The Fifth Crusade and Beyond

In addition to the first four crusades, there were also five others that followed, causing there to be nine gruesome attempts of fighting against one main cause; the infidel group of the Muslims. Considering this, the crusades were all a series of religiously-focused military expeditions that were started by the Latin’s in Christian Europe, focusing on the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire. The crusaders were longing for control over the beloved Holy Land, and fought for this for over two hundred years between 1095 and 1291. These battles were waged primarily against the Muslims, but also included other groups of people such as Greek Orthodox Christians, Slavs, Mongols, and Jews. It was the determined crusaders who sought penance for their past sins that made the crusades both possible, and a milestone in history that had many significant impacts.


It was after the fourth crusade that the fighting continued , causing a fifth crusade to emerge as a result of the Church pushing to further the fighting. The church played a major part in this because they carried out processions and ceremonies of prayer in order to urge for another confrontation with the infidel. It was the Fourth Council of the Lateran who devised a plan for the recapturing of the Holy Land, which consisted of three phases. In the first phase, a crusading group from Hungary and Austria combined with the men who were under both the King of Jerusalem and the prince of Antioch. Within the second phase, the crusaders achieved an amazing accomplishment when they captured Damietta in Egypt in 1219, with the aid of the Pelagius, the papal legate. “They then launched a foolhardy attack on Cairo in July of 1221. The crusaders were turned back after the dwindling supplies led to a forced retreat.” (Nicholson 94) It was an attack performed during the night by the ruler of Egypt who was the sultan Al-Kamil, which had devastating consequences with many crusaders dying. This is what initiated the eight year peace agreement with Europe.


The sixth crusade was one that was vowed to be initiated by Emperor Fredrick II, who commonly failed to live up to his word and promises. This resulted in him later being excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. This caused him to sail from Brindisi to Palestine where he experienced success when he took over Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem through diplomacy and this was vital as it provided deliverance to the crusaders for about ten years. In addition to this, Frederick II had failed to conquer Egypt in 1229, and instead formed a peace treaty with Al-Kamil who was the ruler of Egypt. It was this particular treaty that allowed the Christians to have control over a majority of Jerusalem, while the Muslims had management over the Dome of the Rock, located at the Al-Aksa mosque. This treaty was very successful in retaining peace, but several of the Muslims were not content with Al-Kamil for giving up control of Jerusalem, which later caused a siege wherein the Muslims gained control over the scared city once again.


Matters of the seventh crusade were brought about by the papal interests that were expressed by the Templars, who brought conflict into Egypt in 1243. It was the following year that a Khwarezmian force who was called out to serve, abruptly invaded Jerusalem. This caused the crusaders to be involved in a battle that was at La Forbie in Gaza. “The crusader army and its Bedouin mercenaries were completely defeated within forty eight hours by Baibar’s force of Khwarezmian tribesmen. This battle is considered by many historians to have been the death knell to the Kingdom of Outremer.” (Riley-Smith 203) Although this did not cause a wide range of anger in Europe as the fall of Jerusalem had produced, Louis XI of France put together a crusade that was against Egypt and lasted from 1248 to 1254, which caused the port of Aigues-Mortes to be constructed in southern France. However it turned out to be a failure, and as a result Louis XI ended up spending a majority of the crusade dwelling in the court of the crusader kingdom located in Acre. This particular crusade was the first Shepherd’s crusade of 1251.


Branching out of the seventh crusade the eighth crusade was planned by Louis XI in 1270 and began when he sailed from Aigues-Mortes in order to help what was left of the crusader states in Syria. Louis was troubled by the events that were happening in Syria, as the Baibars and Mamluks were brutally attacking the remainder of the crucial crusader states. The Baibars immediately took advantage of the opportunity to strike the cites of Venice and Genoa in order to turn them against each other, causing chaos. This had an impact on the Syrian ports located within the two cities as they were weakening. It was for this reason that Louis decided to call another crusade in the first place. This crusade ended up being centralized in the city of Tunis where Louis XI only spent two short months before passing away. Louis was later honored for his hard work and efforts concerning his involvement in the various crusades.


It was the ninth and final crusade that Edward I of England decided to take over yet another attack against the Baibars in 1271 after aiding Louis XI in the eighth crusade. It was this last crusade that was pronounced a failure and ended the crusades within the Middle East. In the later years they faced several threats from Egyptian Mamluks which created a longing to create a Franco-Mongol alliance. The Mongols were considered to show sensitivity towards Christianity, but the Frankish people came to be the most successful in offering help and planned several of the invasions that were carried out within the Middle East. In the end, the cities of Tripoli, Antioch, and Acre fell causing numerous Christians not to be able to break free from these locations. The unfortunate ones who did not manage to escape were either enslaved or murdered, and the history of the Christian rule in the Levant vanished.

The crusading movement came to an end at the end of the thirteenth century, and can be accounted as a failure based upon what they were trying to accomplish. It was after nearly two hundred years of conflict that control of the Holy Land still remained in the hands of the Muslims, but this does not mean that the crusades did not help in some areas. An example of this would be during the first crusade where the crusaders managed to conquer Syria in order to track the Turks and their journey to Constantinople. However despite this benefit, the crusades managed to do more harm than good in achieving their goal, and decided to stop the fighting, causing the crusades come to an end as the consequence. Their ultimate conclusion was that Jerusalem could be best taken over through the way the apostle Paul had done it “by love, by prayers, and by the shedding of tears.”

Nicholson, Helen J. The Crusades. Greenwood Press: United States, 2004.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Crusades: A History. British Library Publishers: New York, 2005.

The Fourth Crusade

The fourth crusade lasted from 1202 through 1204, with the original intent being to overcome the Muslims who had power over Jerusalem. The crusaders were attentively planning to accomplish this through attacking them throughout Egypt. However, they chose to fight according to a different plan, deciding to invade within Western Europe, with the primary focus being on the city of Constantinople, which was the Byzantine Empire’s capital city. This includes various sieges on the city, leading up to the final capture of the major town itself. It is this that provides the primary focal point of the fourth crusade, and one of the concluding acts in the Great Schism that was between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

It was after the disappointment that the third crusade had that caused the concern for having another crusade in Europe had diminished, as they did not want to carry on another fight against the Muslims. It was during this time that Jerusalem was under the influence of the Ayyubid dynasty of Sunni Muslims, who had control over both Egypt and Syria. With knowledge of this, the majority of the crusaders departed from Venice in October of 1202, all of whom had their origins from various European cities. “Other notable groups came from the Holy Roman Empire, including men under Bishop Martin of Paris and Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt, together in alliance with the Venetian soldiers and sailors led by the doge Enrico Dandolo.”(Queller 193)The purpose of the crusade was to aim directly for the center of the Muslim world, Cairo. The crusaders were now ready to sail on June 24, 1202.

The Latin’s that were involved in the First, Second, and Third Crusade had gone from stresses to completely antagonistic in Constantinople on their journey to the Holy Land. This was opposite to how the Greeks approached the situation as their armies had deserted the Crusaders in some instances and participated in a diplomacy with their enemies. Many of Venetian merchants and other Latins were also attacked during the massacre of the Latins in Constantinople in 1182, which involved the method of deportation to be utilized. “However, the Byzantine prince's proposal involved his restoration to the throne, which Count Boniface agreed to. Alexius IV returned with the Marquess to rejoin the fleet at Corfu after it had sailed from Zara. The rest of the Crusade's leaders eventually accepted the plan as reliable.” (Phillips 204) There were several leaders of this same rank who did not want to take part in this proposal and many disregarded the idea.

It was on April 12, 1204, the weather conditions were finally in support of the Crusaders. A powerful wind that came from the north aided the Venetian ships neat the wall, and a short battle took place to seige Constantinople. It was after this fight that about seventy crusaders succeeded in making their way into the city. Many of them chose to make holes in the walls, which were helpful in causing a small number of knights to make their way through. Another thing that the Venetians were victorious in doing was traveling from the sea, and climbing up the nearby walls, even though they encountered very bloody fighting with the Varangians. It was after a long period of hard fighting that the crusaders finally captured the Blachernae section of the city, which was located in the northwest. They had a relatively easy time taking over the rest of the city, as after they overcame this milestone, a strong and successful foundation had been established for conquering. Despite causing extensive damage from defensive fires that they started in order to defend themselves, they managed to take over the city of Constantinople on this faithful day.

In conclusion, a majority of the crusaders never completed their journey to the Holy Land, causing them to leave a legacy of a profound betrayal by the Latin’s. The Latin Empire also faced many problems after this crusade which included having problems with both the Seljuk and Bulgarian Empires. This also sparked the Greek and Latin states fighting against each other, which incorporated many major officials such as Alexius III to be captured and even executed. It was because of this that there were many attempts to start other crusades that did not ultimately end up happening. However, the conflict did not end here, as the aggression and tension continued, eventually leading to the fifth crusade and beyond.

Phillips, Jonathan. The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople. Random House Publishers: United States, 2005.

Queller, Thomas F. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople. University of Pennsylvania Press: United States, 1997.

The Third Crusade

The third crusade, which lasted from 1189 through 1192, more formally known as
the King’s Crusade, was an effort made by the European chief officials to
triumph over the Holy Land once again from Saladin. It was this expedition that
consisted of the unifying of the Muslims, defeats made by Saladin, and the
collapse of Jerusalem. It was through these things that organization was
displayed as the third crusade began to unfold.

It was after the practical failure of the second crusade, that Nur al Din, who
was part of the Turkish Zengid dynasty, who ruled over the empire known as the
Syrian province. In addition to him having power over this area, he also had
power over Damascus. In order to provide unification for the Muslims, he focused
on the Fatmid dynasty who were from Egypt. He decided to call upon his most
trusted commander, Shiruk to carry out a military journey to the Nile, with his
nephew Saladin. At the beginning of this endeavor, the soldiers came to Cairo,
were they camped while they requested assistance from the king of Jerusalem. As
a result, they received help from an army sent to them through the king
granting their appeal.

The first major attack with this newly formed army was on Antioch, which caused
the execution of many Christian forces, and the taking over of several Crusaders
leaders. The primary one who was captured was the prince of Antioch himself-
Bohemond II. It was after this gruesome event that Nur al Din decided to send
the scalps of the Christians he had taken back to Egypt so that they might be
displayed in honor and pride for the actions that he had committed, claiming
himself as victorious, as he now had control over all of Egypt and Syria.

In addition to Nur al Din’s successes, Saladin had several as well. "His uncle,
Shirkuh had now taken the position of vizier of Egypt, but after only two weeks
of ruling, he died suddenly in 1169, leaving his position to his nephew Saladin."(Reston 89)
In addition to his uncle dying, Nur al Din also passed away in 1174, leaving his
own kingdom to his son As-Salih, who was only eleven years old. It was As-Salih
who made the decision that Saladin was the only man who was wise enough to imply
the concept of jihad against the many crusaders. He experienced many successes,
which included becoming sultan of both Syria and Egypt, in addition to being the
initiator of the Ayyubid Empire.

After the success experienced, the fall of Jerusalem was quick to proceed,
wherein it was Saladin’s chance to stand up against this very kingdom that he
was opposed to. The fight consisted of uniting the Muslims and meeting the
Christians at a lake close to Galilee. “It ended in the route of their army and
the capture of their king. Even the Holy Cross, which they had carried in the
midst of the fight, became spoil of the conqueror.”(Crompton 57) The Crusader army was
crushed during the battle, but at the end of that very year, Saladin had taken
both Acre and Jerusalem which was the reason for the city’s collapse, the main focal point and ultimately the end of the third crusade.

Crompton, Samuel W. The Third Crusade: Richard the Lionhearted vs. Saladin. Chelsea House Publishers: United States, 2004.

Reston, James. Warriors of God: Ruchard the Lionhearted and Saladin in the Third Crusade. Random House Publishers: United States, 2001.