Crusades

First Crusade

Goals/Purposes

commanding the Christian warriors of western Europe to take up arms against perceived enemies in the east, in order to reclaim the Holy Land

People Involved

Raymond of Saint-Gilles

Godfrey of Bouillon

Hugh of Vermandois

Bohemond of Taranto

And his Nephew Tancred

Effects

The Recapture of Jerusalem on 15 July 1099 CE

Second Crusade

Goals/Purposes

Restore Edessa

Fight Muslims in Spain

Fight the pagan Wends in the Baltic Sea

People Involved

King Louis VII of France

Emperor Conrad III of Germany

Effects

It would ultimately have a key influence on the fall of Jerusalem and give rise to the Third Crusade at the end of the 12th century

Third Crusade

Goals/Purposes

To reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187

People Involved

Richard I of England

Philip II of France

Holy Roman emperor Frederick I

Effects

Allowed the Christians to maintain considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast, restoring the Kingdom of Jerusalem on a narrow strip from Tyre to Jaffa

Fourth Crusade

Goals/Purposes

To recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid Sultanate

People Involved

Boniface of Montferrat

Enrico Dandolo

Theobald III of Champagne

Baldwin of Flanders

Louis of Blois

Hugh IV of Saint-Pol

Conrad of Halberstadt

Martin of Pairis

Conon de Béthune

Alexios IV Angelos

Alexios III Angelos

Alexios V Doukas

Effects

The crusade dealt an irrevocable blow to the Byzantine Empire, contributing to its decline and fall as all the unstable governments in the region, the Sack of Constantinople, and the thousands of deaths had left the region depleted of soldiers, resources, people, and money which left the region vulnerable to attack