Crusader Jerusalem

Week 9 Lecture 1 (3/1/11):

When people think of the Crusades today, they think of knights marching on a quest to conquer Jerusalem. However, back in the 10th century, the Crusade was more than a war. It was a holy war authorized by a pope on Christ's behalf. This authorization makes the act of killing in God's name acceptable. Also, people who went on the Crusades had to take proper vows, and thereby received indulgences for their efforts. Indulgences were remissions of penalties and sins given to those who either paid funds to the church or went on these Crusades. The use of indulgences eventually led to the Protestant Reformation that would divide Christianity into more sects. The expansion of Islam, the Great Schism, the persecution of Christians, and the difficulty of pilgrimages to Jerusalem all created a lot of zealous for this war.

The first Crusade began in 1095 after Pope Urban II preached about this "holy war." Jerusalem would overtaken 4 years later, in 1099, by Godfrey de Buillon, and Baldwin became king in 1100. During Crusader Jerusalem, the Islamic monuments, such as the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, were modified to accommodate the Christians. There was mass rebuilding of ruined Byzantine Churches, especially the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that was burned down in 1099. It was finally rebuilt under one roof, and became a central part of the Patriarch's quarter. The Temple Mount was known as the Templar's quarter, the northeast quarter was called the Syrian quarter, and the southwest side was known as the Armenian quarter. Crusader Jerusalem did not last long. In 1187, Saladin conquered Jerusalem at the Horns of Hattin and converted Jerusalem back into a Muslim city. However, Christians and Jews were still allowed to have pilgrimages to Jerusalem. There were many small crusade efforts after 1187, but this all ended in 1291 when the last Crusader outpost fell.