/view/161.htm?fr=ala0 Crusade (Crusade) For centuries, pilgrimage to the Holy Land has been the most common activity for Christians in Europe. Although important religious centers are in Europe, many important holy sites are in Palestine. The rise of the Seljuk Turks has made travel to Jerusalem and other parts of the Middle East suddenly more dangerous. The Turks had little sympathy for non-Muslims and ended the so-called peaceful relations between Arabs and Christians. At the same time, the Turks occupied valuable lands in Asia Minor, putting great pressure on Byzantium. In 1095, in response to a request for assistance from the Byzantine emperor, Pope Upon called for a crusade of Christian warriors in an attempt to retake Palestine from the Muslims.
The recruitment of the Crusades aroused an enthusiastic response from the European knights. On the one hand, it was due to their strong beliefs, and on the other hand, the Pope also guaranteed that anyone who died for the Holy War would be rewarded in heaven. Another incentive is the opportunity to seize land and wealth overseas, and the profits are much greater than competing with relatives back home or neighboring regions.
By 1097, an army of 30,000 including pilgrims and sectarians crossed from Constantinople to Asia Minor. Despite constant feuding between leaders and broken promises between crusaders and Byzantine supporters, the expedition continued to stumble forward. During this process, the Turks suffered only a low degree of aggression. The Frankish heavy knights and infantry had no experience fighting against the Arab light cavalry and archers, but the endurance and physical fitness of the knights allowed them to win a series of completely victorious battles. Antioch was captured in 1098 due to internal rebellion, and Jerusalem fell in 1099 because the garrison was too weak to withstand the attack. The Christians often gained a bad reputation after their victories by massacring residents regardless of age, creed, or gender. Although many Crusaders returned home after the war, several powerful warbands stayed to establish feudal kingdoms similar to those in Europe.
The Crusader rulers in Palestine were far behind in numbers the Muslim population they were trying to control, so they built castles and hired mercenaries to control the Muslims. However, Frankish culture And religion has won the favor of the residents of the area. From the safety of their castle base, the Crusaders attacked and intercepted the invading Arabs. For more than a hundred years, the enemy and we have fought with typical guerrilla warfare. Although the Frankish knights were powerful, they moved slowly. Although the Arabs could not withstand the impact of these heavy cavalry, they could surround them with light cavalry, rendering their troops incapable of combat, so that they could set up an ambush in the desert to capture them. Although the kingdom established by the Crusaders controlled the coastal areas and was not short of supplies and reinforcements, regular invasions and the dissatisfaction of the people showed their economic failure.
Fighting regiments of Christian monks with combat capabilities were formed to fight for the Holy Land. The knights of the Knights Templar and the Order of the Injured were mainly Franks, and the members of the Teutonic Knights were Germanic. Although these crusaders were fierce and decisive, their numbers were never enough to maintain regional stability. Some Crusader kingdoms existed for a time because they learned to negotiate, compromise, and instigate different Arab groups to fight against each other. However, the emergence of a great Arab leader unified the various Muslim ethnic groups. This leader became Saladin, the Sudan of Egypt and Syria in 1174. In 1187, he defeated the Crusaders in the desert and captured Jerusalem again. In another century, with only a rare and brief success, the Europeans repeatedly vowed to regain control of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. There were more than eight Crusades, and most of them could only make some progress along the coast and inland before being defeated. The Fourth Crusade did not even reach Palestine. Instead, under the leadership of Governor Venis, Constantinople was sacked, giving Byzantium a ruthless blow that was difficult to recover from. The worst Crusade was the Children's Crusade launched in 1212. Thousands of European children sailed to Alexandria, Egypt, where they were sold into slavery.
What the Crusaders left behind was not only new hostility between Christians and Muslims and the deterioration of the feudal system, but also the exposure of a new culture.
In addition, as many lords went bankrupt and left their land to the king after their death, the feudal system declined, and many serfs became crusaders and never came back. New words were added to European languages ??after the Eastern Expedition, such as cotton (cotton), muslin (muslin), divan (sofa bed) and bazaar (market). Europeans also brought back many novel textiles, foods and spices. The demand for these fresh goods accelerated trade activities, and the commercial city-states of Italy (especially Genoa and Venice) developed as a result. This demand also promoted the Age of Discovery that began in the fourteenth century. The gold and silver treasures brought back by the Crusaders increased the local currency supply and greatly promoted economic growth.
The Mongolian Crusade
In 1256, under the order of the Mongolian Great Khan Mengge (Yuan Xianzong), Prince Hulagu led a total of 150,000 troops and set out from China. Launched a western war against Persia and Arabia. This war was different from the previous "naked" secular conquests of the Mongols. Instead, the reason for the war was to recover the "Holy City of Jerusalem" and "return it to the Christians." Therefore, it is called the "Mongol Crusade"
In addition to Christians from China, there are also tens of thousands of troops from Christian affiliated countries in the "Mongol Crusade". Haitun personally led 20,000 Armenians The armored cavalry led the charge. The prominent Christians in the Mongolian army also include the brave generals under Hulagu. Although Hulagu himself believed in shamanism, his princess Tuogu Siketun was a Nestorian. Togu Si Ke Dun was shrewd and capable, and Mengge Khan admired her very much. He repeatedly asked Xu Liewu to discuss important matters with her. Togu Si Ke Dun had a decisive influence on Hulagu's religious policy. Whenever Hulagu's army was camping, the Christian priests in the army would set up a tent church, ring the wooden bells, and call the believers to come and pray.
Hulagu conquered the Habas Arab Empire in the name of Christianity and received strong support from Orthodox countries, but the Roman Catholic Church of Western sects responded indifferently. The reason is that Christianity was divided into the East and the West more than a hundred years ago. The Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Orthodox Church were incompatible with each other, and both considered the other to be heresy. Since most of the wars in the "Mongol Crusade" belonged to Eastern Christian sects, they were no different from pagans in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church, being rigidly sectarian, failed to seize this opportunity and use the Hulagu West conquest to regain the lost land in Palestine.
If it was just to remain neutral, it would be fine if the main force of Hulagu returned to China (the reason was that Mongke Khan died unexpectedly in Gouyu City, Sichuan, and Hulagu wanted to return to the country to participate in the Khan election. When only less than 20,000 troops were left behind), the Roman Crusaders unexpectedly attacked the "Mongol Crusaders", which triggered internal strife between the Eastern and Western Crusaders (in the eyes of Muslims, this was completely internal strife) and led to the Mongol war. The defeat of the Crusades.
The left-behind general of the Mongolian Crusaders was so cowardly that he did not waste time fighting hard, and refused to follow the Mongolian tradition of "running away if you can't fight". Instead, he insisted on fighting to the end because he wanted to be "martyred." After being defeated and captured, the cowardly Buhua calmly said to his opponents: "You think it was you who took my life, but in my opinion, it was God who took my life. Even though I die, I am still a monarch." loyal ministers, and you Mamluks will continue to turn out traitors to replace your own monarch."
The timid Buhua was right, and in less than a year, the Mamluk monarch was defeated. He was killed by his own general.