Lars Brownworth - In Distant Lands: A Short History of the Crusades

IN DISTANT LANDS

A Short History of the Crusades

Lars Brownworth

For Catherine

Contents

CAST OF CHARACTERS

The First Crusade: The Peoples Crusade (Chapters 1-2)

Alexius I Comnenus: Byzantine emperor whose appeal for help to Urban II resulted in the First Crusade

Emicho: Count of Leiningen and leader of the anti-Semitic German Crusade

Kilij Arslan: Turkish sultan based in Nicaea

Peter the Hermit: French priest, main leader of the Peoples Crusade. Also known as Peter of Amiens

Urban II: The pope whose speech at Clermont in 1095 launched the First Crusade

Walter Sans-Avoir: Lord of Boissy-sans-Avoir, minor leader of the Peoples Crusade. Also known as Walter the Penniless

The First Crusade: The Princes Crusade (Chapters 3-6)

Adhemar of Le Puy: Papal legate, spiritual leader of the First Crusade

Baldwin: Brother of Godfrey of Bouillon. Founded the first crusader state (Edessa), second King of Jerusalem

Bohemond: Prince of Taranto, founded the second crusader state (the Principality of Antioch)

Godfrey: Duke of Lower Lorraine, first (uncrowned) King of Jerusalem with the title Defender of the Holy Sepulcher

Hugh of Vermandois: Younger brother of the King of France, first major noble to leave on Crusade

Kerbogah: Atabeg of Mosul

Peter Bartholomew: French mystic who had a vision of the Holy Lance at Antioch

Raymond: Count of Toulouse, major rival of Bohemond

Stephen of Blois: Son-in-law of William the Conqueror

Tancred: Nephew of Bohemond, later Prince of Galilee and regent of Antioch

Taticius: Byzantine general who traveled with the crusaders to Antioch

Yaghi-Siyan: Turkish governor of Antioch

Formation of Outremer (Chapters 7-9)

Baldwin II: Cousin of Baldwin I, third King of Jerusalem. Also known as Baldwin of Le Bourg

Baldwin III: Son of Fulk and Melisende, fifth King of Jerusalem

Daimbert: Papal legate appointed to succeed Adhemar of Le Puy

Domenico Michele: Doge of Venice

Fulk of Anjou: Husband of Melisende, fourth King of Jerusalem

Hugh of Payns: French knight who founded the Knights Templar

Joscelin II: Count of Edessa whose rivalry with Raymond of Poitiers led to the fall of the County of Edessa

Melisende: Daughter of Baldwin II who ruled with her husband Fulk as regent for their son Baldwin III

Raymond of Poitiers: Prince of Antioch and uncle of Eleanor of Aquitaine

Zengi: Emir of Aleppo whose victories precipitated the Second Crusade

Second Crusade (Chapters 10-11)

Bernard of Clairvaux: Cistercian monk, responsible for the Second Crusade

Conrad III: Holy Roman Emperor

Eleanor of Aquitaine: Wife of Louis VII and niece of Raymond of Poitiers

Eugenius III: Pope who called the Second Crusade

Louis VII: King of France, first major figure to take the crusading oath

Manuel Comnenus: Byzantine Emperor, grandson of Alexius I Comnenus

Nr al-Dn: Emir of Aleppo, son of Zengi

Third Crusade (Chapters 12-15)

Amalric: younger brother of Baldwin III, sixth King of Jerusalem

Baldwin IV: Son of Amalric, seventh King of Jerusalem. Also known as the Leper King

Frederick Barbarossa: Holy Roman Emperor, nephew of Conrad III

Gregory VIII: Pope who called the Third Crusade

Guy of Lusignan: French noble, ninth King of Jerusalem

Henry II: King of England, second husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine

Isaac Angelus: Byzantine Emperor during the Third Crusade

Philip II Augustus: King of France, son of Louis VII

Reynald of Chtillon: Prince of Antioch whose reckless behavior led to the loss of Jerusalem

Richard the Lionheart: King of England, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The major figure of the Third Crusade

Saladin: Son of Shirkuh, reconquered Jerusalem for Islam

Shirkuh: Kurdish general of Nr al-Dn who made himself vizier of Egypt

Tancred of Lecce: King of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Also known as the Monkey King

Fourth Crusade (Chapter 16)

Alexius III Angelus: Byzantine Emperor, younger brother of Isaac II

Alexius IV Angelus: Byzantine Emperor, son of Isaac II, allied with the crusaders

Alexius V: Byzantine Emperor, overthrew Alexius IV. Also known as Mourtzouphlos

Boniface: Marquess of Montferrat, leader of the Fourth Crusade

Enrico Dandolo: Doge of Venice, leader of the Fourth Crusade

Innocent III: Pope who called the Fourth and Fifth Crusades

Isaac II Angelus: Byzantine emperor, overthrown by Alexius III just before the Fourth Crusade was called

Thibaut: Count of Champagne, nephew of Richard the Lionheart

Fifth Crusade (Chapter 17)

al-Kamil: Sultan of Egypt during the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Crusades, nephew of Saladin

Andrew: King of Hungary, leader of the Fifth Crusade

Frederick II Barbarossa: Holy Roman Emperor. Also known as Stupor Mundi

John of Brienne: Regent of Jerusalem, leader of Fifth Crusade

Leopold: Duke of Austria, leader of the Fifth Crusade

Nicholas of Cologne: German shepherd boy, one of the leaders of the Childrens Crusade

Pelagius: Papal legate, leader of the Fifth Crusade

Sixth Crusade (Chapter 18)

Frederick II Barbarossa: Holy Roman Emperor, leader of the Sixth Crusade

Gregory IX: Pope who succeeded Honorius III, excommunicated Frederick II

Honorius III: Pope who called the Sixth Crusade

Yolande: Daughter of John of Brienne, heir to throne of Jerusalem

Seventh and Eighth Crusades (Chapters 19-21)

Baybars: Mamluk sultan of Egypt

Charles of Anjou: Brother of Louis IX, King of Sicily

Edward I: King of England who joined the Eighth Crusade after it had officially ended. Led what is sometimes called the Ninth Crusade. Also known as Longshanks

Hulagu: Grandson of Ghengis Khan, leader of the Mongols

Innocent IV: Pope during the Seventh Crusade

Louis IX: King of France, leader of the Seventh and Eighth Crusades. Also known as Saint Louis

Prester John: Legendary Christian kingof the East

Robert of Artois: Brother of Louis IX

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4. LIST OF MAPS
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6. 1. The Byzantine Empire
7. 2. The Abbasid Islamic Empire c. 750
8. 3. The Route of the First Crusade
9. 4. The Crusader States c. 1135
10. 5. The Route of the Fourth Crusade

"Si vis pacem, para bellum"

Publius Flavius Vegeitus

Prologue: Yarmouk

In the early months of the year 636, an army mounted on camels crossed the Syrian border and in what appeared to be a suicidal attack invaded the Eastern Roman Empire. This state, better known as Byzantium, was the glittering, cultured bulwark of Christendom, whose borders stretched from the Atlantic coast of southern Spain in the west, to the deserts of modern Saudi Arabia in the east. On every side, the empire seemed ascendant. After four centuries of intermittent war, Romes ancient enemy Persia had finally been defeated, decisively smashed by the brilliant Roman soldier-emperor Heraclius.