1 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: The battles of the past to find the present. This 2 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: is shields high. Gather around, friends, for I have a 3 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: story to tell. A thousand years ago, a military force 4 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: assembled in Europe and rallied under the banner of the Cross. 5 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: This Christian army believed no less than their eternal salvation 6 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: was at stake. These warriors, knights, foot soldiers and peasants 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: traveled three thousand miles to do battle in the heart 8 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: of a vast enemy empire. Despite their religious zeal and bravery, 9 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: this army of Christendom was embarking on what could have 10 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: been a suicide mission. From a purely military standpoint. They 11 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: were outmanned and outmatched. They had no idea of the 12 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: enemy's true strength or will to fight. But death in 13 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,959 Speaker 1: battle was to be rewarded with the elimination of all 14 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: penance four sins. The Pope himself had promised no less. 15 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: Before they left behind the familiar castles and farms of Europe, 16 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: the true believers sewed the sign of the Cross onto 17 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: their shoulders and chests. They called this crucis ignatis for 18 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: one with the sign of the Cross, from which many 19 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: decades later we would get the term crusade. And in 20 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: the year of Our Lord ten ninety five, their initial 21 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: call to arms in the defense of Christendom would come 22 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: to be known as the First Crusade. This religious and 23 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: military quest marked the first time in centuries that the 24 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: forces of Christian Europe would strike back at the Muslim 25 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: conquest that had consumed so much of the known medieval world. 26 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: The incredible, some would say miraculous, success of the First 27 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: Crusade would be a harbinger of holy wars to come. 28 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: This assemblage of Christian warriors would conquer Jerusalem and set 29 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: in motion two hundred years of fighting between warring Muslim 30 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: factions and the Crusader city states that were established by 31 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: this counter invasion of Christendom. From a d five to 32 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: twelve ninety one, the Near East what is currently Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, 33 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Iraq was enmeshed in crusades and jihad's, But it was 34 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,959 Speaker 1: the First Crusade, a military invasion against near impossible odds, 35 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: that shook the Islamic world to its foundations and for 36 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: the first time in history, allowed the Christian world to 37 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: strike at the heart of the Islamic world. Despite what 38 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: is taught in Western schools today, the Crusades were not 39 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: an act of wanton cruelty by a bunch of barbarous 40 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: Christian states. On the contrary, the First Crusade was a 41 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: response to centuries of Islamic conquest, aggression, and threats. By 42 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: the dawn of the twelfth century, the expansion of the 43 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: Islamic Empire seemed nearly unstoppable. At the time of the 44 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: First Crusade, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa, Asia, Minor, Spain, France, Italy, 45 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica were all Christian 46 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: territories turned into Muslim ones. In fact, about two thirds 47 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: of the formerly Christian world at the time of the 48 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 1: First Crusade was ruled by Muslims. Had it not been 49 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: for Charles Martel's heroics at the Battle of Tour in 50 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: seven thirty two, the forces of Islam would have conquered 51 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: the heart of Europe itself. The world as we know 52 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: it today would be an entirely different place. Western civilization 53 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: would have been extinguished, replaced with the totalitarianism and despotism 54 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: of the East. But the victory of Charles the Hammer 55 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: Martel was only temporary. The Crescent Moon of Islam already 56 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: reigned over immense domains, and its forces were often literally 57 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,559 Speaker 1: at the gates of Christendom, just waiting to break through. 58 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: On the Iberian Peninsula where modern Spain and Portugal are found, 59 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: and all the way across to the gates of Constantinople 60 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,160 Speaker 1: in the east, in what is now the city of Istanbul, Turkey, 61 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: there was a constant jihadist menace. Islamic raiding parties used 62 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: the Mediterranean to launch murderous, pillaging assaults. They would kidnap 63 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: Christians to sell into slavery along the coasts of Italy, France, 64 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: and Spain all throughout the medieval period. At the end 65 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: of the eleventh century, the goal of every caliph, the 66 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: leader of the Islamic Caliphate was the same, total domination 67 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: of the Christian world through jihad. It was in response 68 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: to this threat of spiritual and temporal bondage, this possibility 69 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: of eternal subjugation, and the extermination of the Christian faith itself. 70 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: In response to all of that, that the First Crusade 71 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: was launched. Finally, an alliance of Christian nobles came together 72 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: to lead their men to a war unlike anything attempted 73 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: since the fall of the Roman Empire. It was in 74 00:05:54,600 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: fact the inheritors of that Roman Empire, the Byzantines, guardians 75 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, who said in motion 76 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: the events that would lead to the First Crusade. Their 77 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: rapid decline and the threat of Constantinople's fall, added to 78 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: the persecution of Christian pilgrims en route to the Holy 79 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: Land and the Muslim desecration of religious sites such as 80 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. All of 81 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: that together finally woke Europe from its slumber. As described 82 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: by the French historian of the Crusades, Joseph Michaud quote, 83 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: the Christian faithful had much more to suffer. They were 84 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: driven from their houses, insulted in their churches. The tribute 85 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: which they had to pay to the new masters of 86 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: Palestine was increased, and they were forbidden to carry arms 87 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: or to mount on horseback. A leather girdle, which they 88 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: were never allowed to be without, was the badge of 89 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: their servitude. The conqueror would not permit the Christians to 90 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: speak the Arab tongue sacred to the disciples of the Koran, 91 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: and the people who remained faithful to Jesus Christ had 92 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: not liberty even to pronounce the names of the patriarchs, 93 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: including of Jerusalem itself, without the permission of the Saracens. 94 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: Other misfortunes awaited the Christians of Palestine. Under Muslim rule, 95 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: all religious ceremonies were interdicted. The greater part of the 96 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: churches were converted into stables. That of the Holy Sepulcher 97 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: was completely destroyed. The Christians driven from Jerusalem were scattered 98 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: throughout the countries of the East and quote Christendom was 99 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: under assault. The Byzantine Empire was under siege and threatening 100 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: to collapse. The forces of the Cross had to rally. 101 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: A crusade would be launched to free the Holy Land, 102 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: and it would take these god fearing Christian Zealots to 103 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: the gates of Jerusalem itself. Chapter one besieged Byzantines. Europe 104 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: through the Dark Ages period of a d. Five hundred 105 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: to one thousand or so was in chaos. The Dark 106 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: Ages was an accurate description. There was constant violence among 107 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: petty nobles, lawlessness, widespread ignorance, and deep superstition. Roads built 108 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: by ancient Rome were the most useful and well constructed 109 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: in Europe until well into the fifteen hundreds. The numerous 110 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: barbarian tribes who had sacked Rome and dismembered its empire 111 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:02,439 Speaker 1: in the fifth century, Huns, Goths, frank Saxons were constantly 112 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: at each other's throats. The only unifier of what we 113 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: now call Europe was Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church. The 114 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: only structures in fact built of stone, and most of 115 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: northern and western Europe at the time were cathedrals. Many 116 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: of those cathedrals and churches built atop formerly pagan temples. 117 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: It was very rare in this period for anyone outside 118 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,439 Speaker 1: the clergy to be able to read or write. Charlemagne himself, 119 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: the great leader who founded the Holy Roman Empire, was illiterate. 120 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: Books were incredibly valuable. Dialects of language were so different 121 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: that villages of the same tribe just a few miles 122 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: apart often had difficulty communicating. During this time, the intellectual, commercial, 123 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: and cultural pinnacle of the Christian world was found in 124 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,839 Speaker 1: the east, a wondrous city of Constantinople. It was the 125 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: Roman emperor Constantine who, back in a d. Three thirty, 126 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: became the first Roman empire to recognize Jesus as his Savior, 127 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: and he made Constantinople, the Roman Empire's second capital, a 128 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: new Rome. In the years leading up to the First Crusade. 129 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: In fact, throughout the entire Dark Ages period, the inhabitants 130 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:31,200 Speaker 1: of Constantinople thought of themselves as Romans and their crown jewel. 131 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: City was also Christianity's most important fortress against the growing 132 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: menace of Islamic conquest. Constantinople it is among the most 133 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:47,559 Speaker 1: important strategic locations in the world. It sits astride a 134 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: crucial geographic choke point separating the Black Sea from the Mediterranean. 135 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 1: With a narrow channel called the hellspont or later the Dardanelles, 136 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: it can be easily closed off. This is also considered 137 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: the gateway to Asia from Europe. After the Islamic advance 138 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: from Arabia across the Near East, the only Christian city 139 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: that was able to withstand repeated Islamic invasions from the 140 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: East was Constantinople. The Islamic Caliphs were hell bent on 141 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: taking the city. In fact, there is a headith, a 142 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: saying attributed to the prophet Muhammed, specifically citing the conquest 143 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: of this ancient Christian city Jihads were launched against Constantinople 144 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: time and again, starting in the seventh century. The first 145 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: major siege of Constantinople came in a D six seventy four. 146 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: It lasted for four years. Muslim forces brought together various 147 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: armadas and fought a series of naval engagements. The one 148 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: consistent theme throughout the contemporary sources regarding these continued Muslim 149 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: military advances against the city is a unique weapon of 150 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: the Byzantine Greek fire that Greek fire gave the Eastern 151 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: Christians the ability to repel naval assault. After naval assault, 152 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: Greek fire was an incendiary weapon, generally deployed by ships 153 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: and defensive fortifications against enemies wooden ships, as the order 154 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: galleys of the medieval period were composed entirely of wood. 155 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 1: Greek fire was a devastating weapon. Chroniclers of the time 156 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: described it as sticky and able to continue burning even 157 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:37,559 Speaker 1: on the surface of the sea. Another major Muslim siege 158 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: of Constantinople occurred in a D seven seventeen. This time 159 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: the Islamic armies came on land as well as sea. 160 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,439 Speaker 1: They tried to blockade the city, but the massive Theodosian 161 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:53,839 Speaker 1: walls three miles of three layered defensive fortifications, with the 162 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: innermost wall sixteen feet thick and thirty six ft tall 163 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: intersper with sixty foot tall guard towers holding back all 164 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 1: of the Islamic cord. These fortifications were among the most 165 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: impressive ever built in the pre modern world, and the 166 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,959 Speaker 1: use of Greek fire proved too much for the defenders. 167 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: Once again, Constantinople would stay in Christian hands at least 168 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: for a time, but by the constant warfare in the 169 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: Anatolian Peninsula also called Asia Minor between Byzantines and various 170 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 1: Muslim factions was picking off more and more Christian territory. 171 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: With the arrival of the Seljuk Turks, a massive horde 172 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 1: of warriors on horseback from the interior Asian step, and 173 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: their conversion to Sunni Islam, the future of Constantinople appeared dire. 174 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 1: Constantinople's defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks at 175 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: the Battle of Man's occurred in ten seventy one, was 176 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: for many the death knell of the once great Byzantines. 177 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 1: Time was running out for the Eastern Christian Empire, and 178 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,319 Speaker 1: if Constantinople felt it would become the forward operating base 179 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: for Jihad into all of Europe. No less than the 180 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: future of the Christian world hung in the balance. In 181 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: to avert this catastrophe, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius the First 182 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: wrote a desperate plea for help against the Seljouk menace. 183 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: The Western Christian world needed to come to Constantinople's aid, 184 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: retake the Holy Land of Jerusalem and push back the 185 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: Saracen menace once and for all. The Pope received the 186 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: plea of help from Constantinople. Hope Urban gathered Christians together 187 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: at the Council of Claremont in France on November. He 188 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: called for a holy war and stated that whoever was 189 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: going to liberate Jerusalem could substitute that journey for any 190 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: and all penance in the afterlife. The assembled Christians shouted, 191 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: deis volts, deis volts God wills it. Word from this 192 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: gathering in Claremont would spread across Europe. In time, an 193 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: army of some sixty thousand Christians would take up the call. 194 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: The First Crusade was under way. It's goal the conquest 195 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. Chapter two, The Road to Zion in the 196 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: Year of our Lord ten five, the urgent call to 197 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: Holy war in the East spread like wildfire across Europe. 198 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: While the Pope coordinated with some of the most powerful 199 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 1: nobles and knights to prepare what would be a major 200 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: military expedition, there was an unexpected gathering of commoners dedicated 201 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: to the same purpose. A firebrand preacher, a priest known 202 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: to history as Peter the Hermit, went from village to village, 203 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: promising a remission of sins for any who joined him 204 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 1: on his quest to free the Holy Land. By April 205 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: of t Peter had gathered around forty thousand men, women 206 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: and children in the German city of Cologne and began 207 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: with them overland and on foot to Jerusalem. This so 208 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: called people's crusade turned into a debacle. They were an 209 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: undisciplined rabble without arms or horses. Peter had convinced them 210 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: that with God on their side, they simply could not 211 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: be defeated. Many fouls of these pauper crusaders never even 212 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: made it outside of Catholic Europe's realm. They turned back 213 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: on their own accord, or were captured and enslaved by 214 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:16,120 Speaker 1: opportunistic lords along the way. The peasant crusaders even ran 215 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: out of food in Hungary and ended up pillaging Orthodox 216 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: Christian monasteries. By the time Peter reached Constantinople, his numbers 217 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 1: were already greatly depleted. The Byzantine Emperor Alexius wanted rid 218 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: of this mob as soon as possible. He gladly ferried 219 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,239 Speaker 1: them across the Bosphorus. The People's Crusade did make it 220 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: to Anatolia and found a Turkish force to fight. The 221 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 1: Christian peasants, armed almost entirely with zeal and farm implements, 222 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: were annihilated. The crusade led by princes, however, was a 223 00:17:56,119 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: very different story and a very different force. Many of 224 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: the most vaunted royal houses of Europe were represented Godfrey 225 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: of Bouillon, Count Robert of Flanders, Duke Robert of Normandy, 226 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: son of William the Conqueror, Raymond of Toulouse, Adamar of Lepuis, 227 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: Beaumond of Toronto, and Tankard of vi. They assembled a 228 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:30,720 Speaker 1: sixty thousand man army, an enormous force for this medieval time, 229 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: including approximately ten thousand heavy cavalry. The armored knights that 230 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: were to become the most enduring emblem of the European 231 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: period of Crusader warfare. This massive expeditionary force set off 232 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:55,719 Speaker 1: for Constantinople and arrived in October of ten It was 233 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,400 Speaker 1: the relief force the Byzantine Emperor Alexius had requested so 234 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: desperately from the Pope. But Alexius felt something of a 235 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: panic when he saw the mass of men at arms 236 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: and horsemen. He quickly gave them money and supplies, and 237 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: in exchange asked that all Byzantine territory that they conquered 238 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: had to be returned to the Emperor. The timing of 239 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: this expedition for the Christians was fortuitous. Unbeknownst to them, 240 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: there was much infighting among Muslims in the Turkish realm, 241 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:36,119 Speaker 1: with the Shia Fatimid Muslims of Egypt, the Abbasids of Baghdad, 242 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: and the Seldiuk Turks all jockeying for power. In early tenn, 243 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: the Crusader army crossed into Asia Minor. Their first target 244 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: was the formerly Christian city of Nicia. It had been 245 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: seized by the Turkish war lord killags Lan and was 246 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: now part of the Sultanate of Rum. The Turkish leader 247 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: happened to be away on a campaign when the Crusader 248 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 1: army arrived ours land did return to lift the siege, 249 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: but had greatly underestimated the strength and ferocity of the 250 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: Crusaders and was quickly driven back by their fearsome charge. 251 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: The Byzantines sent additional forces to help with the siege 252 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: of Nicia. They even brought ships overland by using logs 253 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: to roll them, and they deployed on the lake near 254 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,880 Speaker 1: Nicia that up until that point had allowed the defenders 255 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: to stay provisioned. After a six week siege, the mixed 256 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 1: Byzantine Frankish force brought about the capitulation of Nicia in 257 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,960 Speaker 1: June of ten A note here that to the Eastern 258 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 1: Christians and Muslims, all the Crusaders from the West were 259 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: referred to as Frange or Francs. But Nicia was just 260 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: the beginning of the planned conquest. The ultimate prize for 261 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: the Franks was still Jerusalem. There was at least one 262 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: major stronghold that blocked their path, the fortress of Antioch, 263 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: but to get there it was likely they would have 264 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:20,919 Speaker 1: a major engagement with a Turkish field army along the way. 265 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 1: With that in mind, the two crusailer columns marched deeper 266 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:32,160 Speaker 1: into Anatolia modern day Turkey. Bowman was in the vanguard column, 267 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: Godfrey in the rear guard. Killeg Arslan, the Turkish emir 268 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,160 Speaker 1: and warlord who had unsuccessfully tried to lift the siege 269 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 1: of Nicia, planned a trap for them. On July one, seven, 270 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:52,119 Speaker 1: the first major field engagement of the First Crusade began, 271 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 1: the Battle of dory Lam. The ambush at the hands 272 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: of the Turkish army was well planned and executed. The 273 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: Christians had pitched a camp for the night, and at 274 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: first light the trap was sprung from the surrounding wooded hills. 275 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,920 Speaker 1: Mounted Turkish archers swarmed around the column of Christian knights 276 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: and infantry, with the camp followers and supply trains in 277 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: the rear. Before the massive Turkish cavalry force could surround 278 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: and cut the Christians off, Bowman immediately sent a courier 279 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: to the rear guard led by Godfrey, and called for 280 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: immediate assistance with all possible haste. Bowman knew he would 281 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: have to stand and fight against this Turkish onslaught or 282 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: all would be lost. He formed a defensive circle of 283 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: nights around the infantry and in the center brought camp 284 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,640 Speaker 1: followers into the middle they were swarmed on all sides 285 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 1: by Turkish horse archers. Waves of Turkish cavalry would ride up, 286 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,919 Speaker 1: fire volley of lethal arrows, throw javelins, and pulled back 287 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: out of the reach of Christian ranks. The Crusader knights 288 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 1: were weighed down by their armor on top of their horses, 289 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: and were in general much less nimble than their Turkish opponents. 290 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: But when brought into close quarters, the Christians were able 291 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 1: to withstand many more arrows and blows from edged weapons, 292 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: and when the Crusaders were able to wield their broadswords, 293 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: maces and battle axes, it was with devastating effect. But 294 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,919 Speaker 1: killing Arslan and his Turks took their toll on the 295 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: densely packed Crusader foot soldiers. The heat and exhaustion that 296 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: came with it also began to overcome some of the 297 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: front line. Then, just as a situation could have turned 298 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: into a catastrophe, Godfrey and his column arrived. His knights 299 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: smashed into the Turkish left flank. Bowmaned, seeing this turn 300 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: of events, chart with his knights. At the same time, 301 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: a wave of Christian Crusaders smashed into the Turkish light cavalry, 302 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: who turned and fled the Turks left behind riches and 303 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 1: supplies in their camp, much to the delight of the 304 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: victorious Crusaders. But more importantly, the pathway to Jerusalem now 305 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: lay open to them. There was only one major obstacle 306 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 1: in their path, the almost impregnable fortress city of Antioch. 307 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: Chapter three, The Siege of Antioch. The Crusader army in 308 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: October of ten ninety seven was full of confidence after 309 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: taking Nicia in a mere six weeks and routing Killage 310 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: are Salans. Turkish war ears on an open battlefield. As 311 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,360 Speaker 1: the Crusader army arrived outside the gates of Antioch, they 312 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,639 Speaker 1: could not have imagined the hardships and losses they would 313 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 1: soon endure. Antioch was once considered arrival to Constantinople by 314 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,399 Speaker 1: the Roman emperors of the third and fourth centuries. It 315 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: was set in a valley next to the Orontes River 316 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:28,199 Speaker 1: in what is today's Antakia in southernmost Turkey. In the 317 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:33,199 Speaker 1: eleventh century, Antioch was on a crucial trading route. It 318 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: was also believed to be the first place in the 319 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: world where the term Christian was used for the followers 320 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: of Christ. As a fortified position, Antioch was formidable. It 321 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,920 Speaker 1: had large thick walls topped with hundreds of towers. Its 322 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: citadel was on a mountain, Mount Silpius, that rose a 323 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: thousand feet up. The garrison consisted of around five thousand 324 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:05,959 Speaker 1: ter The Christian besiegers had approximately forty thousand at the start. 325 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: The only way that Antioch had fallen to an enemy 326 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: in over five hundred years stretching back to the reign 327 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: of the Emperor Justinian, was through treachery. Antioch had never 328 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: been successfully stormed during that period. It had only been 329 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: handed over to the enemy from the inside. The Turk 330 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: in charge of the defense of the city, Yagi Sion, 331 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,399 Speaker 1: was well aware of this. He was crafty and competent, 332 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: and knew that the city's majority Christian population was a risk. 333 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: In the days before the arrival of the Crusaders, Yagiicion 334 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 1: took action to mitigate this possible fifth column. He directed 335 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,679 Speaker 1: the able bodied Muslim men of the city to build 336 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: a trench outside the city walls. The following day, Yagi 337 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: Sion directed all the Christian men of the city to 338 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,880 Speaker 1: do the same. Having seen their fellow antioch Nes come 339 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,760 Speaker 1: back without incident from the day before, they calmly left 340 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: the protection of the massive fortified walls. Once outside the gates, 341 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,919 Speaker 1: Yagion informed the Christians that for the duration of the 342 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 1: upcoming siege, they would have to stay outside with their 343 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 1: fellow Christians the Crusaders. Not only did this ploy limit 344 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: the likelihood of Christians siding with their co religionists during 345 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:39,360 Speaker 1: the siege, it created an additional burden on supplies outside 346 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: the city walls. Of all the stratagems for Antioch's defense, 347 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: hunger would become the most potent. A full on assault 348 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:53,400 Speaker 1: was not possible, so the Crusaders set up upon arrival 349 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: camps around the city walls and plan to wait out 350 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: the defenders. It quickly became apparent, however, that Antioch was 351 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: a far more difficult prize than Nicea. Yagion had made 352 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: all the necessary preparations for a long siege. The Crusaders, 353 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,160 Speaker 1: on the other hand, were running low on supplies from 354 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: the beginning. As the winter set in, disease spread throughout 355 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:26,200 Speaker 1: the Christian camp. The weeks of siege quickly turned into months. 356 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: Foraging parties came back empty handed time and again. Hunger 357 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:36,959 Speaker 1: turned to starvation. Nights slaughtered their own horses for food. 358 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: Morale plummeted and desertions. Rose yagy Sion managed to harass 359 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: the besiegers with sorties outside the city walls. He also 360 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: had sent word out to every Muslim war lord of 361 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 1: the Arab world to come to his aid. As the 362 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: spring season arrived, starvation faded, but Islamic reinforcements arrived. Ridwan 363 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: of Aleppo led the first Muslim army that attempted to 364 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: break the siege. Bowman met Ridwan's cavalry with a large 365 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,680 Speaker 1: cavalry charge of his own, seven hundred knights that rode 366 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: right into the heart of Ridwan's forces and shattered the 367 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 1: Syrian relief effort. The siege continued on, but time was 368 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: not on the Christian side. A massive Muslim army was 369 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: being raised by Carboga of Mosul, who planned to join 370 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 1: Rudwan of Aleppo. This second attempt to lift the siege 371 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: would consist of nearly fifty thousand Muslim warriors. The Crusaders 372 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: had already lost thousands of their own. If they failed 373 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: to take this city before Carboga arrived outside the city walls, 374 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: they would be slaughtered. It was treachery that's save the day. 375 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: Bowman had managed secret contact with an Armenian inside the 376 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: city walls. He offered money and a title in exchange 377 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: for allowing a contingent of Christians to scale the walls 378 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: in one sector under the cover of darkness. Boehmand himself 379 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: was among them. The plot worked. The Crusaders got inside 380 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 1: the city walls, opened a gate, and thousands of their 381 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: brothers in arms flooded in. Frenzied Crusaders hacked thousands of 382 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: defenders and civilians to death. Some of the Turks managed 383 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: to take refuge in the citadel up on the mountain. 384 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: Their only hope was to hold out until the relief 385 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 1: force from Mosl Carboga's massive army arrived. On June five. 386 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: Carboga did arrive, the Christian fenders were short on food 387 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: once again, and desertions rapidly escalated. The Crusaders were now 388 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 1: stuck inside the city. The besiegers had become the besieged. 389 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 1: They needed a miracle, and they found one. A priest 390 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: named Peter Bartholomewle from France said he had discovered a 391 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: relic inside the walls of Antioch. The Holy Lance, the 392 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: spear that was thrust into the side of Christ when 393 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:35,640 Speaker 1: he was on the cross, had miraculously appeared. The Crusaders 394 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: starved into hallucinations and despair. Believed that this was a 395 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,080 Speaker 1: sign from God. They gathered together for a final sortie 396 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 1: outside the city walls. It would come to be known 397 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: as the Battle of Antioch. The outnumbered and starving Crusaders 398 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,960 Speaker 1: gathered behind night Raymond, who held the relic of the 399 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:03,440 Speaker 1: Holy Lance, and they charged. The Turks were no match 400 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: for the ferocity of the Franks. Cariboga and his lieutenants 401 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 1: turned and fled from the battlefield. The Turkish holdouts inside 402 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: the citadel saw this and immediately surrendered. The Crusaders had one. 403 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: One of the great cities of the ancient world was 404 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: firmly in their grasp, and the most important city of 405 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: all to them, the city of God himself, Jerusalem, was 406 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: now within their reach. M H. Chapter four, The Conquest 407 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:57,520 Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. A year after the successful siege of Antioch, 408 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: the Crusaders finally marched on their ultimate goal, Jerusalem. They 409 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: arrived on June seven of Contemporary chroniclers wrote that many 410 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: Crusaders wept with Julie at their first sighting of the city, 411 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: but reaching Jerusalem was not enough. A major battle lay ahead. 412 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,720 Speaker 1: If the city was once again to be brought into 413 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 1: the domain of Christendom. The defenders were ready. The Fatimid 414 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: Muslim dynasty of Egypt had taken the city from the 415 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:34,320 Speaker 1: Selgouk Turks a year before. They had made ample preparations 416 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: for the coming Crusader siege, poisoning all the surrounding wells 417 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: in the environs of Jerusalem and slaughtering animals in the 418 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: field that could not be brought inside the city walls. 419 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 1: The Crusaders were an army fifty thousand strong when they 420 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: crossed into Muslim lands. Now they had been depleted to 421 00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 1: around twelve thousand. They did not have the manpower to 422 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: encircle and cut off the city for a protracted siege, 423 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,720 Speaker 1: nor could they risk the arrival of a major Muslim 424 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:13,240 Speaker 1: relief force. Jerusalem would have to be stormed in an assault. 425 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,520 Speaker 1: Before this final cast of the die, however, the beleaguered 426 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 1: Christian army marched in procession around the city in a 427 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:24,279 Speaker 1: manner similar to the biblical story of Jericho and the 428 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,760 Speaker 1: fall of its great walls. With God on their side, 429 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,760 Speaker 1: the Crusaders felt they could not lose Deus voult Deus 430 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 1: vault God wills it. The first attempt to take this 431 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 1: city was repulsed. The situation of the Crusaders became increasingly desperate. 432 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: While Jerusalem's fortifications were nowhere near as impressive as Constantinoples 433 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,800 Speaker 1: or even Antiochs, siege engines would be necessary to scale 434 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,320 Speaker 1: the walls, but there were no trees in the vicinity 435 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,880 Speaker 1: of Jerusalem, and thirst was already a constant problem among 436 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: the Christian troops. Then, in a stroke of luck, a 437 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,840 Speaker 1: Genoese supply fleet of six ships arrived at the porch 438 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: of Jaffa to bring aid to the Crusaders. Most importantly 439 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: of all, the timber from these ships could be broken 440 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 1: down and reformed into siege engines. This allowed the Crusaders 441 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,279 Speaker 1: to build two enormous towers for scaling the walls of Jerusalem. 442 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: They were now prepared to assault the city once and 443 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:37,760 Speaker 1: for all. On July, the final assault began in two waves. 444 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 1: The Muslim defenders fought back with flaming arrows and burning pitch, 445 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:46,800 Speaker 1: lighting both siege tower and crusader on fire at every opportunity. 446 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 1: The battle was bloody and vicious, but the double pronged 447 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 1: assault on the walls was victorious. The Crusaders poured over 448 00:35:56,040 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 1: the battlements and engaged in a bloody slaughter of many 449 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:05,080 Speaker 1: inhabitants of the city. One chronicler described what ensued in 450 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:11,360 Speaker 1: Jerusalem in this way quote. Upon entering Jerusalem, the pilgrims 451 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: pursued and killed Saracens and other infidels, even to the 452 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,640 Speaker 1: Temple of Solomon and the Temple of the Lord. Gathered there, 453 00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:21,839 Speaker 1: the enemy waged a hot battle until sundown, but our 454 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,719 Speaker 1: men killed so many that blood flowed through all of 455 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:29,719 Speaker 1: the temple. Finally, after having overwhelmed the Pagans, are Men 456 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:33,000 Speaker 1: grabbed a large number of males and females in the temple, 457 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 1: killing some and sparing others. As the notion struck them, 458 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,040 Speaker 1: Tancred and Gaston gave their banners to a great number 459 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 1: of the infidels of both sexes crowded on the roof 460 00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 1: of the temple. Soon, the Crusaders ran through all the city, 461 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:51,399 Speaker 1: taking gold, silver, horses, mules, and houses packed with all 462 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 1: kinds of riches. Afterwards, all came rejoicing and weeping with 463 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:59,560 Speaker 1: joy to the Holy sepulcher of our Savior. On the 464 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,640 Speaker 1: next rning, Tancred sent forth the command that the Christians 465 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,560 Speaker 1: go to the temple to kill Saracens. Upon their arrival, 466 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:09,640 Speaker 1: some began to draw their bows and to kill many. 467 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,000 Speaker 1: Another group of Crusaders climbed to the roof of the 468 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 1: temple and rushed the Saracens huddled there, decapidating males and 469 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: females with naked sword blades. They cause some to plunge 470 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,880 Speaker 1: from the temple roof and others found their death above 471 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: end quote. The conquest of Jerusalem was complete. The Crusader 472 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:38,160 Speaker 1: Godfrey of Bouillon would become its leader, and Jerusalem would 473 00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:44,040 Speaker 1: join Edessa, Antioch, and Tripoli as the Crusader States. They 474 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: endured for almost two hundred years of constant warfare and 475 00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: fighting in the Near East. Many historians have argued that 476 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 1: the Crusades were wasteful, unprovoked, or pointless. This is all nonsense. 477 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:04,040 Speaker 1: The First Crusade was a response to hundreds of years 478 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:07,760 Speaker 1: of Islamic conquest and subjugation of Christians and Jews alike. 479 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 1: It was a response to Jihad, not the precursor to it, 480 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: and during the period of the Crusader States, there was 481 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: not one major attempt by the Islamic world to invade 482 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:25,760 Speaker 1: the heart of Christendom itself. When the last Crusader kingdom 483 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,240 Speaker 1: was extinguished in the thirteenth century. That would all start 484 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,600 Speaker 1: to change, though. The Islamic world would have to survive 485 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:37,040 Speaker 1: the Great invasion of the Mongol Horde, but it was 486 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,960 Speaker 1: only a matter of time before the forces of Islam 487 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:43,080 Speaker 1: would turn their sights on the conquest of the Christian 488 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:48,360 Speaker 1: world once again, the Great City of Constantinople and the 489 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:52,719 Speaker 1: Siege of fourteen fifty three, but that story will have 490 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:58,000 Speaker 1: to wait for next week. This is buck Sexton. My friends. 491 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:01,520 Speaker 1: Please do spread the word of about this show. You 492 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:03,919 Speaker 1: can follow it on the I Heart app. You can 493 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:09,160 Speaker 1: subscribe on iTunes, Post shields high on your Facebook pages, 494 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 1: send emails with the links of this podcast to your friends. 495 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:17,560 Speaker 1: Until next time, no matter what enemies you face, be 496 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:19,760 Speaker 1: ready to awake Iron