The Crusades were a series of religiously motivated military expeditions that took place between 1095 and 1291. The primary goal of the Crusaders was to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslim infidels who had taken control of Jerusalem. These expeditions marked one of the most significant moments of the medieval era, and their impact on Western civilization remains evident to this day. The Crusades were initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095, who called upon all Christians to take part in a holy war to liberate the Holy Land from Islamic rule. The response was overwhelming, and thousands of Europeans, both noble and common, responded to the call to arms. The First Crusade was launched in 1096, and after a long and arduous journey, the Crusaders reached Jerusalem in June 1099. They successfully captured the city, establishing a Latin Christian kingdom in the region.

The success of the First Crusade sparked further Crusades, with the Second Crusade launching in 1147 and the Third Crusade in 1189. However, the Crusaders’ fortunes were mixed, with some battles succeeding and others being significant defeats, such as the Battle of Hattin in 1187. In response to the losses in the Holy Land, the Fourth Crusade was diverted to Constantinople, where the Crusaders sacked the city in 1204. The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Crusades continued the struggle for the Holy Land, but none were able to achieve the same level of success as the First Crusade.

The impact of the Crusades on Western civilization was far-reaching, both positive and negative. The most significant achievement of the Crusades was the re-establishment of a Christian presence in the Holy Land, which had been lost for centuries. The Crusaders also opened up trade routes between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, providing economic benefits to both regions. Additionally, the Crusades played a significant role in the development of medieval chivalry and military culture. However, there were also darker aspects of the Crusades. The Crusaders committed numerous atrocities against the Muslim and Jewish populations of the Holy Land, including massacres, rape, and pillage.

Top right: Painting of a Crusades battlefield. War History Network license. 

Middle right: Crusaders attack the tower of Damietta during the siege of Damietta in a painting by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen in 1627. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. Source: Wikipedia.

Bottom right: Krak des Chevaliers in Syria. It is an 11th century castle and was used in the Crusades. It was one of the first castles to use concentric fortification, ie: concentric rings of defence that could all operate at the same time. It has two curtain walls and sits on a promontory. Photograph by Xlun, 5 October 2005. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Source: Wikipedia. Click all to enlarge.

During the Crusades, the Knights Templar formed and emerged in Jerusalem in 1120 as an elite fighting force, equipped with excellent combat skills, weaponry, and motivated by religious tenets. (Carey 2023, 272) The order was constituted of three classes, the highest being the knight, sworn into the order and not allowed to hold property, receive private letters, or incur debt beyond their capability to repay. The Templar priest class was the chaplain that led prayers, conducted religious services, and recorded keeping. There were also the mounted men-at-arms who served as brothers and were involved in support vocations. With this infrastructure, the Templars were well-trained and heavily armed with their horses also being trained for combat, and fully armored.

One example in which the Templars demonstrated their tactical prowess was in the Battle of Montgisard in 1177. The famous Muslim military leader Saladin was pushing towards Jerusalem from the south with a 26,000 strong army. During this time, the Jerusalem King's forces were pinned down in Ascalon by Saladin's troops. Eighty Templar knights and their entourage attempted to reinforce them, and they met Saladin's troops at Gaza. Saladin, considering them too small a force, decided not to engage them and continued towards Jerusalem.

The Knights Templar relied on a combination of military tactics and religious zeal to achieve success in battle. Among their tactical maneuvers was the 'squadron charge,' which involved a group of heavily armed knights and their warhorses galloping at the enemy lines with brute force and the willingness to commit suicide rather than fall back. This tactic was typically intended to break a hole in the enemy's lines, thus providing the other Crusader forces with an advantage. The Knights Templar also employed shrewd tactical approaches, inspired by the dream of Saint Bernard, who posited that a small force, under favorable conditions, could conquer a much larger enemy.

After Saladin and his army had moved on, the Templars joined forces with King Baldwin's troops, and they moved north along the coast. This time, Saladin made a mistake by allowing his army to temporarily spread out and pillage various villages on their way to Jerusalem. The Templars seized this opportunity, launched a surprise attack against Saladin, and his bodyguards at Montgisard near Ramla, and managed to defeat Saladin's army, leaving him with only one-tenth of his original troops. This battle was not the final one with Saladin, but it secured the Kingdom of Jerusalem a year of peace, and the victory became a legendary heroic tale.

In addition to its combat tactics, the Knights Templar also won battles through their religious zeal and self-belief, which made martyrdom in combat the most significant way to die. Their religious convictions were seen in the order's tenets, which forbade retreating in battle, except when outnumbered three to one and with their commander's approval or if the Templar flag went down. Thus, they were known to have fought aggressively and fiercely on the front lines of battles.

The success of the Knights Templar drew attention from other orders, with the most significant rivals being the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights. Concerns were also raised by various nobles about the Templar's independence and movement across borders. The order's wealth and perceived self-importance also fueled the nobles' concerns. The decline of the Knights Templar, one of the most famous military orders of the Middle Ages, was a gradual process that occurred over several centuries. As noted, the Templars suffered a significant setback in the late twelfth century with their defeat at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin. This battle was a turning point in the Crusades, as it led to Saladin's capture of Jerusalem and the retreat of Christian forces to coastal cities such as Acre.

However, the Templars did not disappear overnight. In fact, they played a critical role in the Third Crusade of the early thirteenth century, which saw Christian forces under the leadership of Richard the Lionheart mount a successful counter-offensive against Saladin's armies. This army comprised between 10,000 and 15,000 men. (Asbridge 2010, 458) The Templars were instrumental in this campaign, and their fortresses dotted the landscape of the Holy Land, providing key strongholds for Christian forces. Despite this success, there were signs of trouble for the Templars. The order's wealth and power had grown enormously since its founding in the late eleventh century, and this had led to accusations of corruption and greed. Some observers complained that the Templars had become more interested in accumulating riches than in defending the faith. These criticisms were not entirely unfounded, as the order had amassed significant landholdings and enjoyed many privileges in various countries.

One key factor in the decline of the Templars was the loss of their base in the Holy Land. After the fall of Acre in 1291, the Templars were forced to relocate their headquarters to Cyprus. While they continued to operate across Europe and the Mediterranean, they no longer had a physical presence in the Holy Land, and this had a profound effect on their morale and identity. Another factor in the decline of the Templars was their conflict with the Church. Beginning in the early fourteenth century, there were accusations that the Templars engaged in heretical practices, including the worship of a mysterious figure known as "Baphomet." These charges were almost certainly unfounded, but they were eagerly seized upon by King Philip IV of France, who saw an opportunity to seize the order's wealth and property. In 1307, Philip ordered the arrest of all the Templars in France, and soon other European countries followed suit. The Templars were subjected to torture and forced to confess to all manner of heresies. Eventually, Pope Clement V ordered the disbanding of the order in 1312, the Templars were officially dissolved. (Asbridge 2010, 658)

Bibliography

Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. New York: Ecco, 2010.

Bauer, Susan W. The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Bauer, Susan W. The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013.

Carey, Brian T., Joshua B. Allfree, and John Cairns. Warfare in the Age of Crusades: The Latin East. Havertown: Pen and Sword Military, 2023.

Jones, Dan. The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors. London: Penguin, 2017.

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016.