The Crusades 1095-1197

by Jonathan Phillips

  Baldwin IV, king of Jerusalem (1174-85) The leper-king ruled from the age of 13 and was severely afflicted by this chronic condition. By his late teens he was blind, his nose had disappeared and his limbs were badly deformed. The need for regents caused real tensions in the kingdom, although Baldwin took part in some military campaigns, notably the victory at Montgisard (1177). A brave, intelligent youth, he succumbed to his illness aged 23.

  Baldwin V, king of Jerusalem (1185-86) The son of William of Montferrat and Sibylla of Jerusalem. He succeeded his uncle, Baldwin IV, but was only eight years old and under the regency of Count Raymond of Tripoli. A sickly child, he died after barely a year on the throne.

  Beha ad-Din (d. 1234) He worked closely with Saladin and was the qadi al-’askar (judge of the army) from 1188 until 1193. His account of Saladin’s life is a clear, readable and personally-observed portrait of a man he greatly admired and provides a valuable Muslim perspective of the events of the Third Crusade.

  Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) The most prominent churchman of the twelfth century. A Cistercian monk, abbot of Clairvaux and advisor to kings and popes for much of his adult life. A man of real austerity whose devotional practices often left him physically debilitated. The author of many letters and theological tracts, he also wrote In Praise of the New Knighthood for the Templars and was a strong advocate of the order. His emotive and powerful preaching aroused Europe to the Second Crusade (1145-49), but when the expedition to the Holy Land failed he had to face a harsh backlash from those he had assured were ‘the lucky generation’.

  Bohemond of Taranto, prince of Antioch (1098-1111) The greatest warrior of the First Crusade. A Norman from southern Italy who took part in a failed invasion of the Byzantine Empire in the 1080s. A lack of prospects in Italy led him to set up the principality of Antioch during the First Crusade in contravention of oaths sworn to Alexius Comnenus. When at Constantinople, his striking appearance — he was a tall, yet slightly stooped man with a broad chest and strong arms, short brown hair and red stubble — impressed Alexius’s daughter Anna who wrote admiringly of his physique, if despising his actions. Imprisoned by the Muslims of northern Syria from 1100 to 1103. He travelled to the West in 1106-7 to raise a new crusade — against the Greeks. His attack in 1108 did not succeed and he returned to southern Italy where he died.

  Bohemond II, prince of Antioch (1126-30) A minor living in the family lands in Norman Sicily when he succeeded to the title of Antioch in 1119. After reaching his majority in 1126 he travelled to the Levant to claim his position. He married Alice, a daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and fathered Princess Constance. He died in battle in 1130.

  Conrad III, king of Germany (1138-52) Conrad led the largest contingent on the Second Crusade and proved himself a brave and fearsome warrior. His forces lacked discipline, however, and most were lost in Asia Minor. He laid the blame for the failure of the Second Crusade at the door of the Franks, accusing them of being bought off by the Damascenes (1148). He died before he could be crowned emperor in Rome, hence the royal, rather than the imperial title of his predecessors and those who followed him.

  Conrad of Montferrat (d. 1192) From a powerful north Italian family and the brother of William of Montferrat (d. 1177), former husband of Sibylla of Jerusalem. He arrived to lead the defence of Tyre in 1187 and subsequently contested the kingship with Guy of Lusignan. Finally chosen to rule, he was murdered by Assassins, possibly working for Richard I, before he could take power.

  Eugenius III, pope (1145-53) The first Cistercian pope and a protege of Bernard of Clairvaux. Along with Bernard, he organised the Second Crusade and preached in Italy and Paris to raise men.

  Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (1152-90) The most senior figure in western Europe, Frederick ruled over a vast territory encompassing Germany, Burgundy (south-eastern France) and northern Italy. Frederick took part in the Second Crusade (1145-49), but spent much of his reign in conflict with the papacy and the north Italian towns. He was the first major leader to set out on the Third Crusade and successfully crossed the hostile Byzantine Empire and defeated the Seljuk Turks. He died of a heart attack crossing a river at Silifke in southern Turkey.

  Fulcher of Chartres (d. 1127) The chaplain of Count Baldwin of Boulogne, he was educated at the cathedral school of Chartres. He took part in the First Crusade and the conquest of Edessa, and then went to Jerusalem when his master acceded to the throne in 1100. His eye-witness history is an intelligent and balanced work and the most important account of the early decades of the Latin East.

  Fulk, king of Jerusalem (1131-43) Count Fulk V of Anjou visited Jerusalem in 1120. He was chosen to marry Melisende, the heiress to the throne, and travelled East, with a crusade, in 1129. Fulk became king in 1131, but tried to rule without input from Melisende and to advance his own men ahead of the native barons which led to the revolt of Hugh of Jaffa in 1134. The king was a gentle and pious man, although said to have had an embarrassingly bad memory for names and faces. He died from severe head injuries after falling from his horse while hunting hares outside Acre in 1143.

  Gerard of Ridefort Master of the Templars. An aggressive military commander, he led the unsuccessful engagement at Cresson (May 1187) and encouraged King Guy to fight at Hattin. Captured, but later released, by Saladin, he was killed outside Acre in 1189 when his forces became isolated.

  Gilbert d’Assailly Master of the Hospitallers from 1163 until c. 1171. Gilbert led an important diplomatic mission to the West in 1166 and was responsible for a dramatic intensification of the order’s military activities. He probably persuaded King Amalric to invade Egypt in late 1168, but when the expedition failed, the order faced financial crisis and Gilbert suffered a nervous breakdown.

  Godfrey of Bouillon, ruler of Jerusalem (1099-1100) Duke of Lower Lotharingia since 1076. He took part in the First Crusade and held the title ‘Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre’, as ruler of Jerusalem for just over a year before his death.

  Guy of Lusignan, king of Jerusalem (1186-92), king of Cyprus (1192-94) A newcomer from the West, he married Sibylla, heiress to the throne of Jerusalem, in 1180. His position provoked much opposition and he lost the regency held 1183-84. He became king in 1186, and it was his fatal decision to march for Tiberias and face Saladin in battle. He was captured at Hattin, but on his release in 1189 he made partial amends by besieging Acre and giving the Third Crusade a genuine target. Still not a credible king of Jerusalem, he was handsomely compensated by Richard I with the grant of Cyprus.

  Henry II, king of England (1154-89) Closely related to the ruling house of Jerusalem, Henry, as a wealthy western ruler, was often approached to help the settlers. He appeared on the verge of taking the cross in 1170 and 1173, but domestic political events prevented him from setting out for the Levant. He offered generous financial support to the Franks, in part as penance for the murder of Thomas Becket.

  Heraclius, patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 1191) A key player in the factional disputes of the 1180s, Heraclius was a well-educated and worldly man who engineered the coronation of Guy and Sibylla in 1186. He also led a major embassy to the West in 1184-85 to try to elicit a new crusade. There are some suggestions that he was the lover of Agnes of Courtenay, the mother of King Baldwin IV and Sibylla.

  Hugh, count of Jaffa He was a relative of Queen Melisende and led a revolt against King Fulk, probably in protest at the Angevin’s imposition of his own men in positions of power at the expense of the native nobility. Hugh was exiled, but his actions did see a reduction in Fulk’s influence.

  Hugh of Payns The first master of the Templars. This Frenchman founded the Templars in 1119 and travelled to Europe in 1127 to secure ecclesiastical backing and to raise men and money for the order — in both he succeeded admirably. He was also responsible for recruiting men for the 1129 Damascus crusade.

  Ibn al-Qalanisi (d. 1160) The author of one of the earliest surviving contemporary Muslim narratives. A native of Damascus and a well-educated career administrator, he w
as twice mayor of the city. His work derives from oral and written reports as well as his own observations of the First and Second Crusades and Nur ad-Din’s takeover of his beloved home city.

  Louis VII, king of France (1137-80) A most pious king (‘more monk than king’, according to his wife — later ex-wife — Eleanor of Aquitaine), who was the first western ruler to take the cross for the Second Crusade. He led a large army to the Levant, although his forces were badly mauled in Asia Minor. Then, at Antioch (1148), accusations of an affair between Eleanor and her uncle, Prince Raymond, led to a swift march south. As king of France, he was the subject of many appeals from the settlers in the 1160s and 1170s, but while he gave money, his struggle with Henry II of England prevented him from taking the cross again.

  Manuel Comnenus, Byzantine emperor (1143-80) A central figure in the history of the Latin East, Manuel had to balance the various threats to his borders, and his interest in regaining southern Italy, with his wishes to be overlord of Antioch and to advance the Christian position in the Levant. Strongly pro-Latin, he took an Antiochene bride and provided naval support for invasions of Egypt in 1169 and 1177. He accepted the homage of King Amalric in 1171 and also sponsored Orthodox ecclesiastical institutions in the Levant. His death saw the loss of a valuable buttress to the Franks.

  Melisende, queen of Jerusalem (1131-52) The eldest daughter of King Baldwin II, she married Count Fulk V of Anjou in 1129, and bore him two sons, Baldwin and Amalric. An astute political operator, she reduced the influence of Angevin newcomers and then, on Fulk’s death, preserved her hold on power well into Baldwin Ill’s majority, including the time of the Second Crusade. William of Tyre and Bernard of Clairvaux both admired her skills in government. Melisende was also a great patron of Christian churches (her mother was Armenian) and the arts.

  Nur ad-Din (1117-74) He was the man who advanced the jihad most strongly before Saladin. He was a tall man with a beard, but no moustache, and beautiful eyes. A son of Zengi, his powerbase was in northern Syria at Aleppo. He helped to head off the Second Crusade from Damascus in 1148 and then killed Prince Raymond of Antioch in 1149. A very devout and austere man, he did much to promote religious learning and the welfare of his people through the construction of hospitals and bathhouses and the administration of justice. He was a dangerous opponent of the Franks and captured Banyas in 1165, and then, crucially, Egypt in 1169. He faced some challenge from Saladin in his final years, but always posed a serious threat to the Franks.

  Philip, count of Flanders (1168-91) The son of Count Thierry of Flanders, Philip arrived with a large crusade in 1177-78, but political wrangling prevented a proper invasion of Egypt, as planned. He fought a campaign in northern Syria, late in 1177 and into 1178. The count returned to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, but died of illness at the siege of Acre.

  Raymond of Poitiers, prince of Antioch (1136-49) A member of the prestigious ducal house of Aquitaine, Raymond was selected to marry Constance, the heiress to Antioch. He proved an able and vigorous prince, who managed to see off Byzantine invasions of the principality in 1137-38 and 1142; he was, however, forced to travel to Constantinople in 1145 to swear homage to Manuel. Raymond believed that the Second Crusade would increase Antiochene power in northern Syria, but disagreements with King Louis VII of France and rumours of an affair between the prince and Queen Eleanor ended this hope. He was killed by Nur ad-Din’s forces at the Battle of Inab and his head was sent to the caliph of Baghdad.

  Raymond of St Gilles, count of Tripoli (d. 1105) The count of Toulouse was the senior leader of the First Crusade armies and a confidant of Pope Urban II. He left his homeland determined to settle in the East, although when he failed to secure the crown of Jerusalem (he had antagonised many of the other crusade leaders) he went north to found the county of Tripoli. Burns sustained in a skirmish in 1104 contributed to his death in February 1105, four years before the city of Tripoli itself came under Frankish power.

  Raymond III, count of Tripoli (d. 1187) This slightly-built, swarthy and energetic man was one of the key players in the history of the kingdom of Jerusalem. He became count of Tripoli in 1152, but was in Muslim captivity from 1164 to 1171 (where he learned to read). He married the heiress of Galilee and became a prominent player in the kingdom of Jerusalem, acting as regent for Baldwin IV between 1174 and 1176 and for Baldwin V in 1185-86. He worked closely with the Ibelin family and was regarded by many as the most capable candidate for the throne. His opponents, Guy and Sibylla, secured power and he rebelled, opening negotiations with Saladin. He fought alongside Guy at Hattin and managed to escape the field of battle. He died later that year, probably of pleurisy.

  Reynold of Chatillon (d. 1187) Contrary to William of Tyre’s asides, Reynald was from a noble French family, rather than the lowly stock that the writer (who disliked him strongly) suggested. He arrived in the Levant and soon caused a stir by marrying Constance, the widowed heiress of Antioch (1153). He was a brutal and undiplomatic ruler who ordered the Byzantine-controlled island of Cyprus to be ravaged in 1156. He was compelled to pay homage to Manuel in 1159 and then spent the years 1160 to 1175 as a prisoner of the Muslims, which hardened his opposition to the infidel even further. He came to play a prominent role in the political struggles in Jerusalem by his acquisition of the lordship of Transjordan. He was regent for Baldwin IV between 1178 and 1180 and devised the bold seaborne raid on Medina in late 1182. His attack on a Muslim caravan in 1187 provoked Saladin to war. Reynald’s actions had aroused deep hatred in Saladin and he was executed by the emir himself after the Battle of Hattin.

  Richard I, king of England (1189-99) This highly educated and strategically cautious monarch is famous as the greatest warrior of the Third Crusade and his fighting prowess and intelligence were hugely respected by his Muslim opponents. The king captured Cyprus in 1191, and freed Acre in the same year, but his attempts on Jerusalem failed. Richard planned to return to the Holy Land, but his imprisonment on the way home, the huge ransom needed to free him and the ongoing conflict with France conspired to keep him in the West until his premature death from gangrene, contracted from an arrow-wound besieging a castle in Aquitaine.

  Roger of Salerno, prince of Antioch (1112-19) Roger was the nephew of Tancred and continued to press the Muslims of northern Syria. He won a great battle at Tell-Danith in 1115, but poor tactics led to his death (along with most of the Antiochene nobility) at the Battle of the Field of Blood in 1119.

  Saladin (1137-93) Born of Kurdish stock, this highly skilled horseman rose through the ranks to take control of Egypt on behalf of Nur ad-Din in 1169. He is described as a short man, with a roundish face, a trim black beard and keen, alert black eyes. He placed members of his family in positions of power and seemed to challenge his master’s authority. When Nur ad-Din died, Saladin took on the mantle of the defender of Islam and set about unifying the Muslim world through warfare and diplomacy. Famed for his austerity, generosity and justice, Saladin increased the pressure on the Franks until he defeated them at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. The subsequent capture of Jerusalem assured him of heroic status, although the successes of the Third Crusade at Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa dented this image, among contemporaries at least. He died aged 46, worn out by years of campaigning.

  Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem (d. 1190) Because her brother, Baldwin IV, was a leper, Sibylla was the heiress to Jerusalem. Her first marriage to William Longsword, count of Montferrat, lasted only a few months and left her pregnant with Baldwin V. A proposed marriage to the count of Burgundy fell through and in 1180 she married Guy of Lusignan. Sibylla and Guy fought hard to hold power and successfully outmanoeuvred Raymond III of Tripoli to take the crown. Sibylla died of illness at the siege of Acre in 1190.

  Tancred, prince of Antioch (d. 1112) Tancred took part in the First Crusade with his uncle, Bohemond of Taranto. He became regent of Antioch when Bohemond was in Muslim captivity and then took over the principality when his uncle was in the West. Tancred fought hard against the Muslims of n
orthern Syria and reduced Aleppo to subservience. He also sought Muslim support in his unsuccessful efforts to take over Edessa in 1108 and thereby establish Antiochene pre-eminence in the region.

  Thierry, count of Flanders (1128-68) This man was the most devoted — and hardy — crusader of all. He journeyed to the Levant and back four times in 1139, 1147-48, 1157-58 and 1164 — and lived to tell the tale. He was from a line of crusading counts and was related to the kings of Jerusalem. The stability and wealth of Flanders allowed him to indulge his piety. It was planned that he should take over the lordship of Shaizar if the Christians captured it in 1157, but the attack failed.

  Urban II, pope (1088-99) The first Cluniac monk to become pope, Urban was of a Burgundian noble family and became a strong advocate of papal reform. He worked to advance the reconquista in Spain, as well as launching the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in November 1095.

  Walter the Chancellor Historian and author of a first-hand narrative account of events in Antioch between 1114-15 and 1119-22, including therefore, the Battle of the Field of Blood (1119) and the regency of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem. He is by far the most detailed authority for this period. His perspective was that belief in God and right intention would be rewarded by victory and that deviation from these principles brought about defeat. The date of his death was before 1127.

  William of Tyre (c. 1130-85) Historian and author of the most important history of the Latin East. William was born in the Levant and educated in Europe c. 1145 to c. 1165. On his return to the East he secured high ecclesiastical position, becoming archbishop of Tyre in 1175 and was chancellor from 1170 until Amalric’s death in 1174. He led a diplomatic mission to Constantinople in 1167-68, and was a strong supporter of Count Raymond III of Tripoli’s candidacy as ruler of Jerusalem. His work was intended to convince the people of the West that the settlers in the Holy Land deserved help. William died in 1185 and so his history is not clouded by the events of Hattin, although such was the value of his writing that it was soon widely circulated in Europe and added to by later writers. William also wrote a history of the Muslims of the Near East, although this is lost.