The Second Crusade

The success of the Christians in the First Crusade had been mainly a cause of the disunion among their enemies. But the Moslems learned in time the value of united action, and in 1144 A.D. succeeded in capturing Edessa, one of the principal Christian outposts in the East. The fall of the city of Edessa, followed by the loss of the entire county of Edessa, aroused western Europe to the danger which threatened the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and led to another crusading enterprise.

"The apostle of the Second Crusade was the great abbot of Clairvaux, St. Bernard. Scenes of the wildest enthusiasm marked his preaching. The scenes that marked the opening of the First Crusade were now repeated in all the countries of the West. St. Bernard, an eloquent monk, was the second Peter the Hermit, who went everywhere, arousing the warriors of the Cross to the defence of the birthplace of their religion. When the churches were not large enough to hold the crowds which flocked to hear him, he spoke from platforms erected in the fields."

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145. Edessa was the first of the Crusader states to have been founded during the First Crusade, and was the first to fall. The Second Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by European kings, with help from a number of other important European nobles. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe and were somewhat hindered by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus; after crossing Byzantine territory into Anatolia, both armies were separately defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached Jerusalem and participated in an ill-advised attack on Damascus. The crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It would ultimately lead to the fall of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade at the end of the 12th century.

"Unlike the spectacular success of the First Crusade, the Second Crusade, launched in 1145, is generally regarded as a disaster for the Christian West. Even those who took part in the Crusade saw it as a failure."

In the East the situation was much darker for the Christians. In the Holy Land, the Second Crusade had disastrous long-term consequences for Jerusalem. (Book Internet)

Each of the Christian forces felt betrayed by the other. A new plan was made to attack Ascalon. Conrad took his troops to here, but no further help arrived, due to the lack of trust that had resulted from the failed siege. This mutual distrust would linger for a generation due to the defeat, to the ruin of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land. After quitting Ascalon, Conrad returned to Constantinople to further his alliance with Manuel. Louis remained behind in Jerusalem until 1149. Back in Europe, Bernard of Clairvaux was humiliated by the defeat. Bernard considered it his duty to send an apology to the Pope and it is inserted in the second part of his Book of Consideration. There he explains how the sins of the crusaders were the cause of their misfortune and failures. When his attempt to call a new crusade failed, he tried to disassociate himself from the fiasco of the Second Crusade altogether. He would die in 1153.

In 1171, Saladin, nephew of one of Nur ad-Din's generals, was proclaimed Sultan of Egypt, uniting Egypt and Syria and completely surrounding the crusader kingdom. Meanwhile the Byzantine alliance ended with the death of emperor Manuel I in 1180, and in 1187 Jerusalem capitulated to Saladin. His forces then spread north to capture all but the capital cities of the Crusader States, precipitating the Third Crusade. (Book Internet)

Overall the second crusade the strength of both the French and the German division of the expedition was wasted in Asia Minor, and the crusade accomplished nothing.

The First Crusade

The First Crusade played a very important part in Medieval England. The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time. Muslim soldiers made Christianity a hard way of life. Muslim soldiers also tried to fill Jerusalem with danger for a Christian. This greatly angered all Christians.

The First Crusade also opened an era in which Western Europe came into direct contact with the great trade routes that united the civilizations of Eurasia. For the first time since the fall of the Roman empire, western Europe was not isolated, but a part of a greater world. Many things flowed along these trade routes. Some were good, such as paper, the compass, medicines and spices, new crops and advances in mathematics. Some were not so good, such as leprosy, gunpowder, and bubonic plague. Like most great events, there were many factors, some immediate and apparent, some basic and apparent, and some in between that went together to cause the people of western Europe to seek to conquest and hold the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean.

One of the causes of the First Crusade was that Europe was already in a period of expansion, and its capacity for war and conquest had grown during the years of fending off raiders from all direction. Most importantly from the standpoint of the crusades, the Italian city states had developed navies of merchant/fighting vessels that had seized control of the Mediterranean. They had reconquered Sicily and southern Italy from the Muslims, and there was a general sense that, like the Vikings and Magyars, the force of the Muslims was spent and that the way eastward lay open.

Another cause of the First Crusade was the spirit of religious reform that had led to the Investiture Controversy had been accompanied by an increase in popular spirituality. People were no longer to accept their religion passively; many wanted to participate actively and to do something positive in honor of their god. (Book Internet)

One of the major causes of the First Crusade was since their victory at the Battle of Manziker, the Seljuk Turks had been pressing towards Constantinople and were now actually within sight of the city.

"The leaders of the First Crusade included some of the most distinguished representatives of European knighthood. Count Raymond of Toulouse headed a band of volunteers from Provence in southern France. Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin commanded a force of French and Germans from the Rhinelands. Normandy sent Robert, William the Conqueror's eldest son. The Normans from Italy and Sicily were led by Bohemond, a son of Robert Guiscard, and his nephew Tancred."


The months which followed the Council of Clermont were marked by an epidemic of religious excitement in western Europe. Popular preachers everywhere took up the cry "God wills it!" and urged their hearers to start for Jerusalem. A monk named Peter the Hermit aroused large parts of France with his passionate eloquence, as he rode from town to town, carrying a huge cross before him and preaching to vast crowds. a horde of poor men, women, and children set out, unorganized and almost unarmed, on the road to the Holy Land. This was called the Peoples Crusade, it is also referred to as the Peasants Crusade. Dividing command of the mixed multitudes with a poor knight, called Walter the Penniless, and followed by a throng of about 80,000 persons, among whom were many women and children, Peter the Hermit set out for Constantinople leading the Peoples Crusade via an overland route through Germany and Hungary. Thousands of the Peoples Crusade fell in battle with the natives of the countries through which they marched, and thousands more perished miserably of hunger and exposure. The Peoples Crusade was badly organised - most of the people were unarmed and lacked the command and discipline of the military crusaders. The Byzantium emperor Alexius I sent his ragged allies as quickly as possible to Asia Minor, where most of them were slaughtered by the Turks. The daughter of Alexius, called Anna Comnena wrote a book about her father and the crusaders called the Alexiad which provides historical details about the first crusaders. Those crusaders who crossed the Bosphorus were surprised by the Turks, and almost all of the Peoples Crusade were slaughtered. Peter the Hermit did survive and eventually led the Crusaders in a procession around the walls of Jerusalem just before the city was taken.

Meanwhile real armies were gathering in the West. Recruits came in greater numbers from France than from any other country, a circumstance which resulted in the crusaders being generally called "Franks" by their Moslem foes. They had no single commander, but each contingent set out for Constantinople by its own route and at its own time.

The crusaders traversed Europe by different routes and reassembled at Constantinople. Crossing the Bosphorus, they first captured Nicaea, the Turkish capital, in Bithynia, and then set out across Asia Minor for Syria. Arriving at Antioch, the survivors captured that place, and then, after some delays, pushed on towards Jerusalem. The Siege of Antioch had lasted from October 1097 to June 1098. Reduced now to perhaps one-fourth of their original numbers, the crusaders advanced slowly to the city which formed the goal of all their efforts. When at length the Holy City burst upon their view, a perfect delirium of joy seized the crusaders. They embraced one another with tears of joy, and even embraced and kissed the ground on which they stood. As they passed on, they took off their shoes, and marched with uncovered head and bare feet, singing the words of the prophet: "Jerusalem, lift up thine eyes, and behold the liberator who comes to break thy chains." Before attacking it they marched barefoot in religious procession around the walls, with Peter the Hermit at their head. Then came the grand assault. The first assault made by the Christians upon the walls of the city was repulsed; but the second was successful, and the city was in the hands of the crusaders by July 1099. Godfrey of Bouillon and Tancred were among the first to mount the ramparts. Once inside the city, the crusaders massacred their enemies without mercy. A terrible slaughter of the infidels took place. For seven days the carnage went on, at the end of which time scarcely any of the Moslem faith were left alive. The Christians took possession of the houses and property of the infidels, each soldier having a right to that which he had first seized and placed his mark upon. (Book Internet)

"Against all odds, the first armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land was successful, and the Christians captured Jerusalem in 1100. They benefitted from the disunity among the Muslims and set up the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Although it was only ninety years before the Muslims had reorganized and taken back most of what they had lost, the effect of the crusaders' success was great. A heightened sense of confidence animated the Europeans and, with new influences from the East, culture and intellectual life flourished. Western Europe, so some historians hold, came of age."

The Life and Death of Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks. Charlemagne, means Charles the Great, and was mainly known as Charles I. Charlemagne was both a historical and legendary figure. There are several areas in which the legend contradict with the historical Charlemagne. Even historical account may exaggerate Charlemagne's achievement, in many cases.

Charlemagne was the son of Pepin III, who was also known as Pepin the Short. He was the brother of Carolman and Gisela. Originally, Pepin was a Mayor of the Palace for the dynasty known as the Merovingians. The Mayor of Palace helded great power, sometime the mayors had more powers than the kings; such Pepin. In AD 751, Pepin crowned himself as king of the Franks. Pepin started a new dynasty, known as the Carolingians.
At Pepin's death in AD 768, the kingdom was divided into two for Charles and Carolman. However rivalry between two brothers escalated into conflict, and ended with Carolman's death in 771. ThusAs a result of this, Charles became the sole ruler of the Franks. (Book Internet)

Charlemagne became involved in a series of campaigns or wars, to expand his kingdom. He fought in the war against the pagan kingdom of Saxony. When he received their surrender, he forced the Saxons to become Christians or else they were killed. In 778, he entered to Spain, with the intention to help a Moorish king to end the uprising. However he failed to capture Saragossa, and thus returned to France. On hsi way to France his rearguard was ambushed at Rencesvals. They were attacked by Gascons and Basques. Einhard only listed among the dead: Anselm, Count Palatine; Eggihard, the King's steward; and Roland, Lord of the March of Brittany.

Charles had to quell a rebellion among the Saxons, where he executed over 4000 Saxons as example in 782. There was sporadic rebellions over 22 years. One of his sons, Pepin, plotted against Charles, during his campaign against the Avars. When this conspiracy was uncovered, he forced his son to take up a monastery life.

It was Charlemange who helped the Roman church to break away completely from those church of the eastern Byzantine Empire. As a result, when he went to Rome, Pope Leo III crowned him as the Holy Roman Emperor. It wasn't until 812, when Michael I recognised Charlemange as Emperor of the West.

His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire. (Book Internet)

The Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy was about the ceremony by which a man became a bishop or an archbishop. During the investiture, the bishop or archbishop, elect was given a signet ring representing his authority to act legally for his territory, a long staff like a shepherd's crook signifying his spiritual leadership of the people of the diocese, a lump of dirt that demonstrated his possession and ownership of the lands with which the churches in his diocese had been endowed, and a white woolen stole to hang around his neck indicating that he was a legitimate successor to a long tradition of spiritual teaching and leadership reaching all the way back to the apostles.





The Investiture Controversy was a political crisis in the 11th century, in which the pope and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire argued about, essentially, which of them had the supreme power over the other. It also refers to related controversies in other European countries, most notably in England, regarding the dual allegiance of bishops to their sovereign and to the pope. It is also considered as the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe.

It began as a dispute between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Gregorian Papacy concerning who would control appointments of church officials. Pope Gregory VII condemned lay investiture in 1078 as an unjustified assertion of secular authority over the church; the issue was pivotal in his dispute with King Henry IV and in the larger struggle over Henry's refusal to obey papal commands. Henry successfully drove Gregory from Rome and installed an anti pope, but it would be Gregory's rejection of lay investiture that would ultimately prevail. Henry I of England renounced lay investiture in return for the guarantee that homage would be paid to the king before consecration. The Concordat of Worms forged a similar compromise between Henry V and Calixtus II. (Book Internet) The controversy, undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian Emperors would eventually lead to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, the triumph of the great dukes and abbots, and the disintegration of the German empire, a condition from which it would not recover until the reunification of Germany in the 19th century.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The Holy Roman Empire - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The Investiture Controversy had some far-reaching effects. The Church was now under the control of a professional elite and had established the principle that non-professionals shouldn't have any say in how the Church ran its affairs. When the Protestants rebelled against the Catholic Church four hundred years later, one of the things that they demanded was that lay people should have a big role in running the Church. Then, too, the Church had gained its ends through politics and had to continue playing politics. "

The Investiture Controversy also effect Germany. (Book Internet) In Germany, the authority of the emperors had been damaged to the point that the region didn't develop a national government until 1870 with a war against France. The First and Second World Wars, which took about 100,000,000 lives, were continuations of that first conflict. As a result of this it could be said that there wouldn't have been any Adolf Hitler if there hadn't been an Investiture Controversy.

This is what the Investiture Controversy was and how it change the balance of power between the papal authority and the leadership of Europe.

Just War, Jihad and the Crusades

The concepts and actions carried out in the names of Just War and Jihad lead to the Crusades in many ways. Many of the ideas of just war and jihad caused the crusades to occur. They, in a sense, made it okay to go to war and start the crusades.

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the most holy of holy places for Christians. This is because Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified in Jerusalem on Calvary Hill. Jerusalem was the most important place on Earth for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God". However, Jerusalem was also extremely important to the Muslims also. This is because Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A dome, called the Dome of the Rock, was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome. As a result, the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years.

The jihad is often translated as "holy war on behalf of Islam". To them if a war is for the will of Allah then it is right to fight. This is one way inwhich the idea of jihad influenced the crusades. The Islams thought of the crusades as holy wars. Therefore they agreed to fight in them. (Internet Book)

Most Muslim Scholars see the world as divided into two houses, the House of Peace and the House of War. To them the lands controlled by Muslims belong to the House of Peace, while those who have not yet submitted to Islam belong to the House of War until they are subdued.
So the entire context of the eastern Crusades is one of response to continuous Islamic aggression.

"In the year 1095, people were shocked in Western Europe by the words of Pope Urban II, "The Muslims have conquered Jerusalem". Pope Urban wanted the Christians to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims. People shouted "God wills it". . . Religion was important to the knights in the Middle Ages. One of the results of the Crusades was the founding of new Christian religious orders. Most of the monks were former knights who fought against each other in the Crusades. The knights did capture Jerusalem for a short period of time, but the Muslims kept on re-taking Jerusalem. The knights gained temporary power, but lost many soldiers during the deadly Crusades, not to mention causing the death of many innocent Muslims. The Crusades is a violent reminder of the greed of Middle Ages."

"Unlike Islam, Christianity had not yet developed the notion of a holy war. In the fifth century Augustine described what constituted a just war but excluded the practice of battle for the purpose of religious conversion or to destroy heretical religious ideas. Leaders of nations might decide to go to war for just reasons, but war was not to be a tool of the church. Unfortunately, using Augustine's just war language, Popes and Crusaders saw themselves as warriors for Christ rather than as a people seeking justice in the face of an encroaching enemy threat."

The Pope called for a war of the cross. Both, the Muslims and the Christians, thought that "God" was on their side. However, both sides can not be right. (Internet Book)

Jihad And Just War

Jihad and Just War are often described as the same thing and are often used interchangeably. However, are they really the same thing? Before answering this question it is important to have a basic understanding on both of these concepts.

Jihad can be described as "holy war", or more precisely it means the legal effort to expand the territories ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non-Muslims. The purpose of jihad is not directly to spread the Islamic faith but to extend sovereign Muslim power. Jihad thus has the eventual goal of achieving Muslim dominion over the entire globe. Jihad ha two main different meanings. The first is that Muslims who interpret their faith differently are infidels and therefore targets of jihad. The second meaning rejects the legal definition of jihad as armed conflict and tells Muslims to withdraw from the worldly concerns to achieve spiritual depth. Jihad in the sense of territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life. That's how Muslims came to rule much of the Arabian Peninsula by the time of the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632. Jihad is often described as the fifth pillar of Islam. (Internet Book)

"An appeal to the Islamic tradition of defensive jihad by which every Muslim is obligated, as an individual duty, to take up arms against invaders. It lays out the justification not only for the attacks of September 11 but also for other terrorist attacks linked to bin Laden’s al–Qaeda group, notably, the bombings of the two American embassies in East Africa and of the U.S.S. Cole. It also provides a warrant for future attacks by every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it for a continuing war by terrorist and other means by Muslims against Americans and their allies."

Just War can be described as it deals with the justification of how and why wars are fought. The justification can be either theoretical or historical. The theoretical aspect is concerned with ethically justifying war and the forms that warfare may or may not take. The historical aspect, deals with the historical body of rules or agreements that have applied in various wars across the ages. There are sveral principles of Just War. One of them is that a just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified. It continues on to say that a war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. Further, a just war can only be fought with right intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. These are the main principles of Just War. Just War can also be described as a war that needs to be morrally justified. (Internet Book)

While the idea of just war is deeply rooted in Western culture, it is perhaps more strongly rooted today in international law, in American military doctrine and practice, and even in political culture. Though the just war tradition has important Christian roots, it differs from the Islamic juristic tradition in that it can be employed without explicitly religious premises. Similarly, in Western political thought and theology more generally, the nature of the political community, the role of government, and the use of armed force are conceived in secular rather than religious terms. All these features differentiate just war tradition from the juristic tradition of jihad by the authority of the caliph.

In conclusion, Just War and Jihad are very simular, however, just war in a way is an effect of the original idea of jihad.

Jihad

There are many different views on the idea of Jihad. However, the main definition for Jihad is the Arabic word for what can be translated as a struggle or effort to fight. In the West, the word is generally understood to mean holy war. In the Quran jihad is referred to as a military struggle on behalf of Islam. But the Quran also refers to jihad as an spiritual struggle toward self-improvement and moral cleansing. It is said that the prophet Muhammad thought of this spiritual version of holy war to be of far more importance than the physical version. To the Muslims the idea of jihad is considered to be part of every Muslim's duty; to improve society, and improving oneself before the Day of Judgement. This would be considered verbal jihad. In other words it means to strive for justice through words and non-violent actions. Muhammad encouraged Muslims to demand justice in the name of Allah.





"Personal jihad is the most important form. This type of jihad, called the Jihadun-Nafs, is the intimate struggle to purify one's soul of evil influences -- both subtle and overt. It is the struggle to cleanse one's spirit of sin."

Another view on jihad is physical Jihad. This relates to the use of physical force in defense of Muslims against oppression and transgression by the enemies of Allah. Allah commands that Muslims lead peaceful lives and not transgress against anyone.

Jihad is sometimes considered as the Sixth Pillar of Islam. The importance of jihad is roted in the Quran's command to struggle in the path of God and through the Prophet Muhammad and is early Companions. (Book Internet)


This is a few of the many views of the idea of jihad. However, the effect of having many different views of jihad is a vicious clash between followers of different religions, each of whom believes that God is on their side and that the other side is is of Satan. This is far from right; God can not be on all sides, therefore one side must be wrong. There is an absolute truth in the universe; meaning that both sides can not be right.

Even though jihad was a main idea in Islamic history, in recent years it has spread into other religions and groups. Jihad is a very broad word. There are many different views of this word and many people look at it differently. In conclusion, Jihad is a very important concept and is still effecting the modern day world.