In the last chapter of this series, we saw how Richard the Lionheart effectively lost a victorious battle. It was devastating on so many levels. The division between European feudal lords and Byzantines had solidified. Even Richard had refused to return their captured territory of Cyprus and instead sold it to the Knights Templar.
Meanwhile, in Islamic world, Saladin had died. His kingdom was divided. When the Truce period fixed by Saladin and Richard expired, Egyptian Sultan al-Aziz Uthman extended it by signing an extension treaty with Henry II of Champagne, the new ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
In 1197 AD, the Germans sensed an opportunity and launched their own Crusade without permission from Henry II. They attacked al-Adil I of Damascus but could not move forward due to the sudden death of Henry. They did succeed in capturing Beirut though.
Henry’s successor Aimery of Cyprus signed a 5 years 8 months truce with al-Adil in 1198 AD. Al-Adil spent his time in uniting the former empire of Saladin. While Muslims were unified, the Byzantines were hit by infighting. Isac II was blinded and exiled by his brother Alexios III Angelos. He too proved to be ineffective as commercial rivalry between Byzantines and the Republic of Venice was gaining momentum.
Fourth Crusade
In 1198 AD, Pope Innocent III came to power. His stated goal was the restoration of Jerusalem. The initial response was weak since European kings were fighting intra-Europe war. It took a year to elect Fulk of Neuilly as leader. He died in 1201 AD, paving the way for Boniface of Montferrat to occupy his spot.
Various envoys were sent to European city states, asking for support in reaching Egypt, the stated goal of the Crusade. Venice agreed to send 33,500 crusaders. It ultimately became a place from which the Crusaders would set out in October 1202 AD. A lot of Crusaders set their sail from Flanders, Marseille and Genoa, but the majority of them decided to launch their missions from Venice.
In return for its ship, Venice demanded money from the Crusaders. When they could not pay, Doge Enrico Dandolo asked the Crusaders to capture Zara, a Christian territory. A faction of the Crusaders didn’t do it and returned. Even the Pope threatened them of excommunication if they attack Zara. His letter is said to have been hidden from the Crusade Army and in November 1202 AD, Zara was under Crusaders’ control.
Even the citizens of Zara using Cross to show their support did not stop their city from being pillaged. Pope Innocent III wrote a letter of excommunication, but again the Crusaders’ commanders hid it from the soldiers. In 1203, Pope changed his mind and revoked excommunication, but not for the Venetians.
At Zara, the Crusaders received an offer from Alexios IV, son of Isaac II. He wanted to dethrone his uncle with the help of Crusaders and in return offered support in their mission. Once again Pope Innocent III wrote a letter against accepting Alexios’ offer and once again it was hidden from the Army.
The Crusaders went and besieged Constantinople in July 1203 AD. Alexios’ prediction about his people’s support to Crusaders did not fructify and locals opposed them. Despite that, the Crusaders waited for Alexios to fulfil his promise. Alexios could not fulfil his promise and in his Byzantine Empire, the anti-Crusade faction grew in prominence under nobleman Alexios Doukas. He killed Alexios IV in February 1204 AD and crowned Alexios V as king.
Disgruntled, the Crusaders sacked Constantinople later that year. The city’s historical heritage was destroyed and the Crusade had failed in a miserable fashion. Even those Crusaders who had not chosen Venice as their launchpad could not reach the holy land. Venice and the Crusaders divided Byzantine territories among themselves. Greek Christians felt betrayed and great East-West schism became militaristically anaemic.
Fifth Crusade
The failure of the Crusade dealt a severe blow to the Papal authority. After the Crusade, a new wave of infighting kicked off between European rulers. Despite his best efforts, the Pope failed to secure peace.
In order to unite them, he announced a new Crusade in 1213 AD. All kinds of incentives were given and even the financiers of the war would get the same benefits as participants. The French did not respond warmly to it since their Knights were already indulged in the Albigensian Crusade. Andrew II of Hungary, Frederick II of Holy Roman Empire, Leopold VI of Austria, and John of Brienne became key leaders.
Andrew II and Leopold VI took the charge towards the East. By November 10, 1217 AD, the Crusaders had united and attacked Al-Adil’s territory. The excited Hungarians charged towards Mount Tabor but failed to capture it. They tried thrice and gave up only when the contingent led by Andrew’s Nephew was decimated in December 1217 AD. Andrew decided to collect relics, rather than military conquest. In February 1218 AD, he decided to return to Hungary.
Luckily for the Crusaders, they did not feel any void as Oliver of Paderborn and a mixed army of Dutch, Flemish and Frisian soldiers led by William I of Holland soon arrived to aid them. Before taking Cairo, they decided to target Damietta. Its fortification was so strong that it took 4 months for the Crusaders to isolate the city from its tower.
Meanwhile, Al-Adil died and his successor Al-Kamil offered a deal to the Crusaders. The consideration included Jerusalem. John of Brienne accepted it but Pelagius and the leaders of the Templars, Hospitallers and Venetians wanted more. Al-Adil could not offer it and a war ensued. By the beginning of November 1219, the city was under the Crusaders’ control. It was a massive confidence booster for cardinal Pelagius Galvani, the newly crowned leader of the Crusade.
Now, the Crusaders set their sights on decimating Al-Kamil. They spent a year planning for it in Damietta. Pelagius and John had differences about the next course. John advised Pelagius to not invest too much in Nile travel. Pelagious didn’t listen to it, and in the Battle of Mansurah, was on the verge of decisive defeat. If John had not taken charge at the last moment and galvanised Templars, Al-Kamin would have annihilated Crusaders.
The last-minute resuscitation by John provided the Crusaders a place on the talking table. All the Crusaders had to do was surrender Damietta and they could return safely. Al-Kamil knew that even if he killed the Crusaders, Damietta would provide a launch pad for other enthusiasts. Pelagius and John surrendered, formally announcing one more failure for the Crusaders. Life, resources and reputation, the Crusaders lost it all in the fifth and final Crusade led by Papal authority.
Sixth Crusade and retake of Jerusalem
Papal authority only remained as a guiding force after that. Pope Honorius III, asked Frederick II to fulfil his vow taken in 1215. He was too late during the fifth Crusade and reached Damietta only when the fate of the Crusade was fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Al-Kamil had launched an offence against his brothers. He was also aware that Frederick was looking for an opportunity. To persuade Frederick against attacking Egypt, he befriended him. Frederick was promised that Jerusalem would be surrendered to him if he promised to not attack Egypt. Pope Gregory IX (successor to Honorius III) threatened Frederick with excommunication due to which the Roman emperor decided to go on with the Crusade plan.
In August 1227, the first wave departed from Brindisi and arrived in Syria in October. It was an English contingent led by William Briwere, Peter des Roches, the bishop of Winchester. The bishops were hardcore supporters of Frederick and despite the Pope’s threat of excommunication of Frederick, they were hand in gloves with him.
In Syria, they cooperated with Germans under the command of Thomas of Aquino and Henry of Limburg. It did not take them long to fortify coastal towns of Caesarea, Jaffa and the island of Qal’at al-Bahr. The fact that Frederick was not a participant in these victories was enough for the Pope to declare him excommunicated.
Frederick tried to make Gregory understand the on-ground reality, but the Pope had some special enmity towards him. However, he did have support from the rest of the Crusaders, riding on which he left Brindisi on 28 June 1228 AD. When he arrived in Acre, the Templars and Hospitallers shunned him while Italians, Germans, Normans and Teutonic knights welcomed him.
Frederick sent a fresh letter to Al-Kamil about the acceptance of his offer. Now, Al-Kamil was too busy fighting his brothers. He was trying to get Damascus under his command. When Frederick realised it, he decided to not go with the offer and vowed to attack Al-Kamil before he got full control of Damascus. It was a plan which also impressed the Templars and Hospitallers as well.
They assisted Frederick in restoring the damaged fortification of Jaffa. In Jaffa they were preparing to attack Jerusalem, which alarmed Al-Kamil. He did not want to leave Damascus as well as Jerusalem. Ultimately, he was left with no choice but to offer a deal to Frederick.
Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth were offered to Frederick. He readily accepted the deal and entered the holy city, declaring himself as King of Jerusalem through another Treaty of Jaffa. Now, Frederick was legal heir to the German Empire, Crown of Sicily, Roman Emperor and also a king of Jerusalem.
His powers increased and Pope Gregory felt disenfranchised due to his excommunication. But Frederick never undermined his authority and never took Pope’s action as personal vendetta. On August 28, 1230 AD, he obtained relief from the Pope under the Treaty of San Germano. He spent the rest of his life defending himself from other jealous Christians, including the Papal Army.
Targeting Frederick became Achilles heels
Indeed, Frederick turned out to be the last formidable ruler to participate in the Crusade. He is often compared to Richard, the Lionheart, hero of the third Crusade. This did not deter others from attacking him. The Hero of the sixth Crusade himself became one of the targets in the seventh Crusade.
Jerusalem had fallen in 1244 AD and Pope Innocent IV announced another Crusade against emperor Frederick II, Baltic rebellions and Mongol incursions. Leader of this new Crusade, King Louis IX of France was captured by Muslims in 1250 AD.
The main reason behind this weak expedition was that Frederick was part of the target and not on their side. Though he had left the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the hands of Conrad II of Jerusalem, his son, the man enjoyed prestige and respect among Egyptians as well. Nevertheless, Egyptians did not release Louis immediately.
Louis had to negotiate with the Mamluks, the barbarians who had dethroned Ayyubids to secure his release. After his release on humiliating terms, he stayed for 4 years at Acre. Meanwhile, a shepherds’ Crusade was launched in 1251 AD which was brutally crushed by the Muslims. Louis spent the next 4 years establishing diplomatic contact with rulers of Muslim world.
Amidst all this, the factions in Acre were reunited as well. Louis returned only after establishing a permanent French garrison in Acre. However, people do not forget defeat easily and is still considered as one of the worst in Crusaders’ history. The only achievement from this Crusade was that Ayyubids were shaken enough to lose their clout to Mamluks.
The gradual decline of brotherhood
In 1270, Louis IX again took the cross, but very little fighting occurred as he himself died due to dysentery on the shores of Tunisia. Ultimately, on November 1, a treaty of Tunis was signed between Philip III of France, Charles I of Anjou and Theobald II of Navarre for the West and Muhammad I al-Mustansir for Tunisia. Christians agreed for free trade with Tunis and in return monks and priests were given residence in the city.
The Eighth Crusade is believed to be the last one where a wholehearted effort to get control of Jerusalem was at least present in intent. After it, there were two more minor Crusades namely Lord Edward’s Crusade and Crusade of Henry of Mecklenburg, but they failed on a massive scale. By 1280, the enthusiasm for holy land had started to die and it was solidified by the Siege of Acre by Mamluks in 1291 AD.
Nearly the 100-year period between the Third Crusade and Siege of Acre is a decisive moment in Christian history. It witnessed infighting, it witnessed solidification of east-west schism, it witnessed the decline of papacy, it witnessed brothers killing their own brothers. Christianity got divided between two factions, one that stood by their devotion towards Jesus and others who stood by their devotion to power. The period changed Christianity in an unforeseen way.
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