TheCrusade of 1197,also known as theCrusade of Henry VI(German:Kreuzzug Heinrichs VI.) or theGerman Crusade(Deutscher Kreuzzug), was acrusadelaunched by theHohenstaufenemperorHenry VIin response to the aborted attempt of his father, EmperorFrederick I,during theThird Crusadein 1189–90. Thus the military campaign is also known as the "Emperor's Crusade" (echoing the name "Kings' Crusade" given to the Third Crusade).[2]
| Crusade of 1197 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theCrusades | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ayyubids | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Al-Adil I | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 16,000[1] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
While his forces were already on their way to theHoly Land,Henry VI died before his departure inMessinaon 28 September 1197. The emerging throne conflict between his brotherPhilip of Swabiaand theWelfrivalOtto of Brunswickmade many higher-ranking crusaders return toGermanyin order to protect their interests in the nextimperial election.[3]The nobles remaining on the campaign captured theLevantcoast betweenTyreandTripolibefore returning to Germany. The Crusade ended after the Christians capturedSidonandBeirutfrom the Muslims in 1198.[3]
Background
editOn 2 October 1187 theAyyubidsultanSaladincaptured Jerusalemand large parts of theCrusader states.In an effort to reclaim theOutremerestates, theThird Crusadewas launched by KingPhilip II of France,KingRichard I of England,and Emperor Frederick I of theHoly Roman Empirein 1189. Frederick departed with a huge army, defeated aSeljukcontingent nearPhilomelionand capturedIconium,but then drowned in theGöksuRiver nearSilifkeinCilicia.
Upon his death, Frederick's German crusading host, totaling perhaps 12,000 to 15,000 men, mostly disbanded and a much smaller contingent led by Frederick's son DukeFrederick VI of Swabiacontinued to the Holy Land,[4][5]where they joined theSiege of Acre.The crusade ended in the 1192Treaty of Ramlasigned by Sultan Saladin and King Richard I, establishing a three-years armistice and allowing the Muslims to retain control overJerusalem,while the Crusaders maintainedAcre,Jaffa,and other key coastal cities.
Henry VI, electedKing of the Romanssince 1169, succeeded his father Frederick and was crownedHoly Roman EmperorbyPope Celestine IIIin 1191. In his struggle with thePrincesto enforce his succession, the tide turned in his favour when the returning crusader King Richard was captured inAustriaand only released against anoath of allegianceand an enormous ransom. In 1194 Henry could assert the inheritance claims of his wifeConstanceby conquering theKingdom of Sicily.By declaring a new Crusade to reconquer Jerusalem, Henry aimed at an agreement with Pope Celestine III to acknowledge his rule over Sicily. In 1195 the armistice concluded by King Richard ended. Sultan Saladin had already died in 1193 and a conflict over his succession raged in the Ayyubid lands. In view of these favourable developments, the emperor hoped to continue the momentum of the previous campaign.
Henry VI decided to take advantage of his father's threat of force against theByzantine Empire,affected by the rebellions inSerbiaandBulgariaas well as by Seljuk incursions. EmperorIsaac II Angeloshad maintained close ties with the Sicilian usurper kingTancred of Lecce,but he was overthrown in April 1195 by his brotherAlexios III Angelos.Henry took the occasion to exact tribute and had a threatening letter sent to Alexios III in order to finance the planned Crusade. Alexius immediately submitted to the tributary demands and exacted high taxes from his subjects to pay the Crusaders 5,000 pounds of gold. Henry also forged alliances with KingAmalric of Cyprusand PrinceLeo of Cilicia.
Call for Crusade
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During the Holy Week (March) of 1195, Emperor Henry made a pledge and at the Easter celebrations inBaripublicly announced the Crusade. Henry's original plan in April 1195 was for a force of 1,500 knights and 3,000 sergeants, but this total would be exceeded.[1]In the summer he was travelling through Germany in order to gain supporters. Despite the stalemate of the Third Crusade, a large number of the nobles responded,[3]among them:
- ArchbishopConrad of Mainz,theArchchancellor of Germany,and ArchbishopHartwig of Bremen
- Nine Bishops, includingWolfger of Passau,Conrad of Hildesheim
- Five dukes:Henry of Brabant,Berthold of Merania,Frederick of Austria,his uncleHenry of Mödlingand the emperor's cousinHermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
- Various counts: includingHenry V of the Rhine,Meinhard II of Gorizia,Eberhard of Dörnberg,Albert of Arneburg
A large number of minor nobles also joined the Crusade and before long, according toArnold von Lübeckin hisArnoldi Chronica Slavorum,a powerful military host of 60,000, including 7,000 German knights, was on its way.[6]A contemporary chronicler gave a lower estimate of 4,000 knights and an unknown amount of infantry.[6]German historian Claudia Naumann suggested in 1994 that the crusade had 16,000 men, including 3,000 knights.[1]Bretislaus III, Duke of Bohemiahad agreed to join the Crusade at the Diet in Worms in December 1195, and planned to do so, until he fell ill and died on 15 or 19 June 1197.
A force of 3,000SaxonandRhenishtroops in 44 ships under the Count Palatine, the Duke of Brabant and the Archbishop of Bremen sailed from northern Germany in mid-May, arriving inLisbonin mid-June.[7]According toRoger of Howden,they stopped in Normandy and England on the way. Theycaptured the city of Silvesin theAlmohadprovince ofal-Gharbbefore entering the Mediterranean and razed it. Roger records that they did this because they would not hand it over to KingSancho I of Portugal,who, havingcaptured the citywith crusader assistance in 1189 hadlost it again in 1191.[8]The crusaders arrived in Messina in July or August 1197, where they merged with the emperor's troops.[9]
In March 1197 Henry proceeded to the Kingdom of Sicily. The crusaders embarked for Acre, while the emperor first had to suppress an armed revolt inCatania.Still in Sicily, out for hunting nearFiumedinisiin August, Emperor Henry fell ill with chills, possibly from malaria. He died on September 28 before he could set sail for the Holy Land.
The combined force sailed out of Messina on 1 September and landed in Acre three weeks later.[7]
Campaign
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On 22 September 1197, a substantial German army under the command of Archchancellor Conrad of Mainz and MarshalHenry of Kaldenlanded at Acre, where their presence aroused the displeasure of the French forces of QueenIsabella of Jerusalem.As the German Princes denied the authority of Henry of Kalden, they elected Duke Henry of Brabant their commander and the crusaders proceeded to Tyre, initiating a campaign to expel the Muslims from Beirut and to subject the Levant coast up to Tripoli. They captured the wealthy and important city of Sidon and on October 24 entered Beirut. With the support of the Princes, Emperor Henry's vassal King Amalric of Cyprus married Queen Isabella and was crownedKing of Jerusalem(as Amalric II) in 1198.
The crusaders continued their campaign and by reconquering the estates aroundByblos Castle(Gibelet) restored the land link to theCounty of Tripoli.They even marched againstDamascusand laid siege toToron,when news of the emperor's death reached them. By July 1198, most of the nobles had returned home[10]to get theirfiefsconfirmed by Henry's successor. The remaining crusaders concluded another armistice in June 1198 with the Ayyubid emiral-Adil I,who acknowledged the rule of King Amalric II over the reconquered lands.[11]In his capacity as King of Jerusalem, Amalric II enfeoffed the Lordship of Beirut toJohn of Ibelinand theLordship of SidontoReginald Grenier.On his way back to Germany, Archbishop Conrad of Mainz in January 1198 crowned Prince Leo of Cicilia asKing of ArmeniainTarsus.
Aftermath
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Overshadowed by Henry's death, the Crusade did not realize his high-flying ambitions. Nevertheless, the weakening of the Byzantine Empire persisted and established a basis for theFourth Crusadeand theSack of Constantinoplein 1204. At the same time the originally intended reconquest of Jerusalem was abandoned, when the armistice with the Ayyubid dynasty was renewed for another six years.
The German Princes later on concentrated on their land acquisitions in the territories of thePolabian Slavsinitiated by theWendish Crusadeof 1147. TheTeutonic Order,established during the Siege of Acre in 1190 and elevated to achivalric orderduring the German Crusade in March 1198, played an important role in the Germaneastward expansiontoPrussiaand the adjacentBaltic regionin the 13th century.
References
edit- ^abcLoud 2014,p. 160.
- ^The Crusades, C. 1071-c. 1291 By Jean Richard, Jean Birrell, pg. 237
- ^abcNorwich, John Julius (1997).A Short History of Byzantium.New York: Vintage Books. p. 298.
- ^Loud 2010,p. 19.
- ^Norwich, John Julius (1997).A Short History of Byzantium.New York: Vintage Books. p. 297.
- ^abLoud 2014,p. 159.
- ^abLoud 2014,p. 156.
- ^David 1939,p. 660.
- ^Loud 2014,p. 157.
- ^Riley-Smith (1990) p.64
- ^Loud 2014,p. 145.
Bibliography
edit- David, Charles Wendell(1939). "Narratio de Itinere Navali Peregrinorum Hierosolymam Tendentium et Silviam Capientium, A.D. 1189".Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.81(5): 591–676.JSTOR985010.
- Juritsch, Georg (1894).Geschichte der Babenberger und ihrer Länder, 976-1246.Innsbruck: Wagnerschen Universitätsbuchhandlung.
- Loud, Graham A. (2014). "The German Crusade of 1197–1198".Crusades.13:143–172.doi:10.1080/28327861.2014.12220393.
- Loud, G. A. (2010).The Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The History of the Expedition of the Emperor Frederick and Related Texts.Farnham, Surrey:Ashgate Publishing.ISBN9780754665755.
- Naumann, Claudia (1994).Der Kreuzzug Kaiser Heinrichs VI.Peter Lang.
- Norwich, John Julius (1997).A Short History of Byzantium.New York: Vintage Books.
- Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1990).Atlas of the Crusades.New York: Facts on File.