Experiencing the Crusades

THE POST-ROMAN WEST and THE CRUSADING MOVEMENT HIST 1301 | History Experiencing the Crusades The Crusader kingdoms provided an example of Christians, Muslims, and Jews coexisting peacefully in a Christian kingdom encircled by hostile kingdoms, despite their short existence. But at first, the crusaders' ignorance and religious prejudice caused them to drive out communities of Muslims or Jews from important strategic locations or holy sites. They killed citizens during violent expulsions in many instances. Native Christian communities of various creeds were discovered by European Catholics in the conquered lands. Most of the time, these Christians were allowed to remain, but later, when Catholic bishops were appointed as presidents of settlements with low Catholic populations (either by the pope or the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem), conflicts over religious authority arose. The years of living under Muslim control had also acculturated the Christians in the Middle East, thus their version of Christianity differed greatly from that of Europe. Certain populations of Christians spoke Arabic, dressed similarly to their Muslim neighbours, and practiced religion in a manner distinct from that of European Catholics. The rise of a well-organized religious adversary in the Holy Land infuriated the Greek Orthodox Byzantines. Not because the crusaders had a different faith, but rather because they arrived brutally and did not follow local customs, many native populations mistrusted them. Policies of tolerance and protection developed in spite of the early crusader brutality that left certain Jewish and Muslim communities damaged and dispersed. These were more related to the lack of European settlers than to the crusaders' increasing acquaintance with the religious and ethnic groupings in Outremer. Lords need labourers, and if such were not available, local communities needed to be protected rather than destroyed. Mistrust of the foreign persisted on both sides, even as Europeans started to embrace regional customs and become acquainted with Islamic beliefs. For instance, Usama ibn Munqidh, the Islamic poet and fighter, was friends with Christians, but warned his audience not to trust the "Franks," or the recently arrived crusaders, whose stupidity he exposed in his literature. Although the local populace were never reduced to serfs obligated to serve their lords, the crusaders established their governance according to feudal principles. Rather, they used cash or merchandise to pay their taxes. In many respects, rural agricultural output remained unaltered by the crusaders, who left this system of remuneration based on pre-existing customs. Because of the variety of people and languages in the area, Christian landowners relied on Muslim scribes and interpreters and employed taxes and village administration methods similar to those of their Muslim forebears. Jewish and Islamic communities had their own courts and educational systems. The desire for commerce and affluence helped ameliorate some of the tensions between the native populations and the crusaders, notwithstanding the prior violence and continued difficulties based on religion and ethnicity. There were few troops in Outremer since there were few European residents there. For this reason, the church supported the crusading orders, and the crusaders constructed spectacular castles and fortifications that could be held by a small army, such as the well-known Krak des Chevaliers in Syria. Certain European families persisted in sending crusaders, particularly nobles with familial ties. One such family is the Duke of Burgundy, who continued to lend assistance to the crusade. Many crusaders used inflammatory language to paint Muslims in an unfavourable light when they sent letters to loved ones detailing the military battles in which they had participated. Rather of remaining in the Holy Land, many pilgrims and crusaders returned home since it was often their expectation to do so. Although there were not many European residents in Outremer, different kinds of Europeans had a constant presence in the towns and ports during and after the Crusader States' collapse. The crusading movement benefitted merchants from the Italian city-states such as Venice and Genoa, in addition to pilgrims, officials, and intellectuals. They made money by transporting warriors and pilgrims to Outremer and by obtaining rich concessions to set up their trading offices in places like Acre, Antioch, and Constantinople. By connecting Europe to the commercial routes across Afro-Eurasia, their interactions with the Middle Eastern trading emporiums further expanded European demand of Chinese ceramics, lacquerware, silk, and spices. The Italian traders valued more outcomes than just these economic relationships. Additionally, they were keen to learn more about the topography and population of the regions in order to develop direct trade relations with the far-off civilizations that supplied the luxuries that Europeans started to seek. The finest example is the explorer and trader Marco Polo, who travelled to China over land routes in the fourteenth century. The richness of their mercantile towns encouraged the kings of Europe to support their own merchants and explorers in order to enable them capitalise on the riches of the world that flowed into the Mediterranean. The Italian merchants continued their commerce and communication with other Islamic rulers. The European experiences of the Crusades sped up this era of travel and trade.