The Crusades Context: Flashcards
Why were knights an issue during this time?
-Prone to violence in order to get money and land because they are the ‘second sons’.
What were doom paintings?
-it was a physical depiction of the weighing of souls (particularly terrifying due to illiteracy) .
How could salvation (saving of the souls) be claimed?
- Pilgrimage, payment and by going to church and confessing to a priest.
- ‘indulgence’ granted to rich people who would pay to have their sins wiped.
What was the idea of purgatory?
- The place between heaven and hell.
- People wanted to limit their time as much as possible.
What year was the Schism between the eastern and western churches?
1054.
What year were the Byzantines defeated by the Turks at the battle of Manzikert?
1071.
What year did Gregory VIII become Pope?
1073.
What year did Alexios II become emperor of Byzantium?
1081.
What year was the first crusade?
1096-1099.
What were the 1040’s Reform Movements (the truce of God and Peace of God movements).
- Created to reduce noble violence.
- The Truce of God was a temporary fighting ban (made permanent) which left only 80 days to fight each year.
Who created the idea of a just war?
St Augustine.
What are the conditions of a just war and how is it backed up?
- legitimate ruling authority
- defending one’s own territory
- showing the right intentions
- keeping violence to a minimum.
Backed up by old testament
What year was the great Schism?
1054.
What happened in the Great Schism 1054?
The pope in Rome excommunicated the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church. The Patriarch then excommunicated the pope in Rome
What was the investiture contest?
- Gregory the 7th and Henry the 4th excommunicated/ deposed one another.
- Henry made anti-pope Clement III
- Gregory formed an army in the name of ‘salvation’ and gave a blessing for the Christian knights to fight Arab Muslims.
- Fighting over supreme power and appointing bishops.
Why did crusading appeal to Western Europeans?
- fighting for God + die in Jerusalem
- Salvation
- reducing purgatory
- fear of sin and the doom paintings
- 2nd sons wanting land and money
Why did crusading appeal to the Pope?
- supreme power and the church being important.
- money and land.
- decrease violence amongst Christians.
Who were the Fatimids?
- Shia Muslims.
- resided in Egypt.
- Also possessed Jerusalem.
- Peacefully reigning over Syria and Palestine.
Who were the Seljuk Turks?
- Sunni Muslims
- Residing in Anatolia.
- Ruled by Kilij Aslan.
- 1079: had taken over most of Syria, Palestine, and Jerusalem.
- Alexios using this as an excuse for crusading.
What were the key Sunni Muslim cities?
Damascus, Aleppo and Mosul
Who ruled Damascus?
Duqauq.
Who ruled Aleppo?
Ridwan.
Who ruled Mosul?
Kerbogha.
What was happening due to the Arab conquest?
- Christians had to pay taxes to secure safety.
- Worship places not attacked.
- Not persecuted.
- Pilgrimages allowed.
What were threats to the Byzantine Empire?
- Normans had took over much of Southern Italy.
- The aggressive Pechnegs had began to raid the Balkans.
- Turks on the Eastern Fringes of the empire.
What was the impact of the threats to the Byzantine empire?
-People living in Asia minor relocated to
Constantinople where they would be safe.
- Pressure on resources.
- Tax up.
- Turks raided Asia minor and took Anatolia/ shores of Bosporus.
- Robert Guiscard the Norman leader was prepared to take advantage and attack.
Who was Alexios I Comnenus?
- The new Byzantium emperor.
- Was a usurper so lacked political legitimacy.
What were Alexios’ six main problems in his early reign?
- Lack of support.
- The Normans in the South (Epirus, Macedonia, and Thessaly)
- Pencengs threatening Constantinople.
- Religious divisions.
- Turks
- Economy- heavy taxation and trading privileges grated to Venice seen as a threat to local traders.
How did Alexios fix his five main problems in his early reign?
- Lack of support : gave appointments and commissions to leading families to keep them loyal.
- The Normans in the South (Epirus, Macedonia, and Thessaly): Alexios took personal command of the army and by 1084 had driven them out.
- Pencengs threatening Constantinople: large army defeated them.
- Religious divisions: heretics punished and orthodox clergy members appointed.
- Economy: Unresolved
What was the issue of the Turks?
- Christians beaten at the battle of Manzikert 1071.
- Threatening Constantinople.
How did Alexios fix the issue of the Turks? (Spoiler alert: he didn’t!).
- Alexios used one of the chieftains in Asia Minor (Sulyman) to keep Asia Minor under control so Alexios could spend time on other issues.
- He died and Antioch captured again.
- Alliance with Malik Shah who retook Antioch but he died and no heir, Turks killed anyone who tried to continue alliance.
Who did Alexios try to make an alliance with when Malik Shah died?
Abu’l-Kasim (but he was killed).
What happened when the Pechnegs remerged?
They attacked and captured a town north of Nicaea called Nicomedia and 80km from Constantinople (which was vulnerable via sea).
When was Nicomedia retaken and what happened?
1091- Pechnegs utterly defeated and some even joined the byzantine army.
What did Alexios do in order to secure himself after it was discovered they were trying to remove him as Emperor?
- Arrested Nikephoros and tortured him until he confessed.
- Plot included high ranking figures.#
- Purged his government.
Where were the locations the normans were in in the south?
Epirus, Macedonia, and Thessaly
How far away was Nicomedia from Constantinople?
80km
Why was the economy an issue for Alexios?
heavy taxation and trading privileges grated to Venice seen as a threat to local traders.
How did Alexios fix the issue of the normans?
Alexios took personal command of the army and by 1084 had driven them out.
How did Alexios fix the issue of a lack of support?
gave appointments and commissions to leading families to keep them loyal.
How did Alexios fix the issue of religious divisions?
heretics punished and orthodox clergy members appointed.
How did Alexios fix the issue of pechnegs near Constantinople?
-large army defeated them.
