades, lined up the people who followed in his footsteps, and without hesitation moved to the top of the mountain to engage hand-to-hand with the Turks; and the Turks, gathered on the mountain, stood motionless and prepared for resistance. Finally, having united all his men, Gottfried rushed at the waiting enemy, pointed all his spears at him and in a loud voice exhorted his comrades to attack fearlessly. Then the Turks and their leader Soliman, seeing that Duke Godfrey and his people were insisting on battle with courage, lowered the reins of their horses and quickly ran away from the mountain.

Since this battle, the crusaders decided not to be separated in the future, but their journey to Antiochetta (Iconium), the capital of Pisidia, became a real disaster. The Turks did not fail to plunder and devastate all the territories that they could not hold. The crusader army was critically short of food and water. However, in Antiochetta, which opened its gates to the soldiers of Christ, they found pastures and reservoirs. The army was able to rest from a difficult transition that claimed several thousand lives. “During the army’s stop near this city, it almost lost its two main leaders: Raymond of Saint-Gilles fell dangerously ill...” And Gottfried, sitting in ambush, “noticed a huge bear, whose appearance was terrifying. The beast attacked the poor pilgrim, who was collecting willow, and pursued him to devour him...<…>The Duke, accustomed and always ready to help Christians, his brothers, in their misfortune, immediately draws his sword and, giving strong spurs to his horse, flies to snatch the unfortunate man from the claws and teeth of the bloodthirsty beast.” As a result of this fight with the bear, Gottfried was wounded in the thigh, which put him out of action for several weeks.

Having passed through the Taurus Mountains, the army rushed to the fortress of Maresia. The transition was just as disastrous as the last one. For tens of miles around the crusaders, only rocks, abysses and thickets of thorny bushes stretched. The wife of Baldwin of Boulogne could not stand it and died in Maresia. In addition, he had disagreements with the other leaders of the crusaders. “...Baldwin succumbed to the proposal of one Armenian, an adventurer, who seduced him with victories on the banks of the Euphrates. So, accompanied by a thousand soldiers, he set out to found the Principality of Edessa in Mesopotamia.” “Having won several victories over the Seljuks and acquired the favor of the Armenians, Baudouin (Baldwin) entered into direct relations with the prince of Edessa Thoros and so won him over in his favor that he was soon adopted by him and declared heir to the principality. Not content with this, Baudouin killed Thoros and took his throne.” Thus, the first of the Crusader state possessions was formed on the Mediterranean coast, which later turned out to be useful for the Latins. The rest of the crusaders moved on and soon approached the walls of Antioch, the capital of Syria.

By October 1097 The crusader army approached Antioch, the siege of which delayed their further advance for a whole year. The matter was further complicated by internal disagreements that arose within the army between the leaders. “This year constitutes an entire era in the history of the Crusades. The fact is that Antioch, placed by nature itself in very favorable conditions for protection from an external enemy, was also strengthened by art. The city was surrounded by high and thick walls, along which a carriage of four horses could travel freely; the walls were defended by 450 towers, equipped with garrisons. The fortifications of Antioch thus represented a terrible force, which, given the lack of siege weapons, the lack of discipline and the absence of a commander-in-chief, there was no possibility of overcoming.”

At first, disagreements arose because some of the princes wanted to wait out the winter and wait for the army of the French emperor, which had already gone to the aid of the crusaders, while another group of princes, led by Raymond of Toulouse, declared: “We came at the inspiration of God; by his mercy we took possession of the very fortified city of Nicaea; By his will we defeated the Turks, provided for ourselves, maintained peace and harmony in our army; and therefore we must rely on God in everything; We should not be afraid of kings or royal princes, nor of place, nor of time, for the Lord has often delivered us from dangers.”

“In the autumn of 1097, the crusader army found itself in a very sad state. Robberies, lack of discipline and mutual hostility noticeably weakened the crusader militia. The leaders did not have time to store anything for themselves for the fall and winter, meanwhile, illnesses began in the crusader army, mortality appeared, and in the face of the fear of death, entire crowds and even detachments, led by their leaders, took flight.” Moreover, news reached the camp that a large army from Khorasan (present-day Iran), led by Kerboga, was moving to help the city.

Bohemond of Tarentum saw that Antioch, with its advantageous position and impregnable fortifications, was an ideal place for creating an independent principality. Events in Tarsus and Edessa only fueled his pride and desire to get his hands on part of the land in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea. The only thing that hindered him was the presence in the army of an authorized Byzantine emperor named Tatikios, who had already played his role during the siege of Nicaea. He believed that Antioch should also fall into the possession of Alexius Comnenus as soon as it was captured. According to the testimony of Raymond of Agil, Tatiki sowed discord and panic in the army, and also, despairing of the success of the siege, persuaded the princes to lift it and move away from Antioch. The chronicler also says that a little later Tatiky himself left the camp and disappeared. Anna Komnena directly accuses Bohemond of Tatikius's flight. One day he came to him and said: “Caring for your safety, I want to tell you a secret. A rumor reached the counts that confused their souls. They say that the sultan sent an army from Khorasan against us at the request of the emperor. The counts believed and are making an attempt on your life. I did my duty and informed you of the danger. Now it’s your job to take care of the salvation of your army.” In any case, Bohemond achieved his goal. Now, in the event of a successful siege, Antioch remained at the disposal of the crusaders.

Seeing that the army of the crusaders is becoming weaker every day, Bohemond decides on a risky move: he says, “what if they do not give him the main command over the entire army, if they do not promise to leave this leadership to him in the future for the conduct of the crusade campaign, if, finally, they do not give Antioch to his power in the event of its conquest, then he washes his hands and is not responsible for anything, and together with his detachment leaves them.” People, exhausted by internal strife, hunger and disease, agreed to fulfill the demands of the Prince of Tarentum.

Even before this, Bohemond entered into an agreement with one of the officers who defended the walls of Antioch, Firuz. This prince kept the agreement secret from the other leaders. A general attack on Antioch was scheduled for June 2. “At dawn, Bohemond approached the tower, and the Armenian, according to the agreement, opened the gate. Bohemond and his warriors immediately, faster than a word could be spoken, climbed up; standing on the tower in full view of the besieged and the besiegers, he ordered the signal for battle to be sounded with a trumpet. It was an extraordinary sight: the fear-stricken Turks immediately rushed to flee through the opposite gate, and only a few brave souls remained to defend the acropolis; the Celts, following on the heels of Bohemond, climbed the stairs and quickly captured the city of Antioch.

“The next day, June 3, the emir of Mosul Kerbuga (Kerboga) approached the city with a 300,000-strong Turkish army. Kerbuga knew about the weakness of the crusader army, and about the plight in which it was: the crusader militia now numbered no more than 120 thousand, the remaining 180 thousand partly died in battles with the Muslims and in the difficult transition through the devastated regions after the Battle of Nicaea, and partly were scattered in various cities of Asia Minor in the form of garrisons. But these 120 thousand entered the city, deprived of any means of food, moreover, they were tired of the long siege and long marches. Kerbuga knew this and firmly decided to force the crusaders to surrender by hunger.”

Also, the crusaders failed to capture the entire city: “the city’s citadel, which stood on the third hill in the east, remained in the power of the Turks. Through the small north-eastern gate, which remained free, the garrison of the citadel received daily reinforcements from Kerboga’s army and managed to make devastating attacks on the streets of Antioch.”

“From the very beginning of his arrival, Korbara (Kerboga), the Turkish ruler, wanting to immediately enter into battle, pitched his tents near the city, about two miles away; then, having built his regiments, he moved towards the bridge.”

June Kerboga attempted to take the city by storm, but failed and laid siege to it on June 9. The position of Christians was unenviable. They found themselves locked in Antioch without any opportunity to receive military assistance and provisions and were forced to defend themselves both from the Seljuks entrenched in the citadel and from the Kerbogi warriors who surrounded the city.

By a fortunate coincidence, after three weeks of endless battles on two fronts in an atmosphere of eternal hunger, the Provençal cleric Bartholomew appeared to Bohemond and told him that for three days in a row Saint Andrew had been appearing to him in a dream and telling him that after the capture of the city the crusaders needed to find The holy spear, the same one that pierced the side of the Savior during his execution. Bohemond believed his story and sent people in search of the spear.

“...Having made the necessary preparations together with the peasant who spoke about the spear, and having removed everyone from the church of Blessed Peter, we began to dig.<…>Having been excavating all day, by evening some began to despair of finding the spear.<…>Finally the Lord, in his mercy, sent us a spear, and I, who write this, kissed it as soon as the end appeared from under the ground. I cannot say with what delight and what joy the whole city was filled then. The spear was found on June 14 (1098, that is, on the sixth day after the siege of the Crusaders by Kerboga).” That same day, the crusaders saw a meteor in the sky above the city and considered it a good sign.

It was decided to give the battle to the Turks on June 28. The crusader army left the city, formed into phalanxes and stretched out near the city walls along the territory from the bridge gate to the Black Mountains, which were an hour's journey north of Antioch. Kerbga decided to take it by cunning and pretended to retreat in order to force the crusaders to fight in more difficult terrain. However, the people, already exhausted to the limit by hunger, were not afraid of this trap and began to overtake the Turkish army. Some of the crusaders claimed to have seen many saints galloping in the ranks of their army. The battle itself ended quickly: Kerboga's detachment was overtaken by the Christians, the Turks panicked and were defeated. The leader managed to escape.

After this victory, the princes jointly captured the citadel, which remained the only Turkish stronghold in the city. Soon what the Prince of Tarentum was striving for happened: “Bohemond captured the highest towers, discovering in himself those passions that were supposed to give rise to injustice. As a result, he expelled the Duke, the Count of Flanders and the Count of St. from the castle by force. Aegidius, claiming that he swore to the Turks, who surrendered the city to him, not to share his power with anyone. After his first attempt remained unpunished, he demanded the surrender of all the fortifications of the city and the gates, which from the very beginning of our siege were guarded by the count, bishop and duke. With the exception of the count, everyone yielded to him. Although the count was ill, he did not want to give up possession of the gate at the bridge, despite Bohemond’s requests, promises, and threats.” Thus, the second crusader state in the east was formed - the Principality of Antioch, which existed for about 160 years.

At first, the princes did not want to continue the campaign and stay in Antioch as far as possible, but soon a terrible typhus epidemic broke out, claiming more than 50 thousand lives, and the army had to withdraw from a convenient place and continue its journey. People were also pushed by the flaring hunger again. “The deprivations brought the common people into ecstasy, who attributed their misfortunes to heavenly punishment for delaying the release of the Holy Sepulcher. The people, driven out of patience, threatened to burn Antioch if they were not led further. The ambitious Bohemond resisted temptation and did not heed the impulses of duty, but Raymond of Toulouse and other leaders moved on. They headed towards Jerusalem along the coastline and did not lose hope of rewarding themselves with other land acquisitions.”

“Raymond of Toulouse began the siege of Ma'arra, a fortress located between Hama and Aleppo. Residents defended themselves with fierceness. Raymond, with the assistance of the Counts of Flanders and Normandy, fought bloody battles for several weeks. The capture of Ma'arra was accompanied by the massacre of the entire Muslim people." After the capture of the fortress, strife began again between the leaders; they could not divide the captured territories. Soon the people, driven to extremes by hunger and strife, began to destroy the fortress, and the outbreak of a fire completed the job. Raymond left the fortress with regret, and the army moved on.

Soon the siege of Arhas, a fortress in Phenicia, began. Here another trouble awaited the crusader army. Many crusaders doubted the authenticity of the Holy Lance, accusing Bartholomew of deception. To prove he was right, he said that he would walk through the fire and remain unharmed. He was ordered to fast and on the appointed day two huge fires were lit, between which he had to walk. The monk was not afraid and passed the test by fire. This moment was seen by many, and soon religious fervor spread throughout the camp.

Soon two embassies arrived at the siege camp: one from Alexei Komnenos, which was not received very flatteringly, the other from the Caliph of Cairo. “This caliph had just become ruler of Jerusalem and was letting the Christians know that the gates of the holy city would be opened only to unarmed pilgrims. The Warriors of the Cross treated both the proposals and the threats of the Egyptian Caliph with contempt. The signal was given to the army to hastily march on Jerusalem.”

June, hardly more than 20 thousand crusaders approached the walls of Jerusalem. The city opposed these forces with about 60 thousand people: “The Egyptian garrison defending Jerusalem consisted of forty thousand people. Twenty thousand city residents also took up arms.”

Hearing that the soldiers of the Cross were approaching the city, the Saracens drained or poisoned all the water sources closest to Jerusalem, forcing Christians to suffer not only from hunger, but also from thirst.

As they approached the holy city, a military council was convened, where it was decided to locate a camp on the north side of Jerusalem. “Thus, our people set up camp from the gate now called the Gate of St. Stephen and those in the north, to the gate under the tower of David, which bears the name of this king, as well as the tower erected on the western side of the city."

The besieged were also preparing for defense. All forces were concentrated on the northern side of the city, however, on the night of July 14, most of the crusaders moved to the east, to the most unprotected side of Jerusalem. “...At dawn, the army leaders gave the signal for a general offensive. All the forces of the army, all the military weapons attacked the enemy fortifications at once.<…>This first onslaught was terrible, but it had not yet decided the fate of the battle, and after a twelve-hour stubborn battle it was still impossible to determine which side would be victorious.”

The outcome of the battle was decided the evening of the next day, when the crusaders finally managed to build a reliable bridge into the city. "When the bridge was

transferred, ahead of everyone, the famous and glorious husband Duke Gottfried rushed into the city with his brother Eustathius, convincing others to follow him. He was immediately followed by his half-brothers Ludolf and Gilbert, noble and worthy people of eternal memory, natives of the city of Tornaca (now Tournay, in Belgium), and then countless numbers of knights and footmen, so that the car and the bridge could barely carry them to to yourself. When the enemy saw that ours had captured the wall and that the duke and his army had broken into the city, they abandoned the towers and walls and retreated into the narrow streets of the city.”

After this, the crusaders carried out a real massacre of the Muslim population of the city. Here Tancred first showed his cruelty and stinginess. Many people fled to the upper temple in the hope of being saved, but “... the sovereign Tancred went there immediately with a significant part of his army. He forced his way into the temple and killed countless people there. They say he took away from the temple countless amounts of gold, silver and precious stones...” Other leaders also showed no pity for the civilian population. Having finished with the reprisals in the lower parts of the city, they also went to the temple. “They entered there with many people on horseback and on foot and, sparing no one, they stabbed everyone they found with swords, so that everything was drenched in blood.”

A week later, when everything had calmed down, and the population was almost completely exterminated, and the crusaders were already dividing the rich booty among themselves, it was decided, “calling on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to elect from among them the head of state, on whom they could entrust the royal care of the country.” . In Jerusalem, within a few days, the inhabitants, laws, and religion changed.

In subsequent years, the kingdom developed according to the Western model, but with some significant differences from it. For example, due to the lack of land suitable for farming, the entire economy was therefore concentrated in cities, unlike in Europe. Agriculture was also based on the Muslim farming system. The predominance of cities led to the development of a commercial economy rather than an agricultural one. It existed until 1291.

Thus, the second stage of the first crusade led to the formation of the first European-style states in the Muslim world on the Mediterranean coast. They were centers of international integration of culture and religion, albeit at that time involuntary and unconscious. The crusade brought untold wealth to Europe, exported from the territory of Palestine, and also helped to resolve some problems associated, for example, with the lack of land: many of those who went on the campaign either did not return or remained on the other side of the sea, not claiming any on what lands in Europe.

Conclusion

The First Crusade can rightfully be called the most effective of all. His main goal was accomplished - the capture of Jerusalem. Christian states were founded in the East: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli (Tripoli was taken in 1109, the heirs of Raymond of Toulouse established themselves here) and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where the Ardennes-Angevin dynasty (1099-1187) was established, the founders of which were Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin I. Europeans who settled in the East brought the European feudal system here. The newly arrived crusaders called them Poulaines.

For Europe, the crusade resulted in significant human casualties not only among the broad masses of the population, but also among the nobility, which led to a comparative relief of the land issue that was pressing at that time.

The successful conduct of the campaign contributed to the growth of the authority of the papacy in Europe. The Crusaders brought a huge number of objects of material value to Europe, which seriously improved the position of the church. The Italian republics grew stronger: for the use of their fleet, the kings of Jerusalem and other feudal lords provided them with trade benefits and gave them streets and entire neighborhoods in cities.

The Crusades introduced Europe to the technology and culture of the East; however, it is not always possible to determine how Eastern culture was transmitted to the West. The Crusades were not the only way of communication between East and West. The Arabs conveyed much to the West through their possessions in Sicily and especially through the Cordoba Caliphate. The Byzantine Empire was an intermediary not only in trade, but also in the transfer of cultural and technological achievements. Therefore, it is difficult to determine what Europe owes specifically to the crusading movement. In any case, at this time Europe was borrowing new crops from the East - buckwheat, rice, watermelons, lemons, etc. There is an assumption that windmills were borrowed from Syria. Some weapons were borrowed, such as a crossbow, a pipe, and a drum.

The founding of Christian states on the Mediterranean coast had a significant impact on the foreign policy of some European states, especially France, Germany, and subsequently England. In addition, the Crusades had an impact on the interaction of the Christian West as a whole with the Muslim East.

crusade knight

List of sources and literature used:

Sources

Robert Reimsky. Council of Clermont November 18-26, 1095 // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Historia Hierosolymitana usque ad a.)

William of Tyre. Palestine before the start of the Crusades and Peter the Hermit // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Belli sacri historia)

Anna Komnena. The meeting of Emperor Alexei Komnenos with Bohemond of Tarentum // History of the Middle Ages: The Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Alexiad)

William of Tyre. The campaign of Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, before the capture of Nicaea // History of the Middle Ages: The Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Belli sacri historia)

Fulquerius of Chartres. The campaign of Robert of Normandy through Italy and Byzantium to Nicaea // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Gesta peregrinantium Francorum cum armis Hierusalem pergentium)

Albert of Aachen. Movement of the Crusaders from Nicaea to Antioch June 27 - October 21, 1097 // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Chron. Hierosol. de bello sacro hist.)

Raymund Agilsky. Siege of Antioch and march to Jerusalem. October 1097 - June 1099 // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Historia Franc. qui ceper. Hierosol a.)

William of Tyre. Siege and capture of Jerusalem. June 7 - July 15, 1099 // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Belli sacri historia)

William of Tyre. The reign of Godfrey of Bouillon // History of the Middle Ages: Crusades (1096-1291) / Comp. Stasyulevich M.M. - Ed. 3rd, add. and corr. - M., 2001. (Belli sacri historia)

Literature

Bliznyuk S.V. The world of trade and politics in the crusader kingdom of Cyprus. 1192-1373. M., 1994.

Vasiliev A.A. History of Byzantium. Byzantium and the Crusaders. Petersburg, 1923.

Vasiliev A.A. History of Byzantium. Latin rule in the East. The era of the Nicene and Latin empires (1204-1261). Pg., 1923.

Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya O.A. Cross and sword. The Adventures of Richard I the Lionheart. M., 1991.

Dodu G. History of monarchical institutions in the Kingdom of Latano-Jerusalem. (1099-1291). St. Petersburg, 1897.

Zaborov M.A. Crusaders in the East. M., 1980.

Zaborov M.A. Papacy and the Crusades. M., 1960.

Karpov S.P. Latin Romania // Questions of history. 1984. No. 12.

Kugler B. History of the Crusades. St. Petersburg, 1895.

Sokolov N.P. Formation of the Venetian colonial empire. Saratov, 1963.

Uspensky F.I. History of the Crusades. St. Petersburg, 1901.

Yuzbashyan K.N. Class struggle in Byzantium in 1180-1204. and the fourth crusade. Yerevan, 1957.

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Many people wonder: who took part in the first crusade? I will try to answer this question through this narrative. So, the structure of my story is this:

• who are the crusaders?
• reasons and purposes of campaigns;
• The First Crusade and its participants.

Who are the Crusaders and what are the Crusades?

Before you know the participants of the first crusade, you should clarify who the crusaders were and what the crusades were.

A crusade is an attack by a Christian army against Muslims. The Crusades continued for more than two hundred years. In later periods, this was the name given to any military campaigns that carried the goal of converting to Christianity and expanding the influence of the Catholic Church.

A participant in this campaign was called a crusader. He wore patches of Catholic crosses on his shoulder, helmet and flags.

Reasons and goals of hikes

The reasons and goals of the campaigns were as follows. Military offensives were organized by the Catholic Church. The formal reason for this: rivalry with Muslims in order to free the Holy Sepulcher, which is located in Palestine.

In those days, it was believed that the crusaders received remission of their sins, and therefore this occupation was popular among the knight, the city dweller, and the peasant, who, after joining the ranks of the crusaders, ceased to be a serf.

For the European king, the crusades were an opportunity to get rid of a powerful feudal lord.

Wealthy merchants and townspeople were attracted by the economic opportunity of military conquest.

For the highest clergy, for the Pope, the crusade was a way to strengthen the powerful level of the church.

The First Crusade and its participants

The beginning of the first crusade dates back to August 1996, when fifty thousand unorganized peasants and townspeople set off on a campaign without even taking supplies with them. They were looters. The organizer of the campaign was Pope Urban II. The Germans, French and Italians took part in the campaign.

During the campaign, an additional goal was the liberation of the holy city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslims.

Initially, the pope's appeal was addressed only to the French knighthood, but later the campaign turned into a full-scale military campaign, and its idea covered all the Christian states of Western Europe.

Feudal lords and ordinary people of all nationalities advanced to the East by land and sea, along the way liberating the western part of Asia Minor from the power of the Seljuk Turks and eliminating the Muslim threat to Byzantium, and in July 1099 they conquered Jerusalem.

During the 1st Crusade, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Christian states were founded, which are united under the name of the Latin East.

Background to the conflict

One of the reasons for the crusade was the call for help made by the Byzantine Emperor Alexei I to the Pope.

This call was due to several circumstances. In 1071, the army of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes was defeated by the Seljuk Turk Sultan Alp Arslan in the defeat of Manzikert.

This battle and the subsequent overthrow of Romanus IV Diogenes led to the outbreak of civil war in Byzantium, which did not subside until 1081, when Alexius Comnenus ascended the throne.

By this time, various leaders of the Seljuk Turks had managed to take advantage of the fruits of the 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 subject to devastating raids by the Cumans.

In this situation, Alexey quite often used the help of mercenaries from Western Europe, whom the Byzantines called Franks or Celts. The empire's generals highly valued the fighting qualities of European cavalry and used mercenaries as shock troops. Their corps needed constant reinforcements.

In 1093-94. Alexei apparently sent the Pope a request for help in hiring the next corps. It is possible that this request served as the basis for the call for a Crusade.

Another reason could have been rumors that reached the West about the atrocities that were happening in Palestine.

At this point, the Middle East found itself on the front line between the Great Seljuk Sultanate (which occupied a significant part of the territory of modern Iran and Syria) and the Fatimid state of Egypt.

The Seljuks were supported mainly by Sunni Muslims, the Fatimids - mainly by Shiite Muslims.

There was no one to protect Christian minorities in Palestine and Syria, and during the hostilities, representatives of some of them were subjected to looting and devastation. This could have given rise to rumors about terrible atrocities committed by Muslims in Palestine.

In addition, Christianity was born in the Middle East: the first Christian communities existed in this territory, most Christian shrines were located in this territory, since Christians believe that it was in the Middle East that the Gospel events took place. For this reason, Christians considered this land theirs.

But at the end of the 6th century. Mohammed (570-632) unites the Arabs and inspires them to embark on a campaign of conquest to create an Arab-Muslim empire.

Syria and Palestine are given to them by victories at Ajenadein (634) and Yarmouk (636). Jerusalem was occupied in 638, Alexandria in 643, and soon after Egypt all of North Africa was conquered. Cyprus occupied in 680

Only in the 10th century. Byzantium recaptures part of the lost territories. The islands of Crete and Cyprus were recaptured by Nikephoros Phocas in 961 and 965. He also makes a cavalry raid into Syria (968) and occupies Kholm, Tripoli and the Lattakie region.

His associate Michael Burtzes recaptures Alep (969). John Timishaeus takes Damascus and Antioch, but Jerusalem remains in the power of the Fatimid emir. Securing northern Syria for himself, Emperor Basil II does not feel strong enough to stand up for Christians, against whom Caliph Al-Hakim begins persecution (1009-1010), which continues until the Crusades. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was almost completely destroyed. In 1030-31, Ephesus was recaptured from the Arabs.

In the second half of the 11th century. (between 1078 and 1081) the Turks appeared in Asia Minor, creating a number of small kingdoms of the Seljuk Turks. (Damascus, Aleppo, etc.) The Arabs also attempted to conquer the Latin (Western) world (Spain in the 8th century, Southern Italy in the 9th century, piracy of the Arab countries of North Africa).

As a result, Christians began to develop the idea that they needed to protect their brothers from persecution and return lost lands and shrines.

The calls of the Pope, the frantic sermons of Peter the Hermit and other religious figures caused an unprecedented upsurge. Campaigns were quickly prepared in different places in France, Germany and Italy. In addition, thousands of people spontaneously gathered into groups and moved to the East.

During the second half of the 1st millennium, Muslims conquered most of North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Spain and many other territories.

However, by the time of the Crusades, the Muslim world was divided internally, there were constant internecine wars between the rulers of various territorial entities, and even the religion itself had undergone a split into several movements and sects. External opponents, including Christian states in the West, did not fail to take advantage of this. Thus, the Reconquista in Spain, the Norman conquest of Sicily and the attacks of the Normans on the North African coast, the conquests of Pisa, Genoa and Aragon in Mallorca and Sardinia and the military actions of Christian rulers against Muslims at sea clearly demonstrated the direction of Western European foreign policy at the end of the 11th century.

Also a significant role was played by the desire of the Pope to increase his power through the formation of new states in the occupied territories that would depend on the Pope. Then it happened. Although the Western Europeans looted a lot of gold, they suffered enormous moral and human sacrifices for those times, and the Muslims lost twice as much, and subsequently a crisis began for them.

Western Europe

The idea of ​​the first crusade in particular and the entire crusader movement in general originates in the situation that developed in Western Europe after the end of the early Middle Ages. After the division of the Carolingian Empire and the conversion of the warlike Hungarians and Vikings to Christianity, relative stability came. However, over the previous few centuries, a whole class of warriors had formed in Europe, who, now that the borders of states were no longer threatened by serious danger from the outside, had to use their forces in internecine conflicts and pacify peasant revolts. Blessing the crusade, Pope Urban II said: “Whoever is destitute and poor here will be joyful and rich!”

Continuous military conflicts with Muslims allowed the idea of ​​a Holy War against Islam to flourish. When Muslims occupied Jerusalem - the heart of the Christian religion - Pope Gregory VII in 1074 called for the soldiers of Christ (Latin milites Christi) to go to the East and help Byzantium, which three years earlier had suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Manzikert, recapture the sacred lands. The pope's appeal was ignored by chivalry, but nevertheless drew attention to events in the East and provoked a wave of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Soon, reports began to come in about the abuse and persecution to which pilgrims were subjected by Muslims on their way to Jerusalem and other holy cities. News of the oppression of the pilgrims caused a wave of indignation among Christians.

At the beginning of March 1095, an embassy from Emperor Alexei Komnenos arrived at the cathedral in Piacenza with a request to provide Byzantium assistance in the fight against the Seljuks.

On November 26, 1095, a council was held in the French city of Clermont, at which, in front of the nobility and clergy, Pope Urban II made a passionate speech, calling on those gathered 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 of Western European states, and the campaign could be organized at any time. The pope's speech only outlined the aspirations of a large group of Western European Catholics.

Byzantium

The Byzantine Empire had many enemies on its borders. So, in 1090-1091 it was threatened by the Pechenegs, but their onslaught was repulsed with the help of the Polovtsians and Slavs. At the same time, the Turkish pirate Chaka, dominating the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Bosphorus, harassed the coast near Constantinople with his raids. Considering that by this time most of Anatolia had been captured by the Seljuk Turks, and the Byzantine army suffered a serious defeat from them in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert, then the Byzantine Empire was in a state of crisis, and there was a threat of its complete destruction. The peak of the crisis came in the winter of 1090/1091, when the pressure of the Pechenegs on the one hand and the related Seljuks on the other threatened to cut off Constantinople from the outside world.

In this situation, Emperor Alexei Komnenos conducted diplomatic correspondence with the rulers of Western European countries (the most famous correspondence with Robert of Flanders), calling on them for help and showing the plight of the empire. There have also been a number of steps to bring the Orthodox and Catholic churches closer together. These circumstances aroused interest in the West. However, by the beginning of the Crusade, Byzantium had already overcome a deep political and military crisis and had been in a period of relative stability since about 1092. The Pecheneg horde was defeated, the Seljuks did not conduct active campaigns against the Byzantines, and on the contrary, the emperor often resorted to the help of mercenary detachments consisting of Turks and Pechenegs to pacify his enemies. But in Europe they believed that the situation of the empire was disastrous, counting on the humiliating position of the emperor. This calculation turned out to be incorrect, which subsequently led to many contradictions in Byzantine-Western European relations.

Muslim world

Most of Anatolia on the eve of the Crusade was in the hands of the nomadic tribes of the Seljuk Turks and the Seljuk Sultan Rum, who adhered to the Sunni movement in Islam. Some tribes in many cases did not recognize even the nominal authority of the Sultan over themselves, or enjoyed broad autonomy.

By the end of the 11th century, the Seljuks pushed Byzantium within its borders, occupying almost all of Anatolia after defeating the Byzantines in the decisive battle of Manzikert in 1071.

However, the Turks were more concerned with solving internal problems than with the war with Christians. The constantly renewed conflict with the Shiites and the civil war that broke out over the rights of succession to the Sultan's title attracted much more attention from the Seljuk rulers.

On the territory of Syria and Lebanon, Muslim semi-autonomous city-states pursued a policy relatively independent of the empires, guided primarily by their regional rather than general Muslim interests.

Egypt and most of Palestine were controlled by Shiites from the Fatimid dynasty. A significant part of their empire was lost after the arrival of the Seljuks, and therefore Alexei Komnenos advised the crusaders to enter into an alliance with the Fatimids against a common enemy.

In 1076, under Caliph al-Mustali, the Seljuks captured Jerusalem, but in 1098, when the Crusaders had already moved to the East, the Fatimids recaptured the city.

The Fatimids hoped to see in the Crusaders a force that would influence the course of politics in the Middle East against the interests of the Seljuks, the eternal enemy of the Shiites, and from the very beginning of the campaign they played a subtle diplomatic game.

In general, Muslim countries underwent a period of deep political vacuum after the death of virtually all leading leaders at approximately the same time. In 1092, the Seljuk wazir Nizam al-Mulk and Sultan Malik Shah died, then in 1094 the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi and the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir died.

Both in the east and in Egypt, a fierce struggle for power began. The civil war among the Seljuks led to the complete decentralization of Syria and the formation of small, warring city-states there. The Fatimid Empire also had internal problems.

Christians of the East

The Catholic Church vilely propagated the cruel treatment of Christians by Muslims.

In fact, many of the Christians in the East, contrary to the opinion of the church, did not become slaves (with some exceptions), and were also able to maintain their religion. This was the case in the possessions of the Seljuk Turks and cities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Therefore, the arguments of the Catholic Church about the plight of their “brothers” in the East are partially incorrect.

This is evidenced by the fact that when the first detachments of the crusaders entered the territory of the Turks, the majority of the local population were Christians, while Muslims preferred to coexist peacefully with Christians.

Chronology of campaign events

Peasants' Crusade

Urban II set the start of the crusade on August 15 (the Feast of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary) 1096. However, long before this, an army of peasants and small knights independently advanced to Jerusalem, led by the Amiens monk Peter the Hermit, a talented orator and preacher.

The scale of this spontaneous popular movement was enormous. While the Pope (Roman Patriarch) expected to attract only a few thousand knights to the campaign, Peter the Hermit in March 1096 led a crowd of thousands - consisting, however, for the most part of unarmed poor people who set off on the journey with their wives and children .

This is huge (according to objective estimates, several tens of thousands (~ 50-60 thousand) of the poor took part in the Campaign in several “armies”, of which more than 35 thousand people concentrated in Constantinople, and up to 30 thousand crossed to Asia Minor) unorganized The horde encountered its first difficulties in Eastern Europe.

Leaving their native lands, people did not have time (and many simply could not because of their poverty) to stock up on provisions, since they set off too early and did not catch the rich harvest of 1096, which was harvested in Western Europe for the first time after several years of drought and famine.

Therefore, they expected that the Christian cities of Eastern Europe would provide them with food and everything they needed free of charge (as was always the case in the Middle Ages for pilgrims going to the Holy Land), or they would supply provisions at a reasonable price.

However, Bulgaria, Hungary and other countries through which the route of the poor ran did not always agree to such conditions, and therefore conflicts broke out between the local residents and the rampaging militias who forcibly took away their food.

Descending the Danube, the participants of the campaign plundered and devastated the Hungarian lands, for which they were attacked by a united army of Bulgarians, Hungarians and Byzantines near Nis.

About a quarter of the militia were killed, but the rest reached Constantinople by August without any losses. There, the followers of Peter the Hermit were joined by armies that advanced from Italy and France. Soon, the crusader poor who flooded the city began to organize riots and pogroms in Constantinople, and Emperor Alexei had no choice but to transport them across the Bosporus.

Once in Asia Minor, the participants in the campaign quarreled and split into two separate armies.

The Seljuks who attacked them had a significant advantage - they were more experienced and organized warriors and, moreover, unlike Christians, they knew the terrain very well, so soon almost all the militia, many of whom had never held a weapon in their hands and did not have serious weapons, they 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 on their main forces.

Almost all the pilgrims died from the arrows or sabers of the Seljuk Turks; the Muslims did not spare anyone - neither women, nor children, nor the elderly, of whom there were many among the “would-be 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 Beggars' March, only a few dozen people managed to reach the Byzantine possessions, approximately 25-27 thousand were killed, and 3-4 thousand, mostly young girls and boys, were captured and sold to Muslim bazaars of Asia Minor. The military leader of the Poor People's March, knight Walter Golyak, died in the battle of Dorileum.

The spiritual leader of the “would-be crusaders” Peter the Hermit, who managed to escape, later joined the main army of the 1st Crusade. Soon the approaching Byzantine corps was only able to build a hill up to 30 meters high from the bodies of fallen Christians and perform the funeral ceremony for the fallen.

German Crusade

Although anti-Semitic sentiments reigned in Europe for many centuries, it was during the 1st Crusade that the first mass persecution of Jews occurred.

In May 1096, a German army of about 10,000 people, led by the petty French knight Gautier the Beggar, Count Emicho of Leiningen and the knight Volkmar, went north through the Rhine valley - in the opposite direction from Jerusalem - and carried out massacres of Jews in Mainz, Cologne, Bamberg and other cities in Germany.

The preachers of the crusade only fueled anti-Semitic sentiments. People perceived calls to fight Jews and Muslims - the main enemies of Christianity, according to churchmen - as a direct guide to violence and pogroms.

In France and Germany, Jews were considered the main culprits in the crucifixion of Christ, and since they were incomparably closer than distant Muslims, people wondered - why go on a dangerous journey to the East if you can punish the enemy at home?

Often the Crusaders gave Jews a choice - convert to Christianity or die. The majority preferred false renunciation to death, and in the Jewish communities, which received news of the tyranny of the crusaders, there were frequent cases of mass renunciation and suicide.

According to the chronicle of Solomon bar Simeon, “one killed his brother, the other killed his parents, wife and children, grooms killed their brides, mothers killed their children.” Despite attempts by local clergy and secular authorities to prevent the violence, thousands of Jews were killed.

To justify their actions, the crusaders cited the words of Pope Urban II, who at the Council of Clermont called for punishing with the sword not only Muslims, but also everyone who professed any other religion other than Christianity.

Outbreaks of aggression against Jews were observed throughout the history of the Crusades, despite the fact that the church officially condemned the massacres of civilians and advised not to destroy non-believers, but to convert them to Christianity.

The Jews of Europe, for their part, also tried to resist the crusaders - they organized self-defense units, or hired mercenaries to protect their neighborhoods, and tried to negotiate protection with the local hierarchs of the Catholic Church.

Also, the Jews warned about the advance of the next detachments of the crusaders of their brothers and even Muslims in Asia Minor and North. Africa and even collected funds that were sent through Jewish communities to increase the economic power of Muslim emirs, who actively fought against the invasions of Christian Europeans and tolerated Jews.

Nobility Crusade

After the defeat of the army of the poor and the massacre of Jews in August 1096, knighthood finally set out on a campaign under the leadership of powerful nobles from different regions of Europe.

Count Raymond of Toulouse, together with the papal legate Adhémar of Monteillo, 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 Godfrey of Boulogne, Eustache of Boulogne and Baldwin of Boulogne were the military leaders of the Lorraineers, and the soldiers of Northern France were led by Count Robert of Flanders, Robert of Normandy (eldest son of William the Conqueror and brother of William the Red, king of England), Count Stephen of Blois and Hugh of Vermandois (son of Anne of Kyiv and younger brother of Philip I, King of France).

Road to Jerusalem

The guide of the crusaders through Asia Minor was the Armenian prince Bagrat, brother of the ruler of the largest Armenian principality in the Euphrates region, Vasil Gokh. Mateos Urhaetsi reports that with the departure of the Crusader army from Nicaea, letters informing about this were sent to the ruler of Mountain Cilicia, Constantine Rubenides, and the ruler of Edessa, Thoros. Crossing Asia at the height of summer, the warriors suffered from heat, lack of water and provisions. Some, unable to withstand the hardships of the campaign, died, and many horses died.

From time to time, the crusaders received help with money and food from brothers in faith - both from local Christians and from those remaining in Europe - but for the most part they had to get food on their own, ravaging the lands through which their path ran.

The leaders of the crusade continued to challenge each other for leadership, but none of them had enough authority to take on the role of a full-fledged leader.

The spiritual leader of the campaign was, of course, Adhémar of Monteil, Bishop of Le Pu

When the crusaders passed the Cilician Gates, Baldwin of Boulogne left the army. With a small detachment of warriors, he set out on his own route through Cilicia and at the beginning of 1098 arrived in Edessa, where he won the trust of the local ruler Thoros and was appointed his successor.

In the same year, Thoros, as a result of a conspiracy with the participation of Baldwin, was killed.

The goal of the crusade was declared to be the fight against the “infidels” for the liberation from their power of the “Holy Sepulcher” in Jerusalem, and the first victim of the crusaders was the ruler of Christian Edessa, Thoros, with whose overthrow and murder the counties of Edessa were formed - the first crusader state in the Middle East .

Siege of Nicaea

In 1097, crusader detachments, having defeated the army of the Turkish Sultan, began the siege of Nicaea.

The Byzantine emperor, Alexius I Komnenos, suspected that the crusaders, having taken the city, would not give it to him (according to the vassal oath of the crusaders (1097), the crusaders had to give the captured cities and territories to him, Alexius).

And, after it became clear that Nicaea would fall sooner or later, Emperor Alexius sent envoys to the city demanding that it surrender to him.

The townspeople were forced to agree, and on June 19, when the crusaders prepared to storm the city, they were distressed to discover that they had been greatly “helped” by the Byzantine army.

Siege of Antioch

In the fall, the Crusader army reached Antioch, which stood halfway between Constantinople and Jerusalem, and on October 21, 1097, besieged the city.

On Monday, June 28, the crusaders, ready for battle, left the city - “the phalanxes, lined up in formations, stood opposite each other and were preparing to start the battle, the Count of Flanders dismounted from his horse and, prostrating himself three times on the ground, cried out to God for help.”

Then the chronicler Raymond of Agilsky carried the Holy Spear in front of the soldiers.

Kerboga, deciding that he could easily deal with the 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 resorted to cunning and gave the order to feign a retreat in order to lure the crusaders into a more difficult terrain for battle.

Dispersing across the surrounding hills, the Muslims, by order of Kerboga, set fire to the grass behind them and showered a hail of arrows on the pursuing Christians, and many warriors were killed (including the standard-bearer Ademar of Monteillo).

However, the inspired crusaders could not be stopped - they rushed “at the foreigners, like fire that sparkles in the sky and burns the mountains.”

Their zeal flared up to such an extent that many soldiers had a vision of Saints George, Demetrius and Maurice, 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, and many militias, volunteers who joined the ranks of fighters for the faith, burning with the desire to protect the Muslims, were put to the sword.”

The assault on Jerusalem began at dawn on July 14th. The Crusaders threw stones at the city from throwing machines, and the Muslims showered them with a hail of arrows and threw tarred nails from the walls.<…>pieces of wood, wrapping them in burning rags.”

The bombardment of stones, however, did not cause much harm to the city, since the Muslims protected the walls with sacks filled with cotton and bran, which softened the blow.

Under incessant shelling - as Guillaume of Tire writes, “arrows and darts rained down on people from both sides, like hail” - the crusaders tried to move siege towers to the walls of Jerusalem, but they were hampered by the deep ditch surrounding the city, which they began to fill up on July 12.

The battle continued all day, but the city held out. As night fell, both sides remained awake - the Muslims feared that another attack would follow, and the Christians feared that the besieged would somehow manage to set fire to the siege engines.

On the morning of July 15, when the ditch was filled in, the crusaders were finally able to freely bring the towers closer to the fortress walls and set fire to the bags protecting them.

This became a turning point in the attack - the crusaders threw wooden bridges over the walls and rushed into the city.

The knight Letold was the first to break through, followed by Godfrey of Bouillon and Tancred of Tarentum.

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 fallen, the emir of the Tower of David garrison surrendered and opened the Jaffa Gate.

Kingdom of France

England

Apulia

Byzantine Empire
Kingdom of Cilicia

Seljuk Sultanate
Danishmendids
Fatimid Caliphate
Almoravids
Abbasid Caliphate

Gottfried of Bouillon
Raymond IV of Toulouse
Etienne II de Blois
Baldwin of Boulogne
Eustachius III
Robert II of Flanders
Ademar of Monteil
Hugo the Great
Robert of Normandy
Bohemond of Tarentum
Tancred of Tarentum
Alexei I Komnenos
Tatiky
Constantine I

Yagi-Siyan
Kerboga
Dukak
Ridwan
Ghazi ibn Danishmend
Iftikhar ad-Daula
Al-Afdal

First Crusade was organized in 1095 on the initiative of Pope Urban II with the goal of liberating the holy city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslims. Initially, the Pope's appeal was addressed only to the French knighthood, but later the campaign turned into a full-scale military campaign, and his idea covered all the Christian states of Western Europe and even found a warm response in Poland and the principalities of Kievan Rus. Feudal lords and ordinary people of all nationalities advanced to the East by land and sea, along the way liberating the western part of Asia Minor from the power of the Seljuk Turks and eliminating the Muslim threat to Byzantium, and in July 1099 they conquered Jerusalem. During the 1st Crusade, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Christian states were founded, which are united under the name of the Latin East.

Background to the conflict

One of the reasons for the crusade was the call for help made by the Byzantine Emperor Alexei I to the Pope. For hundreds of years, Byzantium was a buffer zone for Western Christendom against militant Islam, but in 1071, after the defeat at Manzikert, it lost most of Asia Minor (the borders of modern Turkey), which had always been a vital source of manpower and funds. In the face of mortal danger, proud Byzantium was forced to ask for help.

The winners of the Battle of Manzikert were not the Arabs, but the Seljuk Turks - fierce nomads who converted to Islam and became the main force in the Middle East. While the Arabs were relatively tolerant of Christian pilgrims, the new rulers immediately began to obstruct them. This was another reason for the call for a crusade, which was made in the city of Clermont by Pope Urban II. Help for the Byzantines took a back seat to the return of the Holy Land, where, as Urban declared, murder, robbery and the seizure of new possessions would be acceptable, since the victims would be “infidels” who had nothing more to expect.

The calls of the Pope, the frantic sermons of Peter the Hermit and other religious fanatics caused an unprecedented upsurge. Campaigns were quickly prepared in different places in France, Germany and Italy. In addition, thousands of people spontaneously gathered into groups and moved forward, plundering, killing Jews and wreaking havoc in their path.

During the second half of the 1st millennium, Muslims conquered most of North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Spain and many other territories.

However, by the time of the Crusades, the Muslim world was divided internally, there were constant internecine wars between the rulers of various territorial entities, and even the religion itself had undergone a split into several movements and sects. External enemies did not fail to take advantage of this - Christian states in the West and Mongols in the East.

Christians of the East

Map of the 1st Crusade

Chronology of campaign events

Peasants' Crusade

Urban II fixed the start of the crusade on August 15 (Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary) 1096. However, long before this, an army of peasants and small knights independently advanced to Jerusalem, led by the Amiens monk Peter the Hermit, a talented orator and preacher. The scale of this spontaneous popular movement was enormous. While the Pope (Roman Patriarch) expected to attract only a few thousand knights to the campaign, Peter the Hermit in March 1096 led a crowd of thousands - consisting, however, for the most part of unarmed poor people who set off on the journey with their wives and children .

This is huge (according to objective estimates, several tens of thousands (~ 50-60 thousand) of the poor took part in the Campaign in several “armies”, of which more than 35 thousand people concentrated in Constantinople, and up to 30 thousand crossed to Asia Minor) unorganized The horde encountered its first difficulties back in Eastern Europe. Leaving their native lands, people did not have time (and many simply could not because of their poverty) to stock up on provisions, since they set off too early and did not catch the rich harvest of 1096, which occurred in Western Europe for the first time after several years of drought and famine. Therefore, they expected that the Christian cities of Eastern Europe would provide them with food and everything they needed free of charge (as was always the case in the Middle Ages for pilgrims going to the Holy Land), or they would supply food at a reasonable price. However, Bulgaria, Hungary and other countries through which the route of the poor ran did not always agree to such conditions, and therefore conflicts broke out between local residents and rampant militias who forcibly took away their food.

Siege of Nicaea

Siege of Antioch

In the autumn, the Crusader army reached Antioch, which stood halfway between Constantinople and Jerusalem, and besieged the city on October 21, 1097.

Siege of Jerusalem

Consequences

War crimes

War crimes by opposing sides

Sources have reached us reporting brutal massacres committed by the victors, Muslims as well as Christians, in captured cities. Many researchers believe that the term “war crimes” is not correct for the Middle Ages, when such a concept did not exist. Many written sources do not always reliably represent the objective situation, and apparently the very cruelty of the crusaders was a product of that time, and was not much different from the cruelty of their enemies, or indeed any medieval army.

Notes

Truly First Crusade(1095 - 1099) in Holy land began on August 15, 1096, when troops knights and soldiers under the command of noble warriors, such as Raymond of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon and Bohemond of Tarentum, reached Constantinople by sea and land.
It is important to remember that many of them had sonorous titles, but not land holdings, and therefore were determined to get them in the East.
Among those who led the campaign, it should also be noted the French bishop Adhémar du Puy, a brave and prudent warrior-priest appointed by the papal legate and often mediating in disputes between intractable military leaders. 7
Army armies of the cross, marching east presented a motley picture, including representatives from all Western European states and all walks of life, but not all countries were equally well represented. IN First Crusade Most of all, residents of France, West Germany, including the modern territory of the Low Countries, and the Norman states of Southern Italy participated.

The military organization also differed. In Northern France and in the Norman states of Southern Italy, the process of feudalization had already completed. In these states, the feudal lords became a class representing the military elite.
Feudalization was completed in Flanders and Southern France, but in Germany the military feudal elite was just beginning to take shape, and in many regions of Italy the task of armed defense was taken over by the people's militia. 2

The Byzantine Emperor Alexei was not too happy about this “motley” army of the cross, because he was hoping for the arrival of obedient mercenaries, and not these independent, unpredictable and probably dangerous “barbarians”.
The weak point of this enterprise was the mistrust that very quickly arose between the Greeks and the “Franks” - the name by which both the Greeks and Muslims called crusaders regardless of their nationality. 1
Thanks to subtle maneuvering, Alexey persuaded crusaders swear that they will recognize him as emperor of all lands that previously belonged to Byzantium, which they will be able to be conquered from the Seljuks. Crusaders by cunning they were forced to keep their word during the siege of Nicaea, but everything was quickly forgotten when the historic forced march through Asia Minor began, in the Battle of Dorileum (1097), crowned with the first victory.
Although the armor knights - crusaders was not an easy burden, especially in a hot climate, but it gave the attacking cavalry the strength and power of an iron fist. True, the light cavalry of the Turks avoided direct confrontation, preferring to circle and weave, keeping their distance and firing crusaders from bows.
But this balance was precarious, since the arrows of the Turks could cause only limited damage, while among crusaders there were many professional crossbowmen, whose weapons had a much greater range and destructive power.
Consequently, the result of any conflict depended on strategy, time, and strict unity of command - a thing in which the feudal army of the Europeans usually conceded, since its leaders were jealous of each other, and knights cared more about personal glory than the success of the entire army. 1
With the time factor first crusaders They were especially lucky - they appeared when there was no unity in the Seljuk possessions.
After the major victory of the Turks over the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuks of Rum (Anatolia) had not yet completely conquered Turkey.
The Seljuk Empire, spread across Iraq and Iran, was quickly falling apart. There was no central authority over southeast Turkey and Syria. Here, several Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Arab rulers argued among themselves, capturing cities and castles from each other.
In the desert and in the Euphrates valley, the Bedouin Arab tribes maintained complete independence and participated in a general war of all against all for fertile lands.
The Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt was also in decline, although it was not as noticeable. The Fatimids dreamed of conquering all Islamic lands, but these dreams were abandoned when the power of the Shiite caliphs actually passed into the hands of more realistic viziers.

The position of vizier was taken by an Armenian family, which managed to restore order in Cairo, lost during several civil wars and political coups. Trade on the Red Sea and ports on the Syrian coast were taken under control. The Fatimids viewed Palestine as a buffer against threatening Turkish aggression.
This situation arose only once, because the success that was achieved during First Crusade, nothing more could be achieved. Moreover, the strengthening of the Muslims followed, which, despite occasional setbacks and defeats, ended in expulsion crusaders from Palestine two centuries later...
The first goal knightly troops was Nicaea (now the city of Iznik in northwestern Turkey), once the site of great church councils, and now the capital of the Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan (Kilij Arslan or “Lion Saber”). The city stood on the eastern shore of Lake Askan, which was favorable for the development of trade relations with its neighbors. On the other hand, it was protected by mountains - a natural obstacle on the path of possible invaders. The fertile surroundings were rich in forests.
In addition, Nicaea, whose walls, according to the testimony of Stephen of Blois, were guarded by about three hundred towers, was well fortified: “... the city is protected by fortress walls, in front of which ditches were always dug, always filled with water, which comes there from streams and small rivers, representing a significant obstacle to all those who intended to besiege the city. Further, the city had a large and warlike population; Thick walls, high towers, located very close to each other, connected by strong fortifications, gave the city the glory of an impregnable fortress.”
Sultan Kilych-Arslan hoped to defeat the Franks in the same way as the peasant army, and therefore did not take the approach of the enemy seriously. But he was destined to be severely disappointed. His light cavalry and infantry, armed with bows and arrows, were defeated by the Western cavalry in open battle.
However, Nicaea was located in such a way that it was impossible to take it without military support from Lake Ascan. It was possible to cut off Nicaea from the water side only after Emperor Alexei Komnenos sent to help crusaders the fleet, accompanied by a detachment under the command of the military leaders Manuel Vutumit and Tatikiy.
Manuel Vutumit, on the orders of Alexei Komnenos, agreed with the besieged to surrender the city and kept this agreement secret from crusaders. The emperor did not trust the leaders of the campaign and 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.
June 19, when, according to the emperor’s plan, Tatikiy and Manuel, together with crusaders stormed the walls of Nicaea, the besieged suddenly stopped resisting and surrendered, allowing the troops of Manuel Vutumite into the city - from the outside it seemed that the victory was won only thanks to the efforts of the Byzantine army.
Having learned that the Byzantines had occupied the city and taken the townspeople under the protection of the emperor, crusaders They became indignant, as they hoped to plunder Nicaea and thereby replenish their supplies of money and food. 3
But the fall of Nicaea boosted morale crusaders. Inspired by the victory, Stephen of Blois wrote to his wife Adele that he expected to be at the walls of Jerusalem in five weeks.
And the main army crusaders moved further along the sun-hot land of Anatolia.
July 1, 1097 crusaders managed to defeat the Seljuks in the former Byzantine territory near Dorilea (now Eskisehir, Türkiye).

Using the traditional tactics of horse archers, the Turks (their number, according to some sources, exceeded 50 thousand people) inflicted heavy damage on the column crusaders, who not only found themselves in a clear minority, but also could not engage in close combat with an elusive, mobile enemy.
The situation was critical. But Bohemond, fighting in the front ranks, managed to inspire his people to fight. 8
Bohemond's column was about to break formation when the heavy cavalry of the second column crashed into the left flank of the Turks from the rear. warriors of the cross, led by Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse.
Kilij Arslan failed to provide cover from the south. The Turkish army was squeezed and lost 23 thousand people killed; the rest began to stampede.
Total losses crusaders amounted to approximately 4 thousand people. 7
A little further to the southeast the army crusaders divided, most of them moved to Caesarea (now Kayseri, Turkey) towards the Syrian city of Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey).
Antioch was one of the largest cities in the eastern Mediterranean. Above her 450 towers rose like powerful fortress walls. The fortress fence was strengthened by the river, mountains, sea and swamp. At the head of the garrison was Bagasian (Baggy-Ziyan), known for his fearlessness.
Emir Bagasian skillfully organized the city's defense. Soon after the siege began, the Turks made a successful sortie, which led to heavy losses among the disorganized crusaders, and subsequently often resorted to this kind of tactics.
Turkish armies came from Syria to help the besieged twice, but both times they were repulsed in the battles of Kharenka (December 31, 1097 and February 9, 1098). Some time among crusaders famine was raging because they did not take care of the supply of provisions, and supplies quickly melted away.
The besiegers were saved by the extremely timely arrival of small English and Pisan flotillas, which captured Laodicea (modern city of Latakia, Syria) and Saint-Simeon (modern city of Samandagv, Turkey) and delivered provisions.
During the seven months of the siege, relations between the commanders of the troops crusaders heated up to the limit, especially between Bohemond of Tarentum and Raymond of Toulouse.
Finally, on June 3, 1098, after a seven-month siege - mainly thanks to Bohemond and the betrayal of one of the Turkish officers - Antioch was captured. 7
Bohemond of Tarentum managed to enter into a secret conspiracy with a certain Firuz, who commanded a detachment of Antiochians defending a site of three towers. He agreed to let it pass “through himself” knights to the city, but, of course, not for free.
At the military council, Bohemond of Tarentum outlined his plan for the capture of Antioch. But, like Firuz, it was also not free of charge - he demanded that Antioch become his personal possession.
Other members of the council were initially indignant at such open greed of their comrade-in-arms, but Bohemond intimidated them: the army of Emir Kerboga was already close.

On the night of June 3, 1098, Bohemond of Tarentum was the first to climb the leather ladder lowered from above to the fortress wall. He was followed by 60 knights his squad.
Crusaders, suddenly bursting into the city, they carried out a terrible massacre there, killing more than 10 thousand citizens. Buggy-Ziyan also fell in the night battle. But his son managed to seclude himself with several thousand warriors in the city citadel, which Christians couldn't take it. 8
The Byzantines and Armenians helped crusaders take the city.
On June 5, the army of the Emir of Mosul Kerboghi approached Antioch. Now crusaders from besiegers turned into besieged. Soon famine began in Antioch, and every night more and more warriors of the cross climbed down ropes from the fortress walls and ran away to the saving mountains. Among these “rope fugitives” there were also very noble people, such as the French Count Stephen of Blois.
Nevertheless, the newly created owner of the Principality of Antioch saved the participants for the second time First crusade. First, Bohemond of Tarentum established among knights the strictest discipline, ordering the houses of those who refused to fight to be set on fire. This was an effective measure.
Perhaps the most significant event First crusade there was a miraculous discovery in Antioch of the holy spear (>Spear of Destiny), with which, according to the Gospel myth, the warrior Longinus pierced the side of Christ.
The Apostle Andrew, visiting the Provençal peasant Peter Bartholomew in visions, showed him the location of the spear. As a result of excavations in the church of St. Peter's precious relic was discovered.
It should be noted that few historians or theologians believe that the spear was exactly that (in fact, even among crusaders Even then, many doubted), but it had a truly miraculous effect. 7
“By the piety of his people,” writes the chronicler Raymond of Agil, “the Lord inclined to show us the spear.”
This happened on June 14, 1098, when, being surrounded by the Muslim troops of Mosul, Kerboghi, crusaders They had already lost hope for a successful outcome of the protracted siege of Antioch. By this miracle, the Lord, as contemporaries believed, sent news of his support to the people.
And indeed, on June 28, 1098, the army of the atabek of Mosul Kerbogi was defeated warriors of the cross. 6
On June 28, Bohemond of Tarentum led crusaders for a sortie from the fortress. The attack on the Sultan's army, which, despite its large numbers, was weakened by internal strife, turned out to be victorious: the Mosulites fled.
Bohemond of Tarentum, now Prince of Antioch, won a brilliant victory over Emir Kerboga. 8
In July - August 1098, a plague epidemic occurred in Antioch. One of the victims of the epidemic was Bishop Adhémar du Puy. After his death, relations between the commanders of the campaign became even more tense, especially between Bohemond (who was determined to maintain control of Antioch) and Raymond of Toulouse (who insisted that crusaders obliged to return the city to Byzantium, in accordance with the oath given to Alexei).
After a long feud with Raymond, Antioch was taken over by Bohemond, who managed to force it from the rest even before the fall. crusaders the leaders agreed to transfer this important city to him.
While there were disputes over Antioch, an unrest occurred in the army, dissatisfied with the delay, which forced the princes, stopping the strife, to move on. The same thing was repeated later: while the army was rushing towards Jerusalem, the leaders argued over each captured city. 3
Among the simple folk who called to continue crusade, the position of the Ebionites (members of a heretical Christian sect), whose preachers declared that hardship was a condition of Salvation, was popular.
They made up a whole group that became a strike force of the Christian army, terrifying the Muslims. The detachment was poorly armed, they had neither spears nor shields, only sticks, and even the confidence that Providence would help them. The cruelty of the Ebionites kept not only the Muslims in fear, but also the crusaders: This group not only killed Muslims, but sometimes after a battle its members became real cannibals and devoured their victims.
In December 1098 crusaders captured Maarat al-Numan in Syria. To prevent the barons from giving free rein to their greed, the Ebionites exterminated the inhabitants and completely destroyed the city. In this way they forced the barons to take the path to Jerusalem again... 9
After the capture of Antioch warriors of the cross Without any special obstacles, they moved along the coast to the south and captured several port cities along the way. Through Beirut, Sidon, Tire, Akkon they came to Haifa and Jaffa, and then turned east.
In the city of Ramla, abandoned by its inhabitants, they left a Roman Catholic bishop.
On June 6, 1098, Tancred, nephew of Bohemond of Tarentum, finally entered Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, with his army. From the top of a nearby mountain in front of crusaders A panorama of Jerusalem opened. They called this mountain Montjoie - “mountain of joy.”
Jerusalem was a well-fortified city, defended by a strong Fatimid army, which far outnumbered the besiegers.
Christians and Jews lived here in relative peace and harmony with the Muslims. The city has been ruled by Muslims for several centuries. Islam showed great tolerance towards other religions, although Muslim rulers levied special taxes on Christians, but never forced them to convert to Islam.
However, upon learning of the approach of the Christian army, they did not hesitate to expel all Christians from the city. Muslims feared that they would betray them to their Western co-religionists.
Jerusalem was thoroughly prepared for the siege; there were plenty of food supplies. And in order to leave the enemy without water, all the wells around the city were rendered unusable. Crusaders There were not enough ladders, rams and siege engines to storm the city. They themselves had to extract wood in the vicinity of the city and build military equipment. This took a long time.
By the time of the storming of Jerusalem, almost all crusaders Gottfried of Bouillon was recognized as commander; Raymond of Toulouse and Tancred helped him.
To completely blockade the city, troops crusaders it was not enough, and there was no hope that the besieged could be starved to death. Despite severe water shortages, crusaders They began to resolutely prepare for the assault: build a high wooden siege tower and a ram.
Showered from the city fortifications by a rain of arrows, they rolled the tower to the wall, threw a wooden bridge, and Gottfried led the troops to attack (part of the army climbed the walls using assault ladders). Apparently this was the only operation in the entire two-year campaign that was coordinated from beginning to end. 7
As a result crusaders managed to take Jerusalem. Tancred immediately occupied the al-Aqsa Mosque, an important Muslim shrine.
The capture of Jerusalem was a great achievement for the Christians, which they celebrated with massacres. Apart from the Egyptian commandant of Jerusalem and his inner circle, almost no one, be it Muslim or Jew, man, woman or child, managed to escape.
According to chronicles, up to 70 thousand people died in the massacre...
The chronicler writes about the events of those days:
“Having entered the city, our pilgrims drove and killed the Saracens (as the Europeans called all the Muslims of the Middle East) all the way to the Temple of Solomon, where they gathered together and gave us the most brutal battle of the whole day, so that their blood flowed throughout the temple.
Finally, having overcome the pagans, ours captured many men and women in the temple and killed as many as they wanted, and as many as they wanted, they left alive. (...)
Crusaders They quickly scattered throughout the city, grabbing gold and silver, horses and mules, taking for themselves houses full of all sorts of goods. After this, completely happy, sobbing with joy, our people went to the tomb of our Savior Jesus Christ and made amends for their guilt before Him.” 5
The senseless and brutal massacre in Jerusalem remained in the memory of Muslims and Jews for a long time.

The goal of the campaign was achieved and many crusaders came back home. Those who remained continued to fight along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, where four states were eventually founded crusaders:
County of Edessa - the first state founded crusaders and in the East. It was founded in 1098 by Baldwin I of Boulogne after the conquest of Jerusalem and the creation of the kingdom. It existed until 1146. Its capital was the city of Edessa;
The Principality of Antioch was founded by Bohemond I of Tarentum in 1098 after the capture of Antioch. The principality existed until 1268;
> The Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted until the fall of Acre in 1291. The kingdom was subordinate to several vassal lordships, including the four largest: the Principality of Galilee, the County of Jaffa and Ascalon, Transjordan and the lordship of Sidon.
The County of Tripoli is the last of the states founded during First Crusade. It was founded in 1105 by the Count of Toulouse, Raymond IV. The county existed until 1289. 3
Godfrey of Bouillon, who called himself the “Defender of the Holy Sepulcher,” was elected the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. At the zenith of its glory it reached Aqaba on the Red Sea; in addition, he became the de facto ruler of other conquered territories.
The Roman Catholic Church extended its influence in holy land: after the death of Godfrey, Daimbert, the newly proclaimed Patriarch of Jerusalem, the successor of Adhemar, who had died in Antioch, on Christmas Day 1100 crowned Godfrey's brother Baldwin I, who received the title of King of Jerusalem, and appointed a number of archbishops and bishops.
Jerusalem was the most important state crusaders, and all settlements founded by them, earlier or later, were subordinate to him. Many crusaders and their descendants settled in the East, settling mainly in cities.
In the East, there was an ancient urban culture, and even though the houses looked old and squalid on the outside, inside they often amazed with luxury, amenities and coziness. As for external amenities, such as sewerage, street lighting or running water, all this was much better than at home crusaders.
Christians lived very comfortably in the East. They began to dress in an oriental style: wearing turbans and long, light clothes. Quite quickly we got used to Arabic dishes flavored with ginger, pepper and cloves, and began to drink wine and fruit juices.
Many aliens Westerners even began to learn to read and write, which was quite common for Muslims. When Christians fell ill, they willingly turned to local doctors and allowed themselves to be treated with natural remedies.
Fulcher of Chartres writes:
“Formerly people of the West, we have now become people of the East; a man from Reims or Chartres became a Tyrian or an Antiochian.
We have already forgotten the places where we were born; their names have already become unfamiliar or never heard words for many of us. Many now have their own houses and servants, as if inherited from their fathers. (...)
Whoever was poor in his homeland, God made him rich here.” 5
States crusaders were never safe. Even in their heyday, they were unable to expand their borders to a natural division, the desert, which would have made it easier to defend the territories. There was a constant threat from the Turks, who maintained control of key cities such as Aleppo and Damascus.
Even in their own lands crusaders remained a small and dispersed class of feudal lords, ruling over a Muslim population whose loyalty was highly questionable.
Crusaders It is unlikely that they would have lasted long without the help of two specially formed military monastic orders - the Knights of the Temple (Templars) and the Johannites (Hospitaliers). Like the monks, members of the orders took a vow to live in poverty, chastity and obedience; at the same time, they were warriors obliged to defend Holy land and fight the “infidels.”
In the late 1120s, the Turks, led by Zengi from Mosul, managed to achieve some unity and stop the advance crusaders.
In 1144 crusaders lost Edessa - the most remote state and open to attack. All this prompted the Europeans to start a new campaign.
Number of soldiers who took part in First crusade, is given differently by different chroniclers, from 100 thousand people by Raymond of Aquiler to 600 thousand by Fulcher of Chartres.
Both of these chroniclers themselves took part in the campaign.
A letter written to the pope after the capture of Jerusalem, reporting on the state of the army, speaks of 5 thousand mounted soldiers and 15 thousand infantry.
The number of participants in individual battles could have been much smaller; in victory crusaders at the battle of Antioch, the entire force is said to have consisted of only 700 cavalry due to a lack of horses. 10
Fantastic success First Crusade forced crusaders continue the war. If initially the main task First Crusade was to “liberate” the holy places, then even before the end of the campaign crusaders began to become more and more aware of their missionary task.
Barely crusaders entered Jerusalem, as proposals began to be put forward to destroy the Islamic world altogether.
Meanwhile, Muslims were changing their attitude towards Christians>. The former indifference was replaced by hatred.
Jihad began, which ultimately resulted in the aggressive plans of the Ottoman Empire... 2

Information sources:
1. " Crusades"(magazine "Tree of Knowledge" No. 21/2002)
2. military-historical almanac “Soldier” No. 7
3. Wikipedia website
4. “Saladin and the Saracens 1071-1291.” (almanac “New Soldier” No. 70)
5. Vasol M. " Crusaders»
6. Luchitskaya S. “The idea of ​​converting Gentiles in the chronicles First crusade »
7. “All the Wars of World History” (according to Harper Dupuy’s Encyclopedia of Military History)
8. Shishov A. “100 great commanders of the Middle Ages”
9. Tat J. " Crusades »
10. Norman A. “Medieval warrior. Weapons from the time of Charlemagne and