✅The Second Crusade - Leadership Flashcards
Who were the leaders of the Second Crusade?
1: Louis VII, King of France - there were theories as to why he agreed to the crusade. One as an act of penance for burning down a church or two to fulfil his dead brother’s vow to go to Jerusalem. However, he was committed
2: Conrad III, King of Germany - he had an army of 35,000 soldiers and used the crusade to consolidate his power in the empire (his rivals were forced to support him)
How is the time of their departure already a success compared to the First Crusade?
The two leaders left within a month of each other (May and June), whereas the princes were delayed by almost a year
Why did the journey to Constantinople have to be handled cautiously?
The routes both kings chose were both affected by their political rivalries. Conrad’s route went through Hungary where he’d been recently defeated in a war with the king. His poor relationship with Roger of Sicily meant he could not travel by sea. Louis, aware of Conrad and Sicilys relationship and his wanted control of Antioch, rejected Sicilys offer and took a land route
Explain the relationship between Conrad and Louis after the tricky situation of travel routes
Their relationship was friendly, and when Louis arrived in German territory, he found preparations had been made for his journey
Who was Manuel I?
The new Byzantine Emperor
How was Conrad’s relationship with Manuel?
They had a strong relationship, however it came under strain when Manuel had the Byzantine army follow the Germans during Conrad’s march to Constantinople to prevent any efforts of capturing land. This led to several violent incidents
How was Louis’s relationship with Manuel?
Their relationship was strained because of his close relations with Roger of Sicily
Why was having a good relationship important? (4)
The emperor would be able to provide:
- in the First Crusade, Alexius provided the Crusaders with a Byzantine general to act as a guide and provide support in battle
- Manuel had the power to provide crusaders with goods at a reasonable price and provide ships
- Manuel had a treaty with the Turks, and bad relationship mislead to betrayal of the Crusaders location
- if Manuel had distrust, just like the first crusade which delayed them, he could impose an oath
What was the German campaign?
The plan was to get to Antioch quickly so the recapture of Edessa could begin. Conrad split his army into two parts - taking 8 days of supplies on a 20 days journey in hopes of replenishing their supplies
Why was it a mistake to bring low supplies?
They struggled to gather supplies as Manuel had little control of the areas they journeyed through. As a result they were ambushed by the Turks and forced to retreat, suffering 17% casualty and the loss of support of many Germans
What was the French campaign?
Louis ensured his army was kept in formation to limit opportunities for the Turks to attack. However, similar to the Germans, they failed to gain supplies. When they did get access to supplies, they were extremely expensive
Why did the Crusaders have to change their campaign?
In 1144, Zengi burned Edessa to the ground. As a result, the campaign changed to capturing Damascus in July 1148
Explain the siege of Damascus
Louis began the attack on 24 July 1148, on the west side of the wall, later being joined by Conrad. However to speed up the siege, they changed their strategy to the east side of the wall
Why was the change of strategy a very bad decision?
Unlike the west side of the wall - where the Crusaders had access to food and a water supply. The east had none and crusaders quickly became exhausted and 3 days later, they retreated, ending the Crusade in a big fail
