The Crusades: Six Military Campaigns to Reconquer the Holy Land

The Crusades: Campaigns To Reconquer the Holy Land

The Crusades had a deeply Christian and missionary purpose: the reconquest of the Holy Land and a war against Islam. Though it produced much knightly energy, the war at times expressed itself in a bloody and un-Christian frenzy. This period of the Crusades to recover Jerusalem can be divided into six military campaigns.

Jerusalem under the Turks

In 1071 A.D., the Turks conquered Jerusalem. Pilgrims to the Holy Land soon complained about the restrictions placed on them by the Turks. This then created an appeal to the general Christian conscience and awakened the desire to help the eastern Christians and recapture the Holy Land. Pope Urban II placed himself at the head of this movement and carried the masses with him under the cry "God wills it".

First Crusade: 1096-1099 A.D.

Before the actual crusade, under the preaching and leadership of the hermit Peter of Amiens, bands of peasants and excited mobs moved through the Rhineland and committed excesses against the native populations. However, they were decimated by the Seljuk Turks when they reached Asia Minor.


The actual crusade came from a main army of knights who were recruited from the Romance countries. These included the princes Raymond of Toulousse, Godfrey of Bouillon, and the Norman Bohemond of Tarentum. After much hardship and bitter bloody battles, they were able to capture Jerusalem in 1099 A.D.


After this First Crusade, the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded. Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen as the first "protector of the Holy Sepulchre". His brother Baldwin I (1100-1118 A.D.) succeeded him. And under Fulco of Anjou (1131-1143 A.D.), the kingdom achieved its greatest extension.

Second Crusade: 1147-1149 A.D.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux was active in this crusade. He was able to obtain the participation of the kings of France and Germany. However, this campaign ended with a great loss for the French and German armies. Jerusalem was lost again in 1187 A.D.

Third Crusade: 1189-1192 A.D.

This Crusade was led by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. At Ikonium, he defeated the Turks, but drowned in the Saleph in 1190 A.D. His leaderless army did not achieve any other successes. The leadership of the English king Richard Lionheart and the French king Philipp II, did not also achieve a reconquest of Jerusalem. However, in 1192 A.D., a truce with Sultan Saladin was achieved. This truce permitted the peaceful visit of Jerusalem by the Christian pilgrims.

Fourth Crusade: 1202-1204 A.D.

This Crusade was led by Pope Innocent III. All of western Christianity was united with this campaign. However, due to the interference of Venetian merchants, the crusading army was diverted to Constantinople. That resulted in its conquest and a Latin Kingdom was established. However, no religious unity between the Greek and Latin churches was effected. Rather, events only led to the further division between eastern and western Churches.

Fifth Crusade: 1228-1229 A.D.

This Crusade was a private project of Emperor Frederick II. Through his negotiations with the Egyptian sultan, he obtained the return of Jerusalem to the Christians. However, in 1244 A.D., the Holy City was lost for good.

Sixth Crusade: 1248-1254 A.D.

St. Louis IX, king of France, desired to conquer Egypt and recover the Holy Land. However, in April 1250 A.D., his army was defeated at Cairo and Louis himself was captured together with his troops.

Significance of the Crusades

As a whole, the Crusading movement is still contested. This was due in part to the military excesses committed in the battles. However, the positive outcome of these military enterprises were as follows:

• it strengthened a consciousness of community in the West
• it expanded the European horizon
• it promoted learning through encounters with Byzantine and Islamic culture
• it promoted commerce between eastern and western civilizations
• and the brilliant growth of western philosophy and theology in scholasticism was due to the eastern influences brought about by these Crusades

Spiritually, the Crusades had a profound and lasting mark on Western piety. The crusaders committed themselves to endless dangers and hardships for the sake of Christ. They also took upon themselves the poor life of the cross-bearing Savior and went head-on to share in His suffering and Cross.

A saint who was involved also in this movement was St. Francis of Assisi. He adopted the healthy core of the crusading spirit and attempted the peaceful conversion of the Holy Land instead of the means of crushing conquest. He tried to bring the gospel of peace to the sultan near Damietta. Although this did not effect peace, that mission of St. Francis in the Holy Land continues up to this time through his followers.

Related resources:

• "A History of the Church", by August Franzen and John P. Dolan
• Books on the Crusades, from Ignatius Press