World history1095 – 129117 events
The Crusades
From the Council of Clermont to the fall of Acre — two centuries of war between Latin Europe and the Islamic world over the Holy Land
The theme on the map
17 events in this theme
At the Council of Clermont Pope Urban II called on Christians to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule, setting the crusading movement in motion.
- 1096 – 1099First Crusade
Launched at the call of Pope Urban II, the crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099 and founded the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
- 1098 – 1109Founding of the Crusader States
The First Crusade set up the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the County of Tripoli in the Levant; they lasted about two centuries.
After a siege of just over a month the First Crusade took Jerusalem and massacred much of its Muslim and Jewish population.
- 1144Fall of Edessa
Zengi of Mosul took Edessa, destroying the first crusader state; the news prompted the Second Crusade.
- 1147 – 1149Second Crusade
After Edessa fell, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany marched east, but they failed before Damascus and gained nothing.
- 1187Battle of Hattin
At Hattin in Galilee Saladin destroyed the main army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and captured King Guy of Lusignan.
Three months after Hattin Saladin besieged Jerusalem and accepted its surrender; unlike in 1099, the inhabitants were allowed to leave on payment of ransom.
- 1189 – 1192Third Crusade
After Jerusalem fell, Emperor Frederick I, Philip II of France and Richard I of England went east; they retook Acre but not Jerusalem.
- 1189 – 1191Siege of Acre
After a siege of nearly two years Acre surrendered once Richard I and Philip II arrived; it then became the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Bound for Egypt but in debt to Venice, the crusade turned aside, captured and sacked the Christian city of Constantinople, and set up the Latin Empire.
Bands of youths and poor people set out from France and Germany for the Holy Land; most dispersed or starved, and some were said to have been sold into slavery.
- 1217 – 1221Fifth Crusade
Striking at Egypt first, the crusaders took Damietta, but on the march to Cairo they were trapped by the Nile flood and gave Damietta back.
- 1228 – 1229Sixth Crusade
The excommunicated Emperor Frederick II, without fighting, negotiated with Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt to receive Jerusalem for ten years.
- 1248 – 1254Seventh Crusade
Louis IX of France invaded Egypt and took Damietta but was crushed at Mansurah and captured; he was released for a ransom.
- 1270Eighth Crusade
Louis IX set out again and attacked Tunis in North Africa, but disease swept his camp, the king died and the crusade ended.
- 1291Fall of Acre
The Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Khalil captured Acre, the last crusader stronghold, ending the crusader states in the Levant.
Key people
- Saladin1137 – 1193
Sultan and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty who united Egypt and Syria, won at Hattin in 1187 and retook Jerusalem
- Guy of Lusignan1194
King of Jerusalem (r. 1186–1192), captured by Saladin at Hattin and later lord of Cyprus
- Richard I of England1157 – 1199
King of England (r. 1189–1199), “the Lionheart”, who retook Acre in the Third Crusade and made the Treaty of Jaffa with Saladin
- Philip II of France1165 – 1223
King of France (r. 1180–1223), “Augustus”, who went on the Third Crusade, left after Acre fell and seized England’s French lands
- al-Kamil1177 – 1238
Ayyubid sultan of Egypt (r. 1218–1238) who defeated the Fifth Crusade and ceded Jerusalem to Frederick II by treaty in 1229
- Louis IX of France1214 – 1270
King of France (r. 1226–1270), “Saint Louis”, captured in Egypt on the Seventh Crusade and died of disease at Tunis on the Eighth
- Pope Urban II1035 – 1099
Pope (r. 1088–1099) who launched the First Crusade with his call at the Council of Clermont in 1095
- Godfrey of Bouillon1100
Duke of Lower Lorraine who led the First Crusade to Jerusalem and became its first ruler, styling himself Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre rather than king
- Louis VII of France1120 – 1180
King of France (r. 1137–1180) who joined the Second Crusade with Queen Eleanor and failed before Damascus
- Conrad III of Germany1093 – 1152
King of Germany (r. 1138–1152) who led the Second Crusade and was badly defeated by the Seljuks in Anatolia
- Bernard of Clairvaux1090 – 1153
Cistercian abbot whose preaching at the pope’s request drew the kings of France and Germany into the Second Crusade
- Frederick I Barbarossa1122 – 1190
Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1155–1190) who led the Third Crusade overland and drowned in the Saleph River in Anatolia