The Crusaders (AD 1099-1291)

The Crusaders (AD 1099-1291)

History of Palestine

The history of the middle Ages presents no spectacle more imposing than of the Crusades, in which are to be seen the nations of Europe and the Near East armed against each other for control of Palestine. One could almost believe that there no longer existed in the universe any other country but the Holy Land, no other city but Jerusalem, and no other church but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Pope Urban II proved the catalyst for the Crusade wars when, in November 1095, before the Council of Clermont in France, he delivered one of the most effective speeches in history. He appealed to attribute to the Muslims or “Saracens”, in reference to the Seljuks. It was decreed that all who joined this Crusade should wear a red cross on their right shoulder; that they should enjoy plenary indulgence and obtain remission of all their sins. In response, about 250,000 peasants, led by Peter the Hermit, Walter de Pexejo and Walter the Seljuki, Turks, who had by then occupied most of Asia Minor, decimated them just as they left Constantinople.

This peasant army was followed by the First Crusade, a more disciplined army-estimated at 300.000 and consisting of four main division-which set out to rendezvous in Constantinople. Once division came from Belgium, under the command of Godfrey de Bouillon. Another came from Italy, and was composed of Normans and Italians. A third division came from Provence and was commanded by the Count of Toulouse. The fourth came from Normandy and was led by Knights, townsfolk, peasants and criminals, promised pardon from the wives went along with their knights, together with some of their children and their households.

Although many of the knights were men of high principles, seeking the reopening of free pilgrim traffic and the recovery of their Saviour’s Tomb, there were many others who looked forward to grabbing land and riches in God’s land.

The four divisions rendezvoused in Constantinople to receive supplies and scouts and, after crossing the Bosphorus into Asia Minor; the Crusaders began their task of decimating the Seljuks. Their conviction in their mission was reinforced in early October 1097 when a comet with a tail shaped like a sword was seen in the heavens. The march to Jerusalem lasted two years, and some one hundred thousand Muslim dead were left behind in their wake.

The Crusaders reached Jerusalem in1099, and William of Tyre noted: When they heard the name Jerusalem called out, they began to weep and fell on their knees, giving thanks to Our Lord with many sights for the great love which He had showed them in allowing them to reach the goal of their pilgrimage, the Holy City which He had loved so much that He wished there to save the world. It was deeply moving to see the tears and hear the loud sobs of these good folk. They ran forward until they had a clear view of all the towers and the walls of the city. They then raised their hands in prayer to heaven and taking off their shoes, bowed down to the ground and kissed the earth.

The small Fatimid garrison looking out saw the sunlight flashing on the shields of a vast army covering the surrounding hills. Having heard of the Crusade atrocities, the Jerusalemites were adamant in holding them off. For five weeks the Crusaders bombarded Jerusalem with rocks and stormed its walls with troops on movable towers under the cover of archers.