Heaven On Earth: Part One
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In 1090, something happened in Rome that changed the world and the course of history forever. For the past couple of years, bands of Muslim warriors had been attacking Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. Hundreds, some say thousands, of Christian pilgrims were reported to be tortured and burned, or eaten alive, in fanciful tales of returning or “surviving” Christian pilgrims. While Muslim bandits did often capture Christians and either kill or enslave them, it is highly unlikely that they “sacrificed them to the Devil.”
Nevertheless, in the spring of 1090, Pope Urban II declared something unheard of until then, a “crusade.” The Great Crusade was announced by the Pope himself, in the city of Rome, shortly after Easter. He announced that all those who went to the Holy Land and attempted to reclaim the Holy Land, would receive salvation. As news spread all around Europe, kings and nobles found themselves flocking to Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of soldiers all marched toward Jerusalem, under vehement protest of the Orthodox Empire and people.
Pope Urban II preaching in Rome and declaring the Great Crusade.
Both the Orthodox Emperor and Patriarch protested the “Great Crusade,” saying it was a sin to declare a war in the Name of God. It was OK to ask for help in war, but to declare a war in the Name of, and for God, was indeed a sin. Doing it, they said would stain the image of Christendom for years to come. This divide on the issue of “holy war” only further served to divide the Eastern and Western forms of Christianity.
And then came the issue of the Latin armies marching through Orthodox territories. The Orthodox Empire refused to let Latin armies marching towards the Holy Land, into Orthodox territory. For days, the scene was extremely tense, as Latin soldiers waited on the outskirts of the Orthodox borders, waiting to be allowed to pass. But after two weeks, even with some scuffles on the border, the Orthodox still did not allow the Latins to pass.
So instead of passing through the Orthodox Empire, the Crusaders went by sea. The fleets of Latin Europe united and sailed toward Venice, the new meeting point for all Crusader armies. They picked up almost all of the 50,000 men and sailed away towards Jerusalem. They landed on August 23rd 1090. Immediately after disembarking, the Latin army marched towards Jerusalem.
On August 27th, siege was finally laid upon the Holy City. The Muslim forces inside repeatedly sallied forth, but to no avail. Each and every time they rode forth, the Latins fought them all the way back to the walls. With food supplies running low, the Muslims decided to sally forth one more time on September 17th, as always, the Crusaders were able to push the Muslims back to the walls. However, this time, the Latins were able to enter the City itself. The fighting continued in the streets through the night. On the morning of the 18th, the sun rose to a bloody scene. Nearly the entire Muslim and Jewish population had been massacred in the fighting. The Holy City was in Christian hands. But Orthodox predictions came true, holy war had stained the name of Christendom forever, and the Empire was not happy about that.
This medieval scene depicts Latin Crusaders surrounding and laying siege to Jerusalem.
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Hm. And so not only does the name of Christ's religion acquire a militarist tinge, the relations between East and West are further soured even withing Christendom.
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EDIT: Haha, the Orthodox Empire fights to symphonic metal. Classy.
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EDIT: Haha, the Orthodox Empire fights to symphonic metal. Classy.
Enewald said:
All answered in due time...
RGB said:
Actually, the Crusaders do
. I try to find songs with lyrics about the event I'm writing about. In this case the Crusades, but Kalmah's song "Outremer" didn't fit the mood of the update, way too upbeat for religious massacres. Nikolai said:
Thank you, welcome to the AAR!
asd
Great capture of the Eastern reaction to the Western crusades. Also glad to see Michael didn't have to go through what the real Alexius did - Crusaders "marching" across Imperial lands.
For next couple of years, the Latin Crusaders carved out an empire in the Outremer. From Jerusalem, they launched their attacks all across the Holy Land and divided up the land from Antioch to the Sinai. By 1092, the entire Levant was in the hands of Crusaders. Despite being divided into many fiefs and dukedoms, all the Latins were united, at least in word, by the Emperor in Jerusalem, who was Godfrey of Boullion, elected by popular vote among the generals. Once the Great Crusade had been finished and the Levant was in Western hands, the Empire of Jerusalem, or Levantine Empire was declared, determined to be a thorn in the back of the Muslims for ages to come.
A medieval depiction of Emperor Godfrey of Jerusalem.
Both the Egyptians and the Seljuks had been badly defeated. The heavily armored Latins had been too much for their armies and crushed their light armies, fighting with out of place “scatter and attack” tactics. Arabian wicker shields obviously did not stand a chance against European blades. But if there was one defense the Muslims had against the Latins, it was the terrain. They knew it much better than the Latins did. It was this that kept the Latins from advancing any further into Muslim territory. They were smart enough to know that moving into the Syrian Desert was suicide and they would be constantly ambushed by Seljuk raiding parties.
Crusader generals directing the Siege of Antioch, which wasn’t nearly as bloody as the massacre in Jerusalem.
The Orthodox Empire, of course, protested all of this. With the transition to an Orthodox Empire, the former Romans had become keener on defending their faith, but never fighting in the name of it. The Great Crusade only further divided the Eastern and Western Churches. The Patriarch and Pope repeatedly threw insults back and forth. The Patriarch called the Pope “a warmongering fool,” while the Pope referred to the Patriarch as “a weak man, not willing to defend Christ.” With all this, the chances of a reunion were even slimmer than before.
Aside from religious conflicts, the Orthodox Empire used the 1090’s as a period of economic growth. Michael VII still encouraged trade with the West, and Black Sea trade with the Rus flourished to all time highs. The Orthodox also became a primary destination for Eastern traders once again. This was because the economy of the Seljuk Empire was collapsing. The Empire of Jerusalem now controlled the entire Levantine coastline, thus cutting of the Seljuks from Mediterranean trade. This, surprisingly, had far-reaching effects on the Seljuks. They had been cut off from trade and contact with the African and Spanish Muslim nations. And the hardship of the Turks was the gain of the Orthodox. But in 1100, the Orthodox and Levantine Empire would have to mourn the death of their leaders.
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The fear of civil war is always present in Constantinople, so it will be interesting to see who emerges, and what impact it has on the Empire.
I apologize for being a bit late, but I'm honored by asd's raising me to the ranks of the sainted! An' to be so done in such a worthy tale as this? Even more honored!
finally caught up again
It seems this are tense moments between west and east, let's just hope this doesn't go down to the path of war, it could have bad consequences for both sides
It seems this are tense moments between west and east, let's just hope this doesn't go down to the path of war, it could have bad consequences for both sides
Very Off-topic
To Enewald: I looked up your location out of curiosity, and got some less-than-appealing pictures on Google. :rofl:
Just wanted to say that
asd
To Enewald: I looked up your location out of curiosity, and got some less-than-appealing pictures on Google. :rofl:
Just wanted to say that
asd
asd21593 said:To Enewald: I looked up your location out of curiosity, and got some less-than-appealing pictures on Google. :rofl:
Just wanted to say that
WHY did you do that? :rofl:
Enewald said:
I don't know Finnish!
....By the way, over 2,000 views!
Keep the comments and views comin'!,
asd
In 1100, the two great Emperors of Christendom died. Both Michael VII and Godfrey I died within two months of each other. Both the Orthodox and Levantine mourned the death of their great Emperors for many days. Both had accomplished much. Michael VII had “avenged” Romanos IV and conquered Serbia, Croatia, and southern Italy. Godfrey I had conquered the Levant with over 50,000 Latin Crusaders. While heavily outnumbered by the Muslims, his men were much better armed. Nevertheless, his successful Crusade was enough to get him elected as the first Emperor of the Levant. During both imperial reigns, the two nations received much economic benefit. They were succeeded by Alexius I and Baldwin I, respectively.
The successor to Michael VII, Alexius I Komnenos.
The Muslim world in 1100 was in upheaval. The combined power of Egypt and the Seljuk Empire was still not enough to stop the Latin Crusaders. They lost the valuable, both strategically and religiously, Holy Land. For both nations, morale was at an all time low. In Egypt, Coptic Christianity was becoming popular once again. For many Muslims, seeing the Holy Land fall into the hands of Christians made them doubt their religion and many turned to Christianity. But far worse were the effects on the Seljuk Empire. They once prided themselves with their ports on the Levantine coast. But now, those were in the hands of Crusaders. With this, the Turks had lost all trans-Mediterranean contact and trade. The Latin capture of the Sinai also separated the Seljuks from Egypt. This left the Turks isolated, and economically hurt and it would hinder their attempts to recapture the Holy Land for a long time.
The successor to Godfrey I, Baldwin I.
Across the Mediterranean in Iberia, the kingdoms of Castille and Aragon gained some ground on the Moors, making a rather even border against their archenemy. Farther north in France, other interesting developments occurred. The Kingdom of France was in a war against Brittany and Burgundy. While the French easily annexed Brittany, the Burgundians proved tougher to defeat. In fact, the Burgundians actually captured some of north-eastern France. The shamed Duchy of Normandy, now ruled by Robert II Curthose, lay quietly on the English Channel coast. While on the British Isles, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of England reigned in relative dominance, even though the Celts remained independent. In fact, Scotland actually gained some power to rival England, after ridding themselves of the Norwegians that once lay above them. In Eastern Europe, nothing much changed, aside from Poland capturing some of the Baltic coast.
A map of Europe in 1100.
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That is such a neat map!
At least Spain is exceptionally neat
What's the yellow in Russia?
At least Spain is exceptionally neat
What's the yellow in Russia?