Places: Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem has been a site of contention for centuries, not just in modern times.  Homeland to both Jews and Arabs, sacred in the history of the three major faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, much blood and tears have been spilt in the efforts to claim and control this historic city.  The Temple Mount, with the Dome of the Rock and Church of the Holy Sepulchre has changed hands numerous times over the centuries.  Here are the dates which are pertinent to the Plantagenet era.

Following the Siege of Titus in AD 70, Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire and eventually became part of the Byzantine Empire.  As the site of several incidents in Jesus' life, it was an important pilgrimage city, the most famous monument being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, begun by Emperor Constantine and consecrated in 351.  This church takes in, among other places, the site of Jesus' execution and burial.  It is adjacent to sites important to two other faiths, the remains of Herod's Temple, with its Western Wall (Wailing Wall) and the Dome of the Rock, covering a site where Muslims believing Abraham ascended to Heaven.  In 636-37, Islamic forces under Umar the Great conquered Jerusalem.  Umar worked with Christian leaders to provide safe conduct for Christian pilgrims who wished to visit the city and allowed Jews to live there.  Construction of the Dome of the Rock began in 687. 

Jerusalem remained in Muslim control despite efforts of the Byzantines to retake the city several times.  Finally, in 1095, Pope Urban II begins calls for the First Crusade.  Crusaders besiege and take Jerusalem in 1099 and set up the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the most important of several Crusader States carved out of conquered territories in the Holy Land.  In 1113, the Order of the Knights Hospitaller was formed to take care of sick, injured or impoverished Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.  In 1149, a new Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built to replace one earlier destroyed by the Muslims during their occupation of the City.  Following the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Christian forces lose Jerusalem.  Saladin the Magnificent conquered the city.  The Dome of the Rock, which had been made into a palace by the European kings of Jerusalem, became a mosque again.

In 1192, Richard I, the Lionheart, stopped short of retaking Jerusalem and agreed the Treaty of Ramla with Saladin, allowing Christian pilgrims access to the City.  Between 1229-1244, Jerusalem would again be in partial Christian control through the efforts of Frederick II of Germany, but the Muslims would retake the city in 1244.  Other Crusades would try, and ultimately fail, to take Jerusalem back under Christian control.  However, this would not prevent several rulers, including many Plantagenet kings, from claiming the title of King of Jerusalem.  In 1392-1393, King Henry IV made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but never got around to a full out crusade to try to retake the City. 

Medieval Life: the Crusades

Throughout history, there has always been a common enemy, whether Saracen (Islam) versus Infidel (Christian, East (Communist) versus West (Capitalist) or the Global War on Terror, us against them is a recurring theme.

In the Middle Ages, the all-consuming fight was against the Saracens, whether they be Turks in the Holy Land or Moors in Spain.  There were many fronts for Christian knights to battle for glory and God.  However, the main point of contention and the goal for many kings, nobles and knights who wished to fulfill a Crusading vow was the Holy Land.  There were several Crusades, either to capture or recapture Jerusalem, or at least preserve a toehold for Christianity in kingdoms and principalities known as the Crusader states, we'll get around to them eventually, since Plantagenet relatives had claims to these territories.  For now, though, we'll run through the main Crusades herein.

The First Crusade (1095-1099), a group of Western nobles, including the father of King Stephen of England versus the Seljuk Turks and the Fatimid and Abbasid Caliphates.  It resulted in the capture of Jerusalem by Christian forces and the creation of the Crusader States.

The Second Crusade (1147-1149): This was a multi-theatre effort, ranging from Spain and the Baltic to the Levant.  Eleanor of Aquitaine and her then-husband Louis VII both took vows to Crusade and she followed him to the Holy Land, bringing a considerable contingent from her Duchy of Aquitaine.  Also present was King Stephen of England, taking time out from the running civil war back home with Empress Matilda.  Both sides scored significant victories, the Muslims in Anatolia, the Crusaders in the Iberian and Baltic theatres.  However, they could not wrest Edessa from Turkish control.  As Crusader forces penetrated into Egypt, a peace involving access to the Holy Sites was agreed between Byzantium and the Seljuk Turks.

The Third Crusade (1189-1192: This is the most well-known Crusade of the Plantagenet dynasty, featuring Richard I the Lionheart and his mortal enemies Phillip II August of France and Leopold of Austria, among others, versus Saladin the Magnificent.  The Crusaders scored some significant military victories, notably the Siege of Acre, 1189-1191, which enabled them to agree a treaty regarding more access to the Holy Sites, but Richard didn't press a conquest of Jerusalem, which remained under Turkish control.

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204): no Plantagenets went on this bloodbath, which turned Latin/Roman Christianity against Greek/Orthodox Christianity in the form of the siege and sack of Constantinople and the creation of new Crusader States on territory seized from the Byzantine Empire.

There was a Fifth (1213-1221), Six (1228-1229), Seventh (1248-1254), Eighth (1270), and Ninth (1271-1272), but the only one featuring a Plantagenet was the Ninth, where Prince Edward, son of Henry III and future Hammer of the Scots, participated.  The Crusaders lifted the siege of Tripoli in Lebanon (not Libya) and agreed another truce for access to the Holy Sites, but nothing else of note.