The Crusades

The Crusades were Christianity versus Islam। The first was the only one was successful. On the first Crusade, they conquered Jerusalem (which by the way is the center of the world to the Mediterranean). The third Crusade was the most famous because it had a lot of important people involved like Richard.

Ok, so in 80 years, the Muslims conquered Arabian Peninsula, all of North Africa, Spain, and going into Tours। Charles Martel beats them out but they stay in Spain and work their way east to Anatolia. So that puts them in front of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperor freaks out and looks for help to the Western Pope.

Let’s back up a bit। The Great Schism took place in 1054 in which the Pope crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, resulting in one Holy Roman Emperor in the west and one in Byzantine. The two quarrels, the Pope joins Charlemagne and the Byzantine Empire gets a new Pope. They excommunicate each other, forming what is today the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. That was the Great Schism.

Anyway, the Byzantine Emperor asks to set aside their differences and come together to repel the invasion of the Muslims and rescue Jerusalem. So they get back together to fight Islam.
Famous quote from the Crusades: “GOD WILLS IT।”

So the Pope gets people to join by offering them protection to their family and lands। They also promise to give forgive people all sins, no matter how bad, and give them the sacraments. He does this top the Muslim’s deal with their soldiers. So the first people to join were the criminals and peasants. Following Peter the Hermit, they form the People’s Crusades. They show up and Constantinople and start looting stuff. The emperor quickly sends them to Asia Minor to give them something to do. They get slaughtered as soon as they meet the Muslims. But then the real knights show up, surround Jerusalem, and capture it.

Unfortunately, now that their job is done, the soldiers leave and the Muslims easily take it back। The Second Crusade is to prevent the Muslims from taking Jerusalem back but that bombed. Hence the need for…

The Third Crusade was partially successful because they did reclaim some of the land। But it’s only famous because famous people participated. There was Richard, Philip, Augustus, Fredrick Barbarossa, aka “Red Beard”. Fredrick was really old though, so he sorta slipped on his horse and drowns in a river that’s two feet deep. I’m sorry for your loss Fred. His heavy armor and temperature of the river may have given him a heart attack.

Fun Fact: Barbarossa’s sword, lost in the drowning, is symbolic. Whoever carries the sword is invincible. In the more modern time period, Hitler had an operation called “Operation Barbarossa” because he’s intent on finding the sword because if he has the sword, he’s invincible. Hitler wasn’t invincible though; as everyone knows he died.