Cody Austin

World History Pre-1500

Honors Research Paper
Jonathan OBrian

The Crusades: The Unjustifiable Vilification of Muslims

Holy wars have been known to wreak havoc throughout the past. It is even debatable as
to whether or not there are still holy wars being fought today and the not too distant past.
Terrorist groups continue to be religiously-motivated. However, The Crusades in this context
refers to the series of holy wars invoked by Pope Urban II in Jerusalem in 1095 A.D. These
crusades went on for almost 200 years, as many risked their lives fighting for what they
considered to be Holy Land.
Prior to the Crusades, the Muslims already had unfavorable views towards Christians.
Not as though they were hostile towards Christians, but rather they were condescending.
Muslims believed their religion was more complete than Christianity, with the prophet
Muhammad as the seal of the prophets. Overall the Muslims knew little and cared very little
about Europe. The Muslims had formed somewhat stereotypical opinions about the Franks based
on travel accounts, oral narratives from prisoners of war, merchants, stories, and so on. This is
common however for juxtaposing religious viewpoints to form negative views about one another
and is still very existent today.
Initially, the First Crusade began with the Byzantine Empire losing Christian control of
Constantinople to the Muslim Turks. The Byzantine Empire then requested assistance from Pope
Urban II who gladly complied in helping Byzantines. The first crusade included five armies of

around 69,000 people including knights, infantrymen, and mostly peasants. However, most were
killed by the Turks in Asia Minor, but were soon followed by five more armies, this time
consisting of around 100,000 people. After taking Nicaea in 1097, and Antioch in 1098, the
crusaders led an attack on the Turkish state of Jerusalem on July 15th, 1099, and for three days
the crusaders proceeded to mercilessly kill off 30,000 of its inhabitants, including 10,000
Muslims. They also massacred the remaining Jewish and Christian populations, male and female.
(Pierson, 2009). Those who fought in the First Crusade were promised plenary indulgences by
the Pope. These were full indulgences, essentially securing a place in heaven after death, a
tremendous incentive at the time. This day I say, will be famous in all future ages, for it turned
our labors and sorrows into joy and exultation; this day, I say, marks the justification of all
Christianity, the humiliation of paganism, the renewal of faith., remarks Raymond of Aguilers,
proud eye-witness of the First Crusade (Armstrong, 1997). As successful as this first crusade
was, as the name indicates, this war served as only the first of more gruesome holy wars to come.
The Muslims were now seen as a vile and abominable race, only fit for extermination, while
prior to the war Muslims were looked at with indifference (Robert the Monk quoted by Jonathan
Riley-Smith). Due to the initiation of this First Crusade, Muslims were now the target of
unwarranted belligerence, and this would haunt Muslims for ages to come.
The crusaders aimed to blot out the existence of Muslims through slaughter, and by
covering up any Qur'anic inscriptions at the formerly Muslim temple in the newly-conquered
Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock; they replaced these inscriptions with Latin texts. They started this
venture of conversion in 1115, however it would not be completely converted into the "Temple
of the Lord" until 1142. At first, Jerusalem strictly forbade communication and trade with
Muslims, but by the late 1100's under the rule of Baldwin II, Muslims were allowed restricted

permission into Jerusalem. They could bring in food and merchandise, and even stay in town for
short periods of time. By now, the Franks had begun to forget about Europe and turned to native
ways because at this time the Islamic world had attained a higher standard of living than in
Europe. However, there still existed a massive schism in Jerusalem, between Western
Christianity and Islam, and the Frankish-dominant Jerusalem embodied this notion by erecting
massive stone wall barriers, and by remaining militarily alert.
After Baldwin II died, he was succeeded by his daughter Melisende and her husband
Fulk, count of Anjou, and what they inherited were growing tensions, as one of the first strong
Muslim leaders had started to rise in the Near East: Imad ad-Din Zangi. Zangi had been growing
his empire by absorbing lands like Syria and Iraq by bringing their chieftains to submission with
the help of Baghdad. Fulk fortified the borders of the city and established an alliance through a
treaty with Unur the prince of Demascus, who was also worried about Zangi overtaking his city.
Zangi however, had no interest in taking over Frankish land at this time.
Usamah ibn Mundiqh, who had settled the treaty between Fulk and Unur, was a Syrian
prince around this time period. In his memoirs, he provides his view of the Franks, and based on
his writings, his opinions of them are somewhat ambiguous. At times he refers to them as great
friends, while other times he curses them, May Allah render them helpless! May Allahs
curse be upon them!, he would exclaim (Christie, 1996). Though he did look favorably upon
their physical courage, he was also greatly disgusted by their disrespectful treatment of women
and their religious intolerance. In one story, Usamah describes how he was in prayer while
facing Mecca, and a Frank ran over and picked him up, facing him East, yelling That is the way
to pray! Usamah had a noticeable juxtaposition in his opinions about the Europeans, but overall
he seemed irritated with them, as though they were an inconvenience to the world. These are

relatively suppressed views for the time, but Usamah had worked closely with and become
friends with many Franks, most likely mitigating potentially hostile views towards Europeans.
The Frankish state of Jerusalem had begun to empathize with Muslims more, there were
also citizens who simply wanted a normal relationship with neighboring lands. This led to an
expanding internal conflict in the holy land, putting Jerusalem in a state of disarray. This
weakness allowed for Zangi to conquer the city of Edessa in 1144, shattering the Frankish state.
Two years later, Zangi died and was succeeded by his son Nur ad-Din. Nur ad-Din lived a
devout Sunni Muslim lifestyle, and though the Quran is against war, it also tells that, Those
who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah,
precisely what had happened to the Muslims in Jerusalem, are justified in fighting a jihad, or a
Muslim holy war (Quran 22:40). And so, Nur ad-Din restored Jerusalem by renovating
mosques, and eventually overran the Franks. Near-Eastern Muslims now had seen the Frankish
religious centers that replaced their mosques from before the First Crusade. Their anger was
most similar to if not greater than the furious reactions of Americans On September 21, 2011, ten
years after and two blocks away from the 9/11 attacks, where a Muslim center called Park51 or
"The Ground Zero Mosque", was proposed to be established.
Muslim military strategies during the crusades were a major contributor to their success
against the Frankish armies. Though it is frequently alleged that the Frankish soldiers were more
well-armed than the Muslims, it has been disproven. The Muslim armies wore armour in battle
ever since the end of the tenth century, putting them on a level playing field with their Frankish
counterparts. The Frankish infantry did have the advantage of strong powerful horses, whereas
the Muslims were more well-equipped with pikes, maces, javelins and crossbows. Each side had
its strong points leveling out to almost equally opposing forces. The key to the success of

Muslim forces was that as opposed to the strength and force of the European horses, the Muslim
armies had better mobility with their horses. This provided a significant advantage for them. The
advantage of mobility allowed the Turks to maintain a safe distance from the intimidating
Frankish horses. This gave them the opportunity to choose the time at which they would strike
and confront the Franks. Other advantages included feigning retreats to tire out the enemy, the
ability to quickly attack the Franks at their weakest spot, and to force the Franks to fight on the
move. The Muslims did this by attacking the Franks by rapidly firing their arrows then moving
back to a safe spot. In many cases, the Frankish armies were very well-armored to the point that
the arrows of the Muslim horse archer hardly took out any enemies directly, but rather focused
on taking out their horses and the general cohesion of the European forces. As for the layout of
the Muslim forces, it was very well put together. The cavalry performed a multitude of different
tasks, such as assault, scouting, raiding, and pursuit just to name a few (Hillenbrand).
The second crusade initiated in 1148 is infamous in how much of a failure it was for the
Franks. The Frankish Europeans had recently lost Aleppo and Edessa to Nur ad-Din. The Franks
then, instead of going after Edessa, turned against Unur of Demascus, their only Muslim ally at
the time. In response, Unur turned to the aid of Nur ad-Din, whose armies would provide much
greater resistance to the large Frankish armies than if the Franks had attacked Nur ad-Din in the
Islamic state of Edessa, which initially triggered the second crusade. And despite the failure of
the second crusade for the Franks, it had still created a mood shift for the Muslims of Demascus
to unite in jihad against the Franks; this event had created an even greater divide between the
Franks and the Muslims. Despite the victory of the Islamic State of Demascus, the Muslims had
still not been expecting to be the target of an attack by the Franks of Europe (Hillenbrand, p.116-

117). At this point, the Muslims wanted nothing to do with the potentially hostile Franks, as they
were clearly the victims of baseless vitriol.
Nur ad-Din went on to conquer Demascus in 1154, and then turned his attention to Egypt.
The Crusaders however also turned to Egypt, but they were stymied by a Muslim army sent by a
Kurdish soldier Shirkuh in 1168. Shirkuhs nephew Saladin took over the leadership of the
Muslim army after the death of his uncle in 1169. Saladin now acting as the lieutenant of Nur adDin, proceeded to take over and abolish the Fatimid caliphate in 1171, and in 1174 Nur ad-Din
died, allowing Saladin to take the reigns as the next and most well-known Muslim leader.
Saladin worked effortlessly at uniting Egypt and Syria from 1174-1187, reconquering
Acre in the battle of Hattin on July 4th, 1187, and eventually retaking Jerusalem on October 7th,
1187. Saladin is arguably a better ruler than his predecessor Nur ad-Din, as he had the advantage
of modelling himself after Nur ad-Din, and eventually surpassed him in his achievements. Abu
Shama who wrote about Nur ad-Din and Saladin in his book The Book of the Two Gardens
during the Ayyubid period (the Ayyubids were the dynasty of Saladin), pronounced Saladin as
the greater in the practice of Jihad (Abu Shama Kitab al-rawdatayn). Abu Shama mainly
contributes this to the fact that Saladin was the one who conquered more territories and the Holy
Land of Jerusalem. However, without the help of Nur ad-din, there would not have been such a
foundation for a jihad laid out for Saladin, certainly a contributor to Saladin's later success.
Though overshadowed by Saladin, there is no doubt that both leaders were revolutionary military
chiefs who propagated a consistent cohesive Muslim rule, giving them the upper hand to the less
organized Franks of the time.

After the fall of Jerusalem, the ignition of the Third Crusade began with an attack on
Acre in 1191. The three most powerful monarchs of Western Europe, Frederick Barbarossa of
Rome, Philip of France, and Richard the Lionheart, embarked on the Third Crusade. During this
period, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin had negotiated for Jerusalem. Richard vowed to never
give up on the fight for Jerusalem, Saladin responded "Jerusalem is to us as it is to you. It is even
more important for us, since it is the site of our Prophet's nocturnal journey and the place where
the people will assemble on the Day of Judgement. Do not imagine therefore that we can waver
in this regard" (Elisseeff, BEO). Saladin even proved his devout commitment to the protection of
Jerusalem by assisting in the building of walls and trenches around the holy site, so that all
would follow his example in helping to defend Jerusalem. Despite the Third Crusade leading to
the capture of Acre and a few other territories, the Third Crusade ended in a truce in 1192,
agreeing that the Muslims would continue to hold on to Jerusalem while the Franks will own
some land on the coastal strip. However, after the death of Saladin in 1193, Franks would
attempt a Fourth Crusade.
In 1202, the Franks had it to believe that Egypt was the key to regaining the holy land of
Jerusalem, and so Boniface de Montferrat and Baldwin IX of Flanders went off on the Fourth
Crusade. However, instead of going after Egypt, this crusade ended with the taking of
Constantinople, establishing it as a Latin Empire in April 1204.
From 1193-1250, the Ayyubids, Saladin's family dynasty reigned, and refrained from illconsidered jihad. They instead maintained realpolitik ideals of detente. This equilibrium was
accomplished for the economic advantages of keeping Frankish territories for reliable trade
routes. However, in later years the Ayyubid dynasty started to get attacked in Egypt by what
would go on to be the Fifth Crusade.

Egypt was still seen as the key to regaining Jerusalem. Around 1218, crusaders set out for
their first target to seize which was Damietta. Damietta was a town on the Nile delta which
guarded the main route upriver to Cairo which was the main goal considering it was where
Egypt's sultan resided. Therefore, to capture his capital would mean the rest of Egypt would fall
into place (Knox, Boise State University). The crusaders first struggled with reinforcements, but
eventually succeeded in digging into Damietta, and eventually conquered it in 1219, only to be
re-conquered two years later by al-Kamil.
Meanwhile, the Mongols were an ever present threat to Muslims. Christian monarchs
sought out the Mongols as alliances to gang up on the Muslims. After learning about these
Frankish plans to gang up and take over Jerusalem, the Ayyubid sultan of the time al-Mu'azzam
felt obligated to begin dismantling Jerusalem's fortifications. If the Franks were to take
Jerusalem, they would kill those in it and rule over Demascus and the countries of Islam.
Necessity demands its destruction, al-Muazzam said in defense of his actions. This dismantling
however was a very unpopular idea, and it created a rift of distress in Jerusalem's Muslim
population. They began on the walls on the first day of Muharram and there occurred an outcry.
Secluded women and girls, old men and women, and young men and boys went out to the Dome
of the Rock and the Aqsa and they cut their hair and ripped their clothing to such an extent that
the Rock and Aqsa mihrab were filled with hair (Sibt, VIII/2, 601).
Inevitably the city became abandoned, and a decade later the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil
relinquished the city of Jerusalem to Frankish emperor Frederick II in a 10-year treaty, this was
the Sixth Crusade, but involved less fighting and more diplomacy. This treaty, established in
1229, only gave Muslims access to the Muslim religious areas of Jerusalem, and in return the
Franks would not attack Egypt. The sultan al-Kamil justified this maneuver by claiming that with

Jerusalems defenses down, it could be taken over for Islam fairly easily later on. In reality
however, al-Kamil did this to avoid a lashing back from his Syrian relatives and al-Muazzam, his
brother. Most importantly, he wanted the military support of Frederick II. This decision, made by
Saladins own descendant to give up Jerusalem, was met with great criticism from the Muslim
community. After the treaty expired 10 years later and right after al-Kamils death, Muslims
easily regained control of Jerusalem as expected. Though unexpectedly what would come to
follow was how shortly after in 1243, the Muslims gave back Jerusalem to the Franks in return
for assistance in breaking up Ayyubid rivalries. Soon Jerusalem would end up taking a major
blow, resulting in another Islamic takeover followed by the end of the few failed crusades.
In 1244, soldiers from Khwarazm conquered Jerusalem during its state of disarray.
Afterwards Jerusalem reverted back to Islamic rule. The seventh Crusade took place from 12481254, when Louis the IV of France captured Damietta in 1249. However this attempt was futile
after Louis IV was cornered in al-Mansura and inevitably surrendered. The eighth Crusade was
an even greater failure on Frances part. Louis IX of France initiated the eighth Crusade in 1270,
but as Louis IX and his troops landed in North Africa, disease spread killing Louis IX and even
his son John Tristan. The remaining troops dispersed back to Europe shortly afterwards,
providing no assistance to the growth of the Europeans. Despite all of this recent failure facing
Europeans with Islamic expansion, Europeans still clung to the notion of crusades. However, this
notion would finally start to grow weaker by the ninth and final crusade.
The Mamluk sultan Baybars played a major role in removing the Franks through the
unification of Syria and Palestine. From 1265-71, he had conquered the previously Frankishcontrolled Antioch in 1268 and Krak des Chevaliers in 1271. Subsequent Mamluk sultans
continued this legacy on conquest and destruction of Crusader possessions, ending with the fall

of Acre on May 18th, 1291. Initially Edward, Henry III of Englands son, had sailed to Acre for
the Ninth and final crusade. However morale was low and the crusading mentality had slowly
started to die off. Not to mention that crusading had become increasingly expensive; the days of
knights serving under a lord and paying their own way had long since passed. Knights and foot
soldiers served for pay now, and the rise of royal authority meant that crusades were no longer
put together by feudal lords, but rather led by kings who were more focused on events going on
at home (Baldwin). The fall of Acre signified the end of Frankish rule.
The Crusades were overall a very messy matter and a lot of confusion surrounds why
they were initiated to such an extent. In the end, it was a massive bloodshed based around very
little logical reasoning. Rather it was a senseless series of battles based around blind faith and illplanned assaults. Even though the first crusade was considered "successful", it only resulted in
the murdering of thousands of innocent men women and children. From a Muslim perspective it
is easy to sympathize with the cruelness that ensued after the rallying of "deus vult" by the
European Christians. All of this brings to light the danger that follows when wars and battles are
fought based on conflicting religious beliefs. The best that can be done at this point is to hope
that history does not repeat itself.

Works Cited

Abu Shama, Kitab al-rawdatayn, partial trans. E. P. Goergens as Zur Geschichte

Salahadins, Berlin, 1879

Armstrong, Karen. "Chapter 13: Crusade." Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New
York: Ballantine, 1997. N. pag. Print.

Baldwin, Marshall W. "Crusades - The Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire of
Constantinople." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, Web.

Christie, Niall G.F., Ph.D. "De Re Militari." De Re Militari. N.p., Sept. 1996. Web.

Elisseeff, N., 'Les Monuments de Nur al-Din' BEO, 12 (1945-51), 5-43

Hillenbrand, Carole. The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Print.

"Islamic Warfare." Islamic Warfare. University of Michigan, Web.

Khan, Vahiduddin, and Faridah Khanam. "Surah 22: The Pilgrimage, Verse 40." The
Quran. New Delhi: Goodword, 2009. N. pag. Print.

Kitab al Itibir, in Francesco Gabrieli, trans. And ed., Arab Historians of the Crusades,
trans. from the Italian by E.J. Costello (London, 1969), p.80.

Knox, Ellis L., Dr. "Classroom." Crusades. Boise State University, n.d. Web.
<http://europeanhistory.boisestate.edu/crusades/classroom.shtml>.

Pierson, Paul Everett. "The Dynamics of Christian Mission." Google Books. N.p., 2009.
Web.

Robert the Monk quoted in Jonathan Riley-Smith, The First Crusade and the Idea of
Crusading (London, 1987), p.143.

Sibt b. al-Jawzi obituary, VIII/2, p.601.