he was killed, and its authenticity, was never proved, crusader morale skyrocketed. Now the crusaders would march again to Jerusalem.
The Siege of Antioch
When the tired crusaders finally reached Jerusalem, they tried to storm the gates but were unsuccessful. With no siege equipment, the crusaders were at a loss. It was decided they had to break the siege and find a forest to build siege equipment. They built three siege towers - one as a decoy. The siege equipment was successful, and they gained access to the city. The crusaders killed everyone in the city going in to houses and dragging the inhabitants out and killing them. It was a brutal bloodbath, but the crusaders had achieved their goal of taking Jerusalem.
Once the crusaders had taken the city, they recovered the Holy Sepulcher and the crusader's morale skyrocketed. Again with Godfrey of Bouillon leading the army,
they wanted to make him king of Jerusalem. Godfrey declined that title and became Guardian of the Sepulcher and wore a crown of thorns instead of gold. Shortly after
the capture of Jerusalem, Godfrey died, in the battle of Ascalon August 12th, 1099. Baldwin of Boulogne (Godfrey's brother) was the successor to Jerusalem and he took over after Godfrey's death.
After the first crusade Latin crusader states were established such as the Principality of Antioch, and the Count of Tripoli, and Edessa which was ruled by Baldwin of Boulogne. After the crusade the red cross which was the insignia of the crusaders became a famous Christian symbol. Christian faith was very strong after the recovery of such holy Christian relics. Many people made their fortune from pillaging the villages and castles they defeated. The crusading orders established after the first crusade were the Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar, and the Teutonic Knights. Templar Banner
The first crusade led a path for many other crusades to follow. Some were smaller and less famous and were mainly believed to be extensions of a larger crusade. The last crusading order of knights was the Knights Hospittaler. The crusades led
many Christians to a wave of impassioned fury. Many historians believe that it should be noted that many priests tried to protect the Jews inside chapels.
The crusades were a vital part of the religion and practices in Egypt and the Middle East. It was thought that the second crusade was a misdirected slaughter.
The second crusade ended in a strategically foolish attack on Damascus in which the crusaders attacked from the sea. The third crusade was the most famous; it was noted in many movies such as the “Kingdom of Heaven”. The third crusade had the most famous of crusade leaders, Richard I the Lionhearted, who was noted for his bravery and mercilessness'. When people think of the third crusade they think of Richard the Lion-Hearted who led the crusade as a holy act to gain favor with the people and recapture the lands he believed rightfully belonged to the Christians.
Some of the crusades ended merely because of bad leadership, and foolish ideas, such as the horrible attack led on Damascus. The fourth crusade was fairly successful and disbanded when the crusaders sacked Constantinople and pillaged it. The fifth crusade went into Egypt instead of the Middle East. In the fifth crusade, the crusaders were very successful in their battles, but were defeated at Cairo by the Egyptians. The sixth crusade wasn't really a crusade, but through diplomacy Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth were delivered to the crusaders from the Muslims, for a period of ten years.
Between 1232 and 1234 was the time of different crusades in which a people called the Stedingers who were Catholic rebelled for freedoms from the Count of Oldenburg. A crusade was called, and the Stedingers were defeated. Another crusade
was the Hussite crusade, in which they used gunpowder infantry, even though the Hussite's were heavily outnumbered by German cavalry, they still ended the crusade in a draw bringing a new age of infantry. Even though the crusades were mainly
Christian there were many barbarians with their own forms of crusades. These crusades just like the ones of earlier times made a large impact on the eastern world.
There were many crusades throughout time, each one an attempt by Christians to regain what they believed was rightfully theirs by virtue of Jesus Christ. The crusade helped shape the world today and influenced many cultures. The crusades opened up trade throughout England to Egypt. The peoples of these lands adopted new styles of living and fighting from each other. Also this rooted Christianity throughout the world. This resulted in the Christian numbers increasing rapidly.
Despite the massive slaughters of Jews, the Jewish religion still lived on. The crusades helped form a new world in medieval times through trade, and imposing their own beliefs, and traditions upon each other. Each of these cultures adopted ideas, technologies, and styles of fighting from each other. The crusades also expanded knowledge of the world through each encounter. Some leaders also gained their own chapter in history for their bravery and courage throughout the crusades.
