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Crusades: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date 1095 - 1571
Participants Christianity • Islam
Context Council of Clermont

Did You Know?

  • The thousands of peasants that joined the First Crusade were looked down upon and derided in contemporaneous writings.
  • There are stories of both Muslim and Christian women taking up arms and armour to defend themselves during the fighting or convincing fleeing men to stay and fight.
  • Anna Comnena, daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, wrote an account of the First Crusade that is used by historians today.

Photos and Videos

Crusades
Crusades
Council of Clermont
Peter the Hermit
Crusades; Peter the Hermit; Urban II
Painting by Emile Signol depicting Godfrey of Bouillon giving thanks after the Crusaders capture Jerusalem, with Peter the Hermit and a crowd of knights, soldiers, and citizens amid chaos.
Crusades
Siege of Antioch
Siege of Jerusalem
Map of the eastern Mediterranean region during the 12th century, highlighting the crusader states: Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Tripoli, Principality of Antioch, and County of Edessa, along with the Kingdom of Armenia (Little Armenia) and the island of Cyprus. Neighboring regions such as the Fatimid Caliphate, Emirate of Damascus, Dominion of the Atabegs, and Sultanate of Rum are also labeled. Key cities, rivers, and bodies of water like the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Galilee, and Dead Sea are
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The Templars: Religious warriors and founders of modern banking
King Crusader: How Louis IX became a saint
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Timeline

Kerbogha Besieges Antioch in 1098
Siege of Antioch
October 20, 1097 - June 28, 1098
The Battle of Harran
Battle of Harran
May 7, 1104
Edessa
Siege of Edessa
November 28, 1144 - December 24, 1144
Alfonso Henriques, King of Portugal
Siege of Lisbon
July 1, 1147 - October 25, 1147
The Siege of Damascus
Siege of Damascus
July 23, 1148 - July 28, 1148
Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn
Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn
July 4, 1187
Richard I at Jaffa, 1192
Battle of Jaffa
August 5, 1192
The Sack of Constantinople, 1204
Sack of Constantinople
April 1204
default image
Albigensian Crusade
1209 - 1229
Simon de Montfort
Siege of Toulouse
1217 - 1218

Key People

default image
Sigurd I Magnusson
king of Norway
Louis IX
Louis IX
king of France
Edward I
Edward I
king of England
Montfort, Simon de, earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester
French noble
Pius II
Pius II
pope
default image
Bohemond I
prince of Otranto and of Antioch
Urban II
Urban II
pope
Conrad III, seal, 12th century; in the Bayerisches National Museum, Munich
Conrad III
king of Germany and Holy Roman emperor
Valdemar II, coin, 13th century; in the Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen
Valdemar II
king of Denmark
default image
Philippe de Mézières
French knight
Louis VII
Louis VII
king of France
default image
Tamás Bakócz
Hungarian archbishop
Valdemar I
Valdemar I
king of Denmark
default image
Baldwin I
king of Jerusalem
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
French noble
Raymond VII, seal, 13th century; in the Archives Nationales, Paris
Raymond VII
count of Toulouse
default image
Baldwin III
king of Jerusalem
Mission San Juan Capistrano
St. John of Capistrano
Franciscan preacher
default image
Adhémar of Monteil
French bishop and crusader
default image
William IX
duke of Aquitaine and Gascony

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