The Silver Lining Of The Crusades
The relationship between Europe, the Middle East, and the Crusades was close and interwoven. While factions in the Middle East had to militarily defend against waves of Christian forces, it did not stop trade and intercultural development. While the European states were unified at the barest level, individual states and rulers grew in power as a direct result of the Crusades. European politics began to form around larger players.
From a military and political perspective, the Crusades created a common enemy as a reactionary measure, which allowed the various Christian nations to issue a casus belli. Niremberg highlights Pope Alexander II’s rhetoric as a means to describe Europe’s more unified stance against the Islamic threat. Pope Alexander argued that “the shedding of human blood is forbidden to the Christian, it was ‘just to fight’ against Saracens, ‘who persecute Christians…’” (Niremberg 2). While the Crusaders came from many factions, from a Muslim perspective, Europe presented itself as a unified front. Muslims would “call all members of the armies ‘firandj,’ ‘Frank,’ regardless of their actual provenance” (Niremberg 3). In reality, the Crusades also helped the westerners to use this as an excuse to pursue their own interests.
Nations created the Crusader States and attempted to establish a permanent Christian position in the Middle East. From these positions, Crusaders were able to utilize local resources to boost their homeland’s economy. The Crusades themselves became highly expensive investments, which nation leaders dedicated their national wealth to. For example, Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa was known to have submitted to Pope Alexander III on his way to the Crusade as a means to curry favor and blessings for success (Artstor). The Third Crusade, “was a gigantic enterprise led by the three most powerful rulers in Western Europe” (Rodriguez 70). While this was mostly a disaster, it showcases how important the Crusades were to western rulers. For Richard the Lionheart, his success in negotiating with Saladin for the rights of pilgrims, would indicate the growing prestige of kingship.
The Crusades were largely a failure from a territorial and militaristic perspective. However, as the Pope and other Christian theocratic representatives provided a religious case for the Crusades, stating that Christians were under assault by Muslim forces, King Richard the Lionheart succeeded where the other rulers failed. He was able to negotiate a three-year truce where Christian pilgrims could enter and leave without harassment. In fact, when the Turks wanted to take revenge and attack these pilgrims, “Saladin and his Chiefs would not allow it… and under his protection the pilgrims had free access to the Holy Sepulcher, and were treated with the greatest liberality” (Rodriguez 79). I found this to be important because of the way Saladin upheld his treaty. He negotiated with another nation’s ruler, rather than the Pope, and his other leadership. This begins to showcase the rising power of kings in Europe, and the waning authority of the pope.
In many ways, the crusades were a success from an economic perspective. The establishment of Crusader States as well as the basic need to transport and supply troops, created very lucrative economies. For example, the Italian states and the merchant class became very economically successful as they facilitated transport for the crusading armies. Furthermore, the increased interaction between Europe and the East, helped create a more prosperous economic situation for Western Europe.
The Crusades helped create a more established “West.” The Muslim factions categorized the Crusaders as “Franks,” and did not identify each individual entity as they saw them as a singular unified force. As the incursions progressed, they established a new and larger interaction between the west and the east; which increased economic trade and the spread of ideas. While the conflict itself was bloody, the silver lining was a growth in learning and trade, as well as the increased prominence in feudal rulership.
Sources:
Nirenberg, David. Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today. Chicago and London: U of Chicago, n.d. Print.
Rodriguez, Jarbel. Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages: A Reader. Toronto: U of Toronto, 2014. Print.
Malombra, Pietro. “The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa Submitting to Pope Alexander III in the Presence of a Doge.” Artstor Collections. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.