More Crusades: The Fall of Constantinople

Following the capture and sack of Jerusalem in 1099 in­dependent Latin (Roman Catholic) kingdoms continued to be established in southeastern Turkey and along the coast in the Middle East.

You are aware of the oaths and promises made to the Roman Em­pire, not by you alone but by all the other counts. Now you are the first to break faith. You have seized Antioch and by under­handed methods gained possession of certain other fortified places, including (the port of) Loadicea itself. I bid you with­draw from the city ofAntioch and all the other places, thereby doing what is right, and do not try to provoke fresh hostilities and battles against yourself.²⁶

Bohemond rejected Alexios^, ultimatum knowing full well that the Emperor s forces were inadequate to impose his au­thority. The fortunes of the Crusaders, however, were also not improving. In the spring of IlOl the last wave of the First Cru­sade arrived in Constantinople made up of Franks, Lombards and Bavarians. Swearing oaths of allegiance to Alexios, the lead­ers set out across Asia Minor accompanied by a small imperial force under General Tzitas. It was joined by Raimond of Toulouse, who had become Bohemond s bitter enemy, dating to their conflict over possession of Antioch. The force was prob­ably intended to re-establish Imperial authority in Asia Minor but it did not get very far. Capturing Ankyra (and massacring the local Christians who had come out to greet them) the Cru­saders were attacked by a strong Turkish army and badly de­feated, with a handful managing to escape and make their way back to Constantinople.

Arriving in Apula (southern Italy) early in 1105, he (Bohemond) moved on to Rome in September to see Pope Paschal II, whom he effortlessly convinced that the enemy of the Crusaders was neither the Arab nor the Turk, but the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor. Continuing to France, he was accompanied by a papal legate with instructions to preach a Holy war against Byzantium. In a lifetime spent fighting the Eastern Empire, Bo- hemond never did it—or indeed, the whole Christian cause—so much harm as in those conversations with Pope Paschal. Hence­forth his own narrow predatory policy became the official policy of Christendom (i.e., the Latin Church). Those Crusaders who for whatever reason disliked the Byzantines now found their prejudices endorsed by the highest authority. To Alexios and his subjects, the entire Crusade was now revealed as nothing more than a monstrous exercise in hypocrisy.²⁷

Alexios^, government was beginning to realize that the Cru­saders posed as much of a threat as did the Turks. Indeed, by the autumn of 1107, Bohemond was ready to strike and sailing across the Adriatic he laid siege to Durazzo (Dyrrachlion), a port which was defended by mercenary Seljuk Turks hired by Alexios. Unable to storm the walls the Crusaders settled down to a siege, but by September a large Imperial army had arrived and blocked Bohemond from advancing any further.

The next two emperors, Alexios’ son and grandson, con­tinued to strengthen the empire, retaking territory lost to the Muslims and to the Catholic Hungarian kingdom to the north. Alexios was succeeded by his 30-year-old son John II, known as the Beautiful due to his gentle disposition, generosity and merciful treatment of captive foes. He was also humorless and highly religious, with little use for luxury. By 1135 he had scored a number of victories against Emir Ghazi of the Danishment Turks, recovering much of Asia Minor which had been lost after the fiasco at Manzikert. Next he marched into Cilicia, an Ar­menian Christian kingdom which had proclaimed its independ­ence, and when the ruler of Antioch, Raymond of Poitiers, re­fused to recognize his overlordship he laid siege to the city and forced its surrender. The defenders were spared on condition that an oath of fealty be sworn by Raymond recognizing the Emperor as his sovereign. Then in 1138, together with Raymond of Poitiers, Joscelin II the count of Edessa, and a regiment of Templar knights, the emperor John II launched an expedition against the Muslim stronghold of Shaizar. After a brief siege the city surrendered with all inhabitants spared and the Emir rec­ognizing John II as his sovereign.

Immediately upon his death John II was succeeded by his son Manuel I. Unusually tall, Manuel was an excellent soldier and a fine horseman, as well as a typical Greek intellectual with an interest in the arts, the sciences, and above all debate. Un­conventional, he scandalized the Eastern Church by his over­tures towards Rome and the Sunni Muslims, inviting the Seljuk Sultan to Constantinople and including him in a procession to St. Sophia Cathedral. His foreign policy objectives, however, were traditional enough: territory controlled by the Muslims and western Christians was to be restored to imperial rule, as soon as possible. Following Emperor Alexios’ death, Raymond of Antioch had broken his vow of allegiance and reoccupied the castles which had fallen to the Emperor, and Manuels first move was to send a naval expeditionary force to Asia Minor. All castles were retaken, and the area and seashore along Anti­och were devastated as a punishment. The Roman Catholics suffered another major defeat in the same year when the Atabeg of Mosul, Imadeddin Zengi, invaded and conquered the Cru­sader county of Edessa, thus triggering the Second Crusade of 1146, as well as the first Crusade in northern Europe.

Launched by Pope Eugenius III, the second crusade against Islam was over in two years when a German, and then a French army were badly defeated by the Turks. Some French and German leaders’ plot to attack Constantinople rather than the Muslims failed to materialize, and seems to have been re­sponsible for Emperor Manuels decision not to participate in the Crusade. The Crusaders seemed to have difficulty distin­guishing between friend and foe. A small French force which had survived the defeat reached Antioch on Easter Sunday of 1148 and decided to march on Damascus, but withdrew after only a five day siege.

Emperor Manuel’s victories went hand-in-hand with a pol­icy of establishing ties with past enemies and turning potential foes into allies. He had become a good friend of King Baldwin III OfJerusalem after the Roman Catholic ruler had married his niece Theodora. The Atabeg of Mosul also decided to be on good terms and proposed a peace treaty and an alliance against the Turks, which Manuel readily accepted. Kilij Arslan II, the Sultan of the Seljuk Turks, now found himself isolated and had no choice but to sign a treaty with Manuel as well, giving up all captured territory and agreeing to provide a regiment of troops when so required. Manuel’s opportunity to re-establish imperial authority over Antioch came when Prince Reynold (who had replaced Raymond of Poitiers) with the Armenian Prince Thoros launched a raid on Cyprus, looting the island and re­turning with rich spoils. Cyprus was a part of imperial territory and in 1158 Manuel marched on Antioch. Reynold was forced to sue for peace, and exercising characteristic mercy and diplo­macy Manuel spared his life. However, he had to swear alle­giance to the Emperor and suffer a humiliating entry into the imperial camp, prostrating himself at Manuel’s feet dressed in a woolen tunic, barefoot, and a rope tied around his neck.

Constantinople’s position was now stronger than it had been for some time, but its dominance was not to last. Events surrounding two situations were unfolding which would prove fatal in the decades to come—a growing hostility towards the Venetian Republic and the consolidation of power amongst the Turkish tribes by the Seljuk sultans. The break with Venice came when Manuel ordered the inexplicable massacre of the Venetian population in Constantinople, apparently some 10,000 men, women and children. Manuel continued to main­tain close ties WithJerusalem and its new king, Amalric, came to Constantinople in 1171 to renew his pledge of fealty to the Emperor and to marry another one of his nieces. Manuel also obtained the right to rebuild and decorate Greek Orthodox basilicas and monasteries on Crusader occupied territory, and the Eastern clergy was allowed to perform Orthodoxliturgy at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In return, Con­stantinople became the Crusaders’ ally, providing a naval force in two (abortive) expeditions against the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt as Saladin (Salah-ad-Din) was rising to become the Caliph’s Vizier.

Emperor Manuel I died on 24 September 1180, and was succeeded by his cousin Andronicus I, who seized power two years later at the age of 64 in the process encouraging another massacre of Italian residents in Constantinople. His reign did much to undo Manuel’s achievements, and marked the begin­ning of chaos and purges in the imperial administration. Rela­tions with the CatholicWest worsened when he signed a treaty with the Muslim leader Saladin. The Prince of Antioch, Baldwin III repudiated his wife, Manuel’s niece, in protest and the Sicilian Normans attacked Greece, capturing Thessalonica in an orgy of violence and pillage. A popular uprising led by his cousin Isaac Angelos followed, Andronicus was killed and Isaac proclaimed Emperor. Following his crowning a Norman force was defeated as it marched towards Constantinople, and the rest of the Norman Armywas driven out of Thessalonica with heavy losses.

The next two Crusades were presided over by three em­perors of Isaac’s Angeli dynasty who during their nineteen years in power were directly responsible for the Eastern Roman Em­pire’s greatest catastrophe—the fall of Constantinople. In spite of the failure of the Second Crusade the Catholic Christians retained the coastal areas of Syria and Palestine, but these would be attacked by Moslem armies led by Saladin who had sworn to expel the infidels. In 1175 SaladinbroughtMoslem Syria and Egypt underhis rule and in 1187 he invaded the Latin kingdom OfJerusalem and laid siege to Tiberias. To relieve the besieged city, the King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusingnan led an army through arid terrain where Saladin had taken up positions and was controlling the wells, depriving the Catholic Army of water. The two forces met by the twin peaks known as the Horns of Hattin on 4 July 1187. Seeing the wind was blowing towards the Crusaders’ lines Saladin’s men started brush fires and in the smoky confusion the Christian infantry became separated from the mounted knights and was cut down by the Moslem cavalry. Suffering from thirst and heat, the armored knights were quickly overcome, many fainting from exhaustion. King Guy’s life was spared as were those of his knights, who received fresh water. Due to their reputation of having massacred Muslim popula­tions all Templar and Hospitaler knights were put to the sword on Saladin’s orders.

Nearly all of Palestine was now in Moslem hands and the road to Jerusalem lay open. Saladin’s generous terms of surrender were refused, but after a twelve-day siege the city ca­pitulated. Saladin proved to be more humane than the Cru­saders by sparing the inhabitants’ lives, but a ransom was im­posed: 10 gold pieces for each man, 5 for each woman and 1 for a child. The poorest, some 7,000 souls, were to be freed on the surrender of the 30,000 gold bezants, which Saladin knew had been sent by Henry II of England to the Hospitaler knights. Two thousand of the poor were also freed outright by Saladin and his brother al-Adil as a form of alm charity, but 15,000 of the 60,000 Christian captives were enslaved. The women of the knights’ and soldiers’ families were treated with exceptional kindness. The knights who were captured in the battle of Hattin were released to their wives and daughters, while the widows received a distribution from Saladin’s own treasury. The freed King and the nobles had to swear that they would never bear arms against Saladin, but the oaths were dishonorably broken once the prisoners were back in Catholic Tripoli and Antioch.²⁸

With the fall of Jerusalem a third Crusade was proclaimed in 1189 which lasted for three years and to this day remains as the highlight of the entire Crusade movement. Both sides were led by great leaders; the Christian West by King Richard Coeur- de-Lion (Lion-Heart) and the Muslims by Sultan Saladin.²⁹ The rift between the Christian East and West was by now too wide to be bridged and the fighting was done without imperial sup­port. On the contrary, the new Roman Emperor Isaac II An­gelos may have been on friendly terms with Saladin. Following the death of King Richard in 1199 Pope Innocent III called for yet another Crusade. The initial target was ostensibly Alexan­dria, and a delegation was sent to Venice to negotiate for a fleet to transport an entire Crusader army. In the treaty signed in April 1201 the Doge (Duke) of the Venetian Republic, Enrico Dandolo agreed to supply ships for 4,500 knights and their horses, 9,000 squires and 20,000 foot soldiers, as well as food for nine months for the price of 85,000 silver marks.³⁰ Also in return for half of all captured territory the Venetians would pro­vide an additional fleet of 50 fully equipped galleys. What be­came known as the Fourth Crusade was unable to raise the full amount and it was agreed that the shortfall would be postponed if the Crusaders would assist in the capture of the Dalmatian port of Zara (Zadar), which had been occupied by the King of Hungary a few years before.

Led by the Marquis Boniface of Montserrat, the army of the Fourth Crusade sailed from Venice on November 8 1202 in 480 Venetian vessels. Their first destination was Zara, which was sacked and pillaged a week after their arrival. The port, however, was inhabited by Roman Catholics and was under papal protection. Outraged at the atrocity, Pope Innocent pro­ceeded to excommunicate the entire expeditionary force but which was soon lifted due to the Crusaders’ pleading that “our soldiers had sinned under duress.”³¹ Emperor Isaac II had in the meantime been overthrown by his brother Alexios III and his son (also Alexios) thrown in prison. Released from jail, Isaacs son managed to flee to Germany from where he approached the Crusaders with a proposal: he would place the Orthodox Church under papal authority and introduce the Roman Catholic liturgy in return for restoring his father to the throne. Also an unheard of sum of200,000 silver marks would be paid, and he would personally lead 10,000 men to join the Crusade. First, however, the Crusaders were to sail to Constantinople and restore Isaac to the throne and in the meantime supplies would be provided for the Crusaders in Zara.

The proposed new plans suited the Venetians well. They had just signed a profitable treaty with Cairo and had lost all interest in an Egyptian campaign. The murderous purges of Venetians and other Italians in Constantinople orchestrated by the Emperors Manuel and Andronicus, to which the 95-year- old (and blind) Doge Enrico Dandalo himself could have been a witness, were also not forgotten. The change in plans also found support amongst the Crusade leaders including Boniface of Montferrat, the commander-in-chief. Although the change of destination was protested by many participants, who were afraid it would cancel the remission of sin, it was finally clinched by the bishops, who argued that remission was still intact since attacking Constantinople would lead to the liberation of Jerusalem. Bohemonds charges against Alexios III were now repeated—he was anti-Crusade, a “schismatic,” and above all a usurper of the throne. The real motives were that the Cru­saders had failed to collect the required sum to pay the Vene­tians, who were always seeking to expand trade at the expense of Constantinople, and no one had forgotten Alexios’ pledge of200,000 silver marks if his father was restored to the throne. In the background there was also the Papal hostility to the Greek Orthodox Church, as observed by Gunther of Pairis, a Cistercian monk from Alsace: “Tobe sure the Supremepontiff had for a considerable time hated that city (Constantinople), as did his predecessors.”³²

The timing to attack Constantinople was good since the much shrunken Eastern Roman Empire was in bad shape. It had been rendered ineffective by the complete abolition of the Theme system and the semi-feudal aristocracy which now owned almost all the arable land. The imperial army consisted largely of mercenaries and had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Bulgarians, with another force wiped out in Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks. The naval squadrons with their deadly Greek fire were also gone, and ironically all shipbuilding had been outsourced to Venice 16 years before with many of the older vessels being stripped of anchors and sails and sold by the admiral to private merchants.

Zara had not been badly damaged during the brief siege which allowed the Crusaders to spend the winter of 1202-03 behind its walls. It is during this time that the plan to divert the Crusade against Constantinople became public, causing many to leave when the fleet cast anchor at Corfu. The remaining Latin force continued on its voyage, sighting Constantinople on 23 June 1203 and anchoring in the Bosphorus; the fleet moved to Scutari a few days later. If the leaders of the expedi­tionary force expected Constantinople to open its gates and greet the young Alexios as Emperor they were mistaken. Fight­ing soon broke out on July 1 when a Catholic scouting party routed an imperial force near Scutari. Rejecting EmperorAlex- ios III s offer of supplies if they left, the Catholic leaders decided to attack Constantinople instead. The walls on the land and the Bosphorus side of the city were impregnable even to catapults, and two weeks later a Crusader fleet landed on the northern shore of the Golden Horn at Galata. Although this was the residence of foreign merchants and undefended it was never­theless of strategic importance, since this was where the tower that housed the machinery for lowering the great chain stood. After a 24-hour siege on 6 July the defenders of the tower joined by a force from the city attacked the Crusader camp but after heavy fighting the tower fell into Latin hands. All the water approaches to Constantinople as well as access to the weakest section of the city’s walls were now in the Crusaders’ hands, with all imperial ships either seized or abandoned on the beaches.

Pressing their advantage the Crusaders and Venetians set up camp close to the city walls and began to besiege the north­ern part, with the defenders sending out regular parties to attack the Roman Catholic camps. On 17 July the besiegers launched an assault from both land and sea, with the Venetians capturing a number of harbor towers on the sea walls. The Crusader in­fantry and dismounted knights, however, were repulsed from the walls with heavy losses, and a counter-offensive by the de­fenders drove the Venetians out of the towers. The first major fire also broke out when the Venetians managed to set fire to several buildings in the city to halt the counter-attack, destroy­ing some 125 city acres. Alexios III also took part in the fighting and attacked the Crusaders outside of the walls, but even with numerical superiority failed to press his advantage. The Latin forces were now in a dangerous situation but were saved by Alexios’ poor leadership and inaction, as they were allowed to withdraw. During the night of 17-18 July following the fighting, Alexios III Secretlyfled Constantinople taking as much treasure as his men could carry.³³

Bythe early morning of 17 July, imperial officials realized that Alexios had fled, and supported by the Varangian Guard a eunuch commander brought the imprisoned (and blinded) Isaac to the palace and proclaimed him Emperor Isaac II. The father immediately asked for his son Alexios, who was in the Crusaders’ camp, and upon confirming the terms of the agree­ment which had been struck between Alexios and the Cru­saders, on 1 August the son was crowned as co-emperor. Al­though the Catholic forces had failed to take Constantinople by a direct assault, renewed conflict continued. The father and son co-Emperors began to have difficulties in making payments towards the 200,000 silver marks which Alexios had promised to pay the Latins, who also began reminding Alexios that the Greek Orthodox Church was to be placed under Papal author­ity. Hostilities broke out between the Greek Orthodox and the Catholics within the city walls, forcing about 10,000 Catholic inhabitants to evacuate Constantinople for the safety of the Crusader camps. Also clashes occurred with the token Crusader force stationed in the city, resulting in extensive fires. In spite of stripping monasteries, churches, and public buildings, Alexios IV could not maintain the payments demanded by the Crusaders. Also the Emperor’s collaboration with the Catholic force was causing deep resentment amongst the Greek Ortho­dox population, and on 28 January 1204 he was assassinated by Alexios Ducas, a wealthy and influential noble. Crowned as Alexios V and determined to confront the Crusaders, Ducas took a force outside of the city walls and attacked a foraging party, led by Henry of Flanders. The confrontation ended badly for the new Emperor when his men deserted, and Henry cap­tured the sacred icon of the Mother of God, the protectress of Constantinople which had accompanied the Emperors at the head of troops in all major battles. The symbolic loss of the icon was not lost on the defenders and the population.

Seeing that Constantinople was defiant and ceased all co­operation the leaders of the Latin forces, still some 20,000 strong, decided to attack the city.³⁴ The assault was to use the same technique as on the first unsuccessful attempt of the pre­vious year—tall bridges and towers mounted on Venetian ships which could reach the sea walls. This time the entire force of the assault from some forty ships would be directed only against the sea wall, where the Venetians had a measure of success on their attempt the previous year. The first attack came on 9 April 1204 a weekbefore Easter, but failed to capture any part of the defenses due in part to an unfavorable wind which was blowing the ships away from the walls. The assault was in fact a fiasco, costing the Crusaders significant casualties and loss of equip­ment, much of which had to be abandoned on the narrow sandy beach separating sea walls from the Golden Horn. Three days later, with a favorable wind the attack was renewed. Climbing on top of the towers mounted on the ships, the Crusaders began to release volleys of crossbow bolts and javelins as they at­tempted to gain the walls. Extra motivation was provided by the announcement that the first and the second man who suc­ceeded in jumping on the walls would receive 100 and 50 marks of silver, respectively. Casualties began to mount but the attack­ers succeeded in capturing several towers (between two and five; the exact number is not known) but to no avail, since they were besieged and locked in by the defenders, not able to ad­vance outside of the captured fortifications. Constantinople’s sea walls were also proving to be impregnable, and the assault was again heading towards a disaster. Other Crusaders were ex­ploring the base of the wall, hoping to find a weak spot which could be penetrated. Perhaps informed ahead of time by an in­side source, a band led by one Peter of Amiens discovered a small walled-up postern gate. Reinforcedbythe ClericAleaumes of Claris men, they broke through, pushing aside Alexios V at the head of his bodyguard, and opened a larger gate to allow infantry and mounted knights to pour into the city.³⁵

This was the turning point of the battle for Constanti­nople. Following his predecessor’s example, Emperor Alexios V fled, which signaled the end of all resistance within the city. By the morning of 12 April, Constantinople was in the Catho­lics’ hands and the traditional three days of looting, pillaging and massacre of the population followed. According to eyewit­nesses so many inhabitants including newborn infants were cut down that all count was lost. In the words of a contemporary historian: “now that the customary three days looting was al­lowed them, they fell on it like locusts. Never since the barbarian invasion had Europe witnessed such an orgy of brutality and vandalism; never [had so much] been wantonly destroyed in so short a space of time.”³⁶

Mostpalaces, churches and Statelyhomes of the rich were looted as were all other buildings. Estimates put the value of the plunder at 900,000 silver marks, an unheard of sum for those times.³⁷ Of this the Venetians received their full payment, and 100,000 silver marks were divided amongst the knights, mounted sergeants and foot soldiers, in the ratio of 4:2:1. This meant that each soldier received only 5 silver marks, so that most of the booty went to the wealthy nobility. It is not known who received most of the 10,000 horses that were captured, many of them bred over centuries for the chariot races in the Hippodrome.

Libraries and museums were also ransacked and burned by the fires which had broken out during the fighting, resulting in the loss of much classical works. The plays of Sophocles and Euripides, for example, which had been Completelypreserved up to this time, were destroyed, with only a small portion sur­viving. Much of the craftsmanship and Greek Orthodox Church relics were loaded on ships and brought to Venice, such as Con- Stantines famous four great horses which to this day can be seen in St. Marks Square. As recorded by Otto of St. Blasien some five years after the fall of Constantinople:

Thus the riches of Greece were carried to many western lands, particularly the ornaments of that temple which the Emperor Justinian constructed some time ago to honor Hagia Sophia (The Cathedral of St. Sophia) noted for its great quantity of gold, along with relics of innumerable saints, in which this city sur­passed the entire East. To a large extent this (treasure) was car­ried off to Venice and other regions and cities were enriched by these relics and treasures to a great degree. Moreover, a certain Cistercian abbot by the name of Martin, from the monastery of Pairis, which is located in Alsace, went on this expedition, partic­ipated in the storming of Constantinople, and thereafter carried back to his homeland a very large portion of the Living Cross and other relics of Our Lord, along with many relics of the saints, ornamented with gold, silver, and precious stones. Through these he greatly ennobled all of Germany, along with Alsace.

Others, such as Burchard of Ursberg, were not so approv­ing:

Also a certain abbot of the Cistercian Order from a place called Pairis, located in the Vosges forest, carried many relics back to his monastery, which are still kept there. Whether they were stolen, let him who reads decide. Or can the lord Pope clearly justify such thievery made on a Christian people.³⁸

Pope Innocent III approved and justified. In response to Baldwin of Flanders, who was crowned Emperor in the reded­icated Hagia Sophia, the Pope wrote:

Surely this (the sack of Constantinople) was done by the Lord and is wondrous in our eyes. This is truly a change done by the right hand of the most High, in which the right hand of the Lord manifested power, so that he might exact the most Holy Roman Church, while he returns the daughter to the mother, the part to the whole, and the member to the head.³⁹

The sack of Constantinople did not end the Roman Cath­olic Crusades against Islam. A fifth Crusade of German, Aus­trian and Hungarian troops led by King Andrew of Hungary sailed to the mouth of the Nile in 1217. Nothing came of the expedition and the Crusaders were obliged to sign a treaty with the Egyptian Sultan, al-Kamil. A short-lived success, however, was achieved by the excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who set out on yet a 6th crusade in 1228. A man dedicated to learning, he was already fluent in Greek and Arabic as a young boy when he was allowed to roam the streets and market places of Palermo, Sicily, and as an adult he spoke nine languages and wrote in seven. As a freethinker he was drawn to Muslim science, literature and culture and when he and al-Kamil met, the Sultan was astounded that a European monarch spoke Arabic and could discuss Moslem culture and philosophy. They soon became well acquainted and astonished the known world by signing a peace agreement by which al- Kamil ceded Acre, Jaffa, Eidon, Nazareth, Bethlehem and all of Jerusalem, with the exception of the enclosure which held the sacred Dome of the Rock. Pope Gregory IX, however, de­nounced the agreement and refused to ratify the treaty, which was a victory for the Crusades without a single drop of blood being shed.

The peace was soon broken when in 1244 the Catholic nobility ofjerusalem allied themselves with the Moslem rulers OfDamascus against the Sultan of Egypt, who promptly called in the TurksJerusalem was sacked, and most of its inhabitants massacred. But it was an unusual army from Egypt that would drive the Catholics out of the Middle East. Slaverywas rampant in the Middle Ages, and Egypt was one of the largest buyers of slaves in the Mediterranean basin. Many of the slaves had come from Slavic and other east European lands, and by the 13th cen­tury Egypt had a large slave population, both civilian and mil­itary, including the sultan s palace guards. Theywent under the general name of “Mamluks,” meaning those who are owned, and would establish a dynasty in Egypt to last for three cen­turies. The first Mamluk ruler was al-Malik Baibars, a born slave who rose to high command in the Egyptian army. Two months after the Turkish sack ofjerusalem, Baibars defeated the Cru­saders at Gaza in 1244 and Jerusalem once again fell into Muslim hands where it would remain until the 20th century. In 1250 at the battle of the Mansura Baibars also defeated King Louis IX of France, who had invaded during the 7th Crusade. It was ten years later, however, that the Mamluks accomplished an unprecedented feat. The Mongols had invaded the Middle East destroying all centers of civilization including Baghdad with the slaughter of most of the inhabitants and scholars, and the destruction oflibraries with their thousands of priceless books. Commanded by Baibars and Sultan Qutuz, the Mamluks met the Mongol army at Ain-Jalut and destroyed it, with the survivors fleeing to safety. It was Baibar s skill as the effective commander which had won the day and realizing his power he had Qutuz murdered on the way back to Cairo to proclaim him­self Sultan.

Several half-hearted attempts were made by the old Louis IX of France and followed by King Edward of England to IiberateJerusalem from the Mamluks but to little avail. The end came when some Christian freebooters attacked and looted a Muslim caravan in Syria, hanged 19 Muslim merchants and sacked several towns. Sultan Khalil demanded reparations and punishment of the perpetrators, and when none came he be­sieged the Crusader fortification of Acre in 1291, which fell after 43 days, with 60,000 killed or taken prisoner. Tyre, Haifa, Sidon and Beirut soon followed, and the Catholic Kingdom(s) in the Middle East came to an end. Hospitaler Knights of St. John who survived the massacre at Acre escaped to Cyprus, and in 1310 they captured the island of Rhodes from the Muslims, be­coming known as the Knights of Rhodes.

Crusades were also undertaken in Europe against Chris­tians, such as against the Bogomil Albigensians of southern France in 1208, and Emperor Frederick II in 1240. The Cru­sades had become a vehicle for papal authority and policy in Europe and quickly turned into expeditions of conquest and looting, in spite of the devout beliefs of many of the participants. There would also occur another major but less known Crusade against the pagan Baltic Slavs of today s north and east Germany and Poland, as well as against the Prussian, Lithuanian, and Lat­vian tribes of the east Baltic coast.