The Crusades to the East are a very noticeable phenomenon in history. We know them from school textbooks, feature films and literature.
In total (according to N. Basovskaya) there were eight of them: from 1096 to 1248-1270. Wikipedia adds another 9th (1271-1272) and crusades in Europe. The most explosive, which shook the entire Christian world, was, of course, the first. By this time, Jerusalem in the 7th century. was conquered by the Arabs, and then from the VIII century belonged to the Seljuk Turks. Over the past centuries, they have their own shrines there.
In historical science, the crusades are studied as a battle between the Christian and Muslim worlds. It is not finished and continues in our time. Estimates of the crusades are directly polar. Some believe that this is a holy, good deed in the name of the Church. The historian Michaud writes about them as a feat. Other sayings say that this is a diabolical instigation, which caused many disasters. For example, in the 4th campaign, the crusaders sacked Christian cities, plundered Constantinople, obscurantism - the famous Crusade of children. It was believed that if pure souls approached Jerusalem, the walls would collapse. BUTit ended very sadly: they died in Europe, in the cold Alps, most were sold into slavery in Egypt.
Hiking background
The beggar hermit Peter of Amiens, whose nickname was the Hermit, visited Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. He saw how Christians were being oppressed in Palestine. Returning, he obtained an audience with Pope Urban II and received a blessing to preach a campaign to free the Holy Sepulcher. Dressed in rags, barefoot, without a headdress, on a donkey, he moved through the villages and towns of Europe, and everywhere his fiery speeches met with support, attention and a desire to follow his sermons. He was considered a saint and they took the opportunity to pinch off a piece of wool from his donkey as happiness. In the meantime, Pope Urban II promised the participants forgiveness of sins (which was very important to the masses), care for their families and cancellation of their debts.
Excited by these appeals, the peasantry sewed red crosses on their clothes. Therefore, this movement was called "crusade", and the participants themselves began to be called "crusaders". The first to go on a campaign were not knights, but peasants who had no idea how far the Holy Land was from Europe, and every large city they met was mistaken for Jerusalem. Most of them died on the way. But we are interested in the fifth crusade - years, participants, goals, results. We will talk about this below.
Beginning, goals and reasons for this expedition
The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) was led by King Andrew II of Hungary. Were goingknights not only of Hungary, but of all Europe. The fees for the Fifth Crusade (the photo, of course, cannot be presented due to its invention much later) is shown in the picture below.
András II was persuaded to lead the troops by Pope Honorius III. At that time, a weak Christian kingdom existed in Palestine (from 1099 to 1291), which was torn apart by internal contradictions (the struggle of knightly orders among themselves) and attacks by Muslim Saracens. He lacked the support of Europe. The new king, Jacques of Brienne, arrived without an army and rejected the favorable peace offered by the Saracens (they had already heard rumors about a new campaign being prepared). This will be the fifth crusade, which was supposed to support the declining Christian kingdom.
At the end of 1217, the Europeans sailed on Venetian ships to Palestine via the Mediterranean. They all gathered in Acre, a small town in the southwest of the country. The cunning Saracens, hoping that internal strife, hunger and disease would destroy the army, did not attack. They calculated everything correctly. The Crusaders tried to occupy Mount Tabor and fortify themselves on it. But they lacked unity, food, catapults, and the expedition stopped. The crusaders simply settled down in winter quarters. Inaction led to new strife, and soon, in February 1218, the king of Hungary, seeing the aimlessness of his stay, returned to Europe with part of his army to pacify the rebellious vassals in his homeland. So unsuccessfully began the fifthcrusade.
Reinforcements from Europe
Later, in 1218, a mixed army of Germans, Dutch and Flemings arrived. The decision was made to capture Damietta in Egypt. To avoid fighting on two fronts, a peaceful alliance was made with Anatolia. In July, the Fifth Crusade set off for Egypt.
Siege of Damietta
The crusaders landed near the city of Damietta, which, due to its position on the Nile, was considered the key to the country. Damietta was superbly fortified. Inside there were many provisions, and outside there were double walls. It was difficult to get into the harbor, as it was closed by a tower, from which a powerful chain ran along the shore.
In July 1218, the Crusaders besieged the fortress. They wanted to destroy forever the center of the Islamic world and put an end to the wars for the Holy Land at once. The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) set itself such a goal. But here the interests of the Italian republics and city-states were involved - obtaining free trade in Egypt.
Siege in progress
At first there were failures caused by discord in the leadership. Then it was entrusted to Leopold VI of Austria.
After that, they connected two ships together and built a tower and a bridge on them, which fell. She was brought closer to the tower of Damietta, and three hundred crusaders began an assault. The Saracens stubbornly resisted, but success accompanied the attackers. They captured the tower and opened the entrance to the Nile for their ships.
The reasons why the fighters did not move further and capture the city are unclear to historians. At this time, the Sultan of Cairo approached with reinforcements. Pope Honorius III sent his legate Pelagius Albano to lead the army. To uplift the spirit, St. Francis of Assisi.
But all this did little to help. At the same time, strife began in the army of the Sultan, which played an important role in the future. The Muslim army retreated. The Christians swam across the Nile, surrounded the city and, having built a bridge, began to besiege it. The Sultans of Damascus and Cairo joined forces and returned to Damietta. Skirmishes broke out, and the crusaders were often defeated. However, there were rumors among the Muslims that the army of Emperor Frederick II was coming to the aid of the opponents. They offered an advantageous peace: the surrender of Jerusalem and money to rebuild its walls. The pious agreed, but Pelagius, blinded by the possible rich booty in Damietta, refused. The Fifth Crusade, it turns out, pursued quite material goals. Selflessness and a pure goal - the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher - were not characteristic of the knights. The siege continued.
Win or lose?
In the deep autumn of 1219, the city, driven to its extreme point by hunger, surrendered. Of the 70,000 people, only five survived. Pelagius triumphed. Everyone was busy with robbery - the booty was rich, and no one thought that it was necessary to quickly defeat the army of Muslims. In the meantime, they set up a fortified high camp on the other side of the Nile.
Nile flood
By July 1221, many participantsrefused to obey the orders of Pelagius. They demanded and got the return of the army of the King of Jerusalem. His seventy thousand soldiers went to the Sultan of Cairo. He again offered peace. The crusaders, under the influence of Pelagius, refused again. They were inactive. Many Christians arbitrarily left the army. The flood of the Nile became an ally of the Muslim Saracens. They destroyed the sluices and dams and released water into the plain where the Christian camp was located. Without food, without the opportunity to retreat, the Christians themselves began to ask for peace. They were allowed in 1221 to retire to Palestine. Thus ended the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) ingloriously. The results will be discussed in the next section.
Consequences
Like the previous ones, the fifth campaign showed:
- Frequent leadership changes.
- Weak discipline: the knights left the army on their own, often during difficult conditions.
- Unwillingness to act in concert, pursuing the main goal - the liberation of the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulcher.
- Greed and the desire to seize we alth.
- No single plan.
- Ignorance of natural conditions (the flood of the Nile took Christians by surprise).
- The desire of Pope Honorius III to lead the campaign through his envoy.
- Shameful world.
All taken together led to failures and did not give any positive results. This hit European Christians hard. They spent a lot of money and effort and expected brilliant victories and benefits, but it all ended in a humiliating peace.
The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221): Participants
Hungary and Austria were represented at the beginning of the campaign by the Hungarian king Andras II and the Duke of Austria Leopold VI. András had the largest army at all times of the Crusades - 20,000 knights. They were joined by Otto of Meran and Count William of Holland. Later, Pope Honorius III sent his legate Pelagius, who claimed the role of commander in chief. King John of Jerusalem considered it necessary to annex Damietta to his kingdom. Pelagius, however, was against it. Emperor Frederick II sent significant reinforcements to Damietta in 1221, but he himself remained in Europe. For this, Pope Honorius III threatened him with excommunication. That is, the culprit of the defeat was found.
In conclusion, it must be clarified that Europe has not achieved its main goal - the weakening of Muslims - either in the fifth or in other campaigns. Opponents did not submit to European culture. Honor and glory were not won by the knights.
