Lecture 15: Crusader Jerusalem

We had a guest lecturer for Crusader Jerusalem. One interesting thing about the Crusades is that the terminology it used still exists today. The idea of a Holy War is invoked several times beyond the era of the actual Crusades. As a result of the Crusades, Jerusalem returned to Christian rule. In 638 CE, Byzantine control of the city fell to Islamic groups all the way until 1099 when Crusaders lay seige to the city. During the Islamic rule, there were several dynasties in power such as the Umayyad from 661-750, the Abbasid from 750-969, and the Fatamid from 969-1099. During the Abbasid rule, there was an increase in the amount of pilgrimage to the city. During the Fatamid era, there were increased conflicts between the Fatamid Muslims and the Turks. Later when control of Jerusalem passed to the Crusaders, they established the Latin Kingdom from 1099-1187.

There were several causes for the Crusades such as political, religious, and socio-economic reasons. When Pope Urban II issued his speech in 1095 CE, he called the people to free Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. There was also a late reaction to the difficulty of Christians making pilgrimages to Jerusalem. 2nd and 3rd sons ventured in the Crusades to make something for themselves because they did not receive the family inheritance. One unexpected result of Pope Urban II's speech was the large response from people of different classes including peasants and nobility. The reason for the 4 year gap between the time of the speech and the taking of Jerusalem was that the nobility took time to pool their resources. The peasants went first and were massacred by the Turks.

When the city was taken, the scene was depicted as extremely bloody. The Franks slaughtered more than 70,000. After taking the city, the Crusaders increased the construction of buildings in the city. They also established quarters. The Patriarch's quarter was for religious aspects. The Templar quarters was for the knights. The Syrian quarter was where the walls were first breached and the Armenian quarter. One of buildings that was rebuilt was the Holy Sepulcher church to have a more Romanesque style featuring walls with small openings. There is alot of tension between the various sects of Christianity regarding the Church. It is so tense that the keepers of the church are Muslims from a long lineage of  gatekeepers for the church.

Later, the Crusaders were defeated by Saladin and the city falls to Muslim rule once more. One of the agreements that Saladin made with the Christians was that Christians would be allowed safe passage if they surrendered the city. He also gave the Holy Sepulcher to the Greeks. The Muslim retaking of the city was much more humane than the manner in which the Christians took the city in 1099.