Chapter 6: The Concept of Crusade
There is probably no historical event that is more romanticized, and misunderstood, than that of the series of Western European military incursions into the Middle East and North Africa known as the Crusades. The immediate spark came in 1095 when Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos requested military aid from the West to defend against the Seljuk Turks. In response, Pope Urban II delivered a powerful sermon at the Council of Clermont, calling on Christians to take up arms in a holy war. His call inspired widespread enthusiasm, drawing nobles, knights, and common people alike. This led to the First Crusade (1096–1099), which culminated in the capture of Jerusalem and the establishment of several Crusader states. The movement marked the beginning of centuries of conflict and exchange between the Christian and Muslim worlds.
In Europe and the Americas, the Crusades have long been taught in a positive light, as only the European perspective is usually taught. What of the other peoples that were affected by the Crusades though, not just the Muslim population of the Middle East, but also the Jewish population of Europe and Eastern European Christians? In order to truly understand an event, we need to explore as many points of view as we can, even, and especially, when those perspectives challenge what we think we know.
The traditional Western European Christian understanding will be drawn from Fulcher of Chartres account of Pope Urban II’s speech that launched the First Crusade. For the Jewish perspective, we will rely on a Christian account, by Albert of Aix, that criticized the actions of his fellow Christians in their interactions with the Jewish population of what today is Germany. The Muslim perspective comes from the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, while that of the Byzantines is provided by Nicetas Choniates. The chapter will conclude by looking at a pair of sources, one from the Muslim author Usmah ibn Munqidh and the other once again from Fulcher of Chartres, that will examine interfaith interactions.
6.1 Fulcher of Chartres: Speech at the Council of Clermont (1095)
There are five contemporary accounts of Urban II’s speech at the 1095 Council of Claremont. However, no single account is a perfectly accurate word-for-word transcription, as the chroniclers’ versions likely contain some level of alteration to enhance their narratives, they were all written down after the First Crusade concluded, and there is some doubt as to whether some of the authors were actually there.
Of the five, Fulcher of Chartres’ account is considered the most reliable. Fulcher of Chartres (c. 1059–c. 1127) was a French priest and chronicler. As chaplain to Baldwin of Boulogne, who later became King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Fulcher traveled with the crusading army and witnessed many key events firsthand. His chronicle, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, provides a valuable contemporary perspective on the Crusade, from Pope Urban II’s call to arms to the capture of Jerusalem and the early years of the Crusader states. Written with both religious devotion and political insight, Fulcher’s work offers a window into the motivations, experiences, and worldview of those who took part in the First Crusade.
The following excerpts are from Oliver J. Thatcher, and Edgar Holmes McNeal, eds., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Scribners, 1905).
Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission of God chief bishop and prelate over the whole world, have come into these parts as an ambassador with a divine admonition to you, the servants of God. I hoped to find you as faithful and as zealous in the service of God as I had supposed you to be. But if there is in you any deformity or crookedness contrary to God’s law, with divine help I will do my best to remove it. [He goes on to admonish those in attendance to follow Church law.]
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Although, O sons of God, you have promised more firmly than ever to keep the peace among yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an important work for you to do. Freshly quickened by the divine correction, you must apply the strength of your righteousness to another matter which concerns you as well as God. For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania [the Greek empire] as far west as the shore of the Mediterranean and the Hellespont, which is called the Arm of St. George. They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire. If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ’s heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it.
All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested. O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God and is made glorious with the name of Christ! With what reproaches will the Lord overwhelm us if you do not aid those who, with us, profess the Christian religion! Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the infidels and end with victory this war which should have been begun long ago. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now work for a double honor. Behold! on this side will be the sorrowful and poor, on that, the rich; on this side, the enemies of the Lord, on that, his friends. Let those who go not put off the journey, but rent their lands and collect money for their expenses; and as soon as winter is over and spring comes, let them eagerly set out on the way with God as their guide.
Source: From Bongars, Gesta Dei per Francos, 1, pp. 382 f., trans in Oliver J. Thatcher, and Edgar Holmes McNeal, eds., A Source Book for Medieval History, (New York: Scribners, 1905), 513-17.
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.© Paul Halsall, March 1996
6.2 Albert of Aix: Emico and the Slaughter of the Rhineland Jews (c. 1101)
Sometimes we do not have all the vices that we might want from an event. In this case, we must look for narratives that are sympathetic to the point of view that we are interested in. Albert of Aix was a 12th-century chronicler who wrote one of the earliest histories of the First Crusade, Historia Hierosolymitana. Though he did not personally witness the events, his account provides important details about the experiences of crusaders and the impact of the Crusades on Europe.
One of the most disturbing episodes he describes is the massacre of Jewish communities along the Rhineland in 1096. Led by Count Emico and other rogue crusading groups, these attacks targeted Jews in cities such as Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. Motivated by religious zeal, greed, and anti-Jewish sentiment, these mobs slaughtered thousands, viewing Jews as enemies of Christianity even before reaching the Holy Land. Albert’s account highlights the chaotic and violent nature of the People’s Crusade and the unintended consequences of Pope Urban II’s call to arms, revealing how the fervor of the Crusades could erupt into brutal persecution within Europe itself. When used critically, it can also give us insight into the Jewish perspective of the First Crusade.
The following excerpt is from August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921).
At the beginning of summer in the same year (1096) in which Peter, and Gottschalk, after collecting an army, had set out, there assembled in like fashion a large and innumerable host of Christians from diverse kingdoms and lands; namely, from the realms of France, England, Flanders, and Lorraine. . . . I know not whether by a judgment of the Lord, or by some error of mind, they rose in a spirit of cruelty against the Jewish people scattered throughout these cities and slaughtered them without mercy, especially in the Kingdom of Lorraine, asserting it to be the beginning of their expedition and their duty against the enemies of the Christian faith. This slaughter of Jews was done first by citizens of Cologne. These suddenly fell upon a small band of Jews and severely wounded and killed many; they destroyed the houses and synagogues of the Jews and divided among themselves a very large, amount of money. When the Jews saw this cruelty, about two hundred in the silence of the night began flight by boat to Neuss. The pilgrims and crusaders discovered them, and after taking away all their possessions, inflicted on them similar slaughter, leaving not even one alive.
Not long after this, they started upon their journey, as they had vowed, and arrived in a great multitude at the city of Mainz. There Count Emico, a nobleman, a very mighty man in this region, was awaiting, with a large band of Teutons, the arrival of the pilgrims who were coming thither from diverse lands by the King’s highway.
The Jews of this city, knowing of the slaughter of their brethren, and that they themselves could not escape the hands of so many, fled in hope of safety to Bishop Rothard. They put an infinite treasure in his guard and trust, having much faith in his protection, because he was Bishop of the city. Then that excellent Bishop of the city cautiously set aside the incredible amount of money received from them. He placed the Jews in the very spacious hall of his own house, away from the sight of Count Emico and his followers, that they might remain safe and sound in a very secure and strong place.
But Emico and the rest of his band held a council and, after sunrise, attacked the Jews in the hall with arrows and lances. Breaking the bolts and doors, they killed the Jews, about seven hundred in number, who in vain resisted the force and attack of so many thousands. They killed the women, also, and with their swords pierced tender children of whatever age and sex. The Jews, seeing that their Christian enemies were attacking them and their children, and that they were sparing no age, likewise fell upon one another, brother, children, wives, and sisters, and thus they perished at each other’s hands. Horrible to say, mothers cut the throats of nursing children with knives and stabbed others, preferring them to perish thus by their own hands rather than to be killed by the weapons of the uncircumcised.
From this cruel slaughter of the Jews a few escaped; and a few because of fear, rather than because of love of the Christian faith, were baptized…
Source: August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921), 54-56
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use © Paul Halsall December 1997
6.3 Ibn al Athir, A Complete History (1097-1099)
Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233) was a historian from Mosul. His chronicle, A Complete History, offers a comprehensive narrative of world history from the creation of the world up to the author’s own lifetime. Drawing on earlier sources, Ibn al-Athir provides a detailed account of Islamic history, the rise and fall of dynasties, and major events across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Of particular importance are his descriptions of the Crusades, an excerpt of which is provided in this section.
The following account looks at the Crusades from a non-European perspective, that of the Muslim populations who were invaded. Pay close attention to how the events are interpreted in this account, noting how both the nature of the attack itself and the explanations for why it was happening differ sharply from the perspective presented by Urban
The following excerpts are translations made by Travis Ritt using the Carl Johan Tornberg edition of Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, vol. 10 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1851–1876).
The rise of the Frankish (Crusader) state and their growing strength, as well as their invasion of Muslim lands, began in the year 478 AH (1085 CE), when they captured the city of Toledo and other parts of Al-Andalus, as has been previously mentioned.
Then, in 488 AH (1095/6 CE), they headed towards the island of Sicily and seized it, and they gradually extended their reach to parts of North Africa, capturing some areas and failing in others, as we have already described.
In 490 AH (1097 CE), a great number of the Franks departed, led by Baldwin, a relative of Roger, the ruler of Sicily. He sent a message to Roger saying: “I have gathered a great army and will march toward you. From there, we will proceed together to North Africa, seize it, and become neighbors.”
Roger summoned his advisors and consulted them. They said: “This is a good plan for both of you. The land will become Christian territory, and the faith will be strengthened.” But Roger raised his leg and gave a loud fart, saying: “This act of mine is better than your counsel.” They asked, “How so?” He replied: “If they come to me, I will have to provide them with great expenses — ships to transport them to Africa and troops from my own army. If they succeed, the land will be theirs, and the supplies will come to them from Sicily. I would then lose the wealth and taxes that I receive every year from those lands. If they fail, they will return to my lands, and I will be harmed by their failure. People will accuse me of treachery and breaking my word, and our relations and trade will be severed. But if we leave North Africa as it is, it remains under our control. Whenever we have the strength, we can take it ourselves.”
Then he called for the messenger and said: “If you are determined to fight the Muslims, go instead to Jerusalem and free it from their hands. That will bring you glory and honor. As for Africa, there are treaties and agreements between me and its rulers.”
So, the Franks prepared themselves and marched toward Syria.
It is said that the Fatimids of Egypt, seeing the growing power of the Seljuk state and its domination over the lands of Syria and beyond, feared that there would no longer be a region acting as a buffer between them and Egypt.
To prevent the Seljuks from invading Egypt, they secretly sent envoys to the Franks, inviting them to march to Syria and seize it, so that they would serve as a barrier between the Fatimids and the Seljuks. God knows best.
When the Franks decided to target Syria, they traveled to Constantinople to cross the strait into Muslim lands and proceed by land. However, when they arrived, the Byzantine emperor prevented them from passing through his territories.
He said: “I will not allow you to cross into the lands of Islam unless you pledge that you will deliver Antioch to me.” His true intention was to push them toward fighting in Muslim lands, thinking this would serve his interests.
…
After consolidating their strength, the Franks began their campaign. They first attacked a fortress, capturing it and killing everyone inside. Once they finished burning it, they received news that Jerusalem had been taken by another group of Franks from the north.
On the seventh day before the end of Sha‘ban (July 15, 1099 CE), they entered Jerusalem through the northern gate in broad daylight. The Crusaders slaughtered the inhabitants mercilessly. For three continuous days, they killed Muslims indiscriminately, filling the streets and houses with corpses.
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The Franks then massacred worshippers in the al-Aqsa Mosque, killing over 70,000 people, including many religious scholars, ascetics, and devout men who had left their homelands to live near the holy site. They looted treasures beyond calculation…The devastation was immense.
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When news of this catastrophe reached the Muslims in Syria, many fled in despair and traveled to Baghdad during the month of Ramadan. They recounted the horrors in the royal court, bringing tears to the eyes and grief to the hearts of all who heard. On a certain night, they gathered in the great mosque to lament and weep. The entire city mourned. They described in vivid detail the mass killings, the enslavement of women and children, and the plundering of wealth. The calamity was so great that they broke their fast out of anguish and sorrow.
Source: Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, edited by Carl Johan Tornberg, vol. 10 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1851–1876), 185-6; 193-4. The Arabic is available with a Public Domain Mark 1.0 license. Translations by Travis Ritt. Translation is free to use for educational purposes.
6.4 Nicetas Choniates: The Sack of Constantinople (1204)
Nicetas Choniates (c. 1155–1217) was a Byzantine statesman, historian, and writer whose works provide a detailed account of the later years of the Byzantine Empire, particularly during the period of the Crusades. Born in Chonai, in Asia Minor, Nicetas rose through the ranks of the imperial bureaucracy, eventually holding high administrative positions under several emperors.
His most famous work, the Historia (or Annals), covers the years from 1118 to 1207 and offers a first-hand perspective on the decline of the empire. Nicetas is especially well-known for his description of the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, which he witnessed personally. Though the Fourth Crusade was originally directed at Egypt, through the agency of the Venetians, to whom the Crusade leaders were in depth, it was eventually diverted to Constantinople. While the First Crusade had originally been called to aid the Byzantine Empire, a little over a century later, it found itself a target.
The following excerpt is from D. C. Munro, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Series 1, Vol 3:1 (rev. ed.) (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1912).
. . . How shall I begin to tell of the deeds wrought by these nefarious men! Alas, the images, which ought to have been adored, were trodden under foot! Alas, the relics of the holy martyrs were thrown into unclean places! Then was seen what one shudders to hear, namely, the divine body and blood of Christ was spilled upon the ground or thrown about. They snatched the precious reliquaries, thrust into their bosoms the ornaments which these contained, and used the broken remnants for pans and drinking cups…
Nor can the violation of the Great Church [Hagia Sophia] be listened to with equanimity. For the sacred altar, formed of all kinds of precious materials and admired by the whole world, was broken into bits and distributed among the soldiers, as was all the other sacred wealth of so great and infinite splendor.
When the sacred vases and utensils of unsurpassable art and grace and rare material, and the fine silver, wrought with gold, which encircled the screen of the tribunal and the ambo, of admirable workmanship, and the door and many other ornaments, were to be borne away as booty, mules and saddled horses were led to the very sanctuary of the temple. Some of these which were unable to keep their footing on the splendid and slippery pavement, were stabbed when they fell, so that the sacred pavement was polluted with blood and filth.
Nay more, a certain harlot…insulting Christ, sat in the patriarch’s seat, singing an obscene song and dancing frequently… with one consent all the most heinous sins and crimes were committed by all with equal zeal…
Nothing was more difficult and laborious than to soften by prayers, to render benevolent, these wrathful barbarians, vomiting forth bile at every unpleasing word, so that nothing failed to inflame their fury. Whoever attempted it was derided as insane and a man of intemperate language. Often they drew their daggers against any one who opposed them at all or hindered their demands.
No one was without a share in the grief. In the alleys, in the streets, in the temples, complaints, weeping, lamentations, grief, the groaning of men, the shrieks of women, wounds, rape, captivity, the separation of those most closely united. Nobles wandered about ignominiously, those of venerable age in tears, the rich in poverty. Thus it was in the streets, on the corners, in the temple, in the dens, for no place remained unassailed or defended the suppliants. All places everywhere were filled full of all kinds of crime. Oh, immortal God, how great the afflictions of the men, bow great the distress!
Source: trans. by D. C. Munro, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Series 1, Vol 3:1 (rev. ed.) (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1912), 15-16.
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use © Paul Halsall March 1996
6.5 Usmah Ibn Munqidh: Muslim and Christian Piety (c. 1175) and Fulcher of Chartres: The Latins in the East (c. 1101)
Usmah ibn Munqidh (1095–1188) was a Syrian Muslim nobleman, poet, warrior, and author. Born into a prominent family in the fortress town of Shayzar, in northern Syria, ibn Munqidh was deeply involved in the political and military affairs of his time. He served various rulers, including the Fatimids in Egypt and the Zengid dynasty, and moved between courts as both a diplomat and a warrior. He is best known for his memoir, Kitab al-I’tibar (The Book of Learning by Example), which provides a deeply personal perspective on the Crusades and daily life in the medieval Islamic world. In it, he recounts his experiences and offers stories of cross-cultural encounters. His work is especially valuable because it shows a nuanced view of the Crusaders: while he was a defender of his faith and homeland, he also recognized the humanity of his enemies, even forming friendships with some Frankish knights. The other author in the section, Fulcher of Chartres, we met earlier in the chapter in Section 1.
Though each of the previous sources presented in this chapter focused on violent interactions, we must understand the period of the Crusades was not one of continuous warfare, punctuated with periods of peace. Rather, once the specific campaign ended (and even sometimes during it) people resumed their pre-war lives. This was really a period of relative peace, punctuated by episodes of violence. Use the following passages to explore how people of the different faiths interacted with one another outside of the battlefield.
The ibn Munqidh excerpt is from Franceso Gabrielli, Arab Historians of the Crusades (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1969). The Fulcher of Chartres account is from August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921), 280-81.
Usmah ibn Munqidh
I paid a visit to the tomb of John the son of Zechariah – God’s blessing on both of them! – in the village of Sebastea in the province of Mablus. After saying my prayers, I came out into the square that was bounded on one side by the Holy Precinct. I found a half-closed gate, opened it and entered a church. Inside were about ten old men, their bare heads as white as combed cotton. They were facing east, and wore (embroidered?) on their breasts staves ending in crossbars turned up like the rear of a saddle. They took their oath on this sign, and gave hospitality to those who needed it. The sight of their piety touched my heart, but at the same time it displeased and saddened me, for I had never seen such zeal and devotion among the Muslims. For some time I brooded on this experience, until one day, as Mu’in ad-Din and I were passing the Peacock House he said to me: ‘I want to dismount here and visit the Old Men [the ascetics].’ ‘Certainly,’ I replied, and we dismounted and went into a long building set at an angle to the road. For the moment I thought there was no one there. Then I saw about a hundred prayer mats, and on the each a sufi, his face expressing peaceful serenity, and his body humble devotion. This was a reassuring sight, and I gave thanks to Almighty God that there were among the Muslims men of even more zealous devotion than those Christian priests. Before this I had never seen sufis in their monastery, and was ignorant of the way they lived.
Fulcher of Chartres
Consider, I pray, and reflect how in our time God has transferred the West into the East, For we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals. He who was a Roman or a Frank is now a Galilaean, or an inhabitant of Palestine. One who was a citizen of Rheims or of Chartres now has been made a citizen of Tyre or of Antioch. We have already forgotten the places of our birth; already they have become unknown to many of us, or, at least, are unmentioned. Some already possess here homes and servants which they have received through inheritance. Some have taken wives not merely of their own people, but Syrians, or Armenians, or even Saracens who have received the grace of baptism. Some have with them father-in-law, or daughter-in-law, or son-in-law, or stepson, or step-father. There are here, too, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One cultivates vines, another the fields. The one and the other use mutually the speech and the idioms of the different languages. Different languages, now made common, become known to both races, and faith unites those whose forefathers were strangers. As it is written, “The lion and the ox shall eat straw together.” Those who were strangers are now natives; and he who was a sojourner now has become a resident.
Source: The ibn Munqidh excerpt is from Franceso Gabrielli, Arab Historians of the Crusades (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1969). The Fulcher of Chartres account is from August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921), 280-81.
Both are part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use © Paul Halsall July 1998.