The Second Crusade (1145--1149) was the second major crusade launched from
Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the
County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of
Zengi. The county had been founded during the
First Crusade (1096--1099) by
Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098
. While it was the first
Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall.
The Second Crusade was announced by
Pope Eugene III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by
European kings, namely
Louis VII of France and
Conrad III of Germany, with help from a number of other European nobles. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe. After crossing
Byzantine territory into
Anatolia, both armies were separately defeated by the
Seljuq Turks. The main
Western Christian source,
Odo of Deuil, and
Syriac Christian sources claim that the
Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus secretly hindered the crusaders' progress, particularly in Anatolia where he is alleged to have deliberately ordered
Turks to attack them.
Louis and
Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached
Jerusalem and, in 1148, participated in an ill-advised attack on
Damascus. The crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It would ultimately have a key influence on the fall of Jerusalem and give rise to the
Third Crusade at the end of the
12th century.
The only success of the
Second Crusade came to a combined force of 13,
000 Flemish,
Frisian,
Norman,
English,
Scottish, and
German crusaders in 1147.
Travelling from
England, by ship, to the
Holy Land, the army stopped and helped the smaller (7,000)
Portuguese army in the capture of
Lisbon, expelling its
Moorish occupants.
Background: the fall of
Edessa
After the First Crusade and the minor
Crusade of 1101 there were three crusader states established in the east: the
Kingdom of Jerusalem, the
Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. A fourth, the
County of Tripoli, was established in 1109. Edessa was the most northerly of these, and also the weakest and least populated; as such, it was subject to frequent attacks from the surrounding Muslim states ruled by the Ortoqids, Danishmends, and Seljuq Turks.
Count Baldwin II and future count
Joscelin of Courtenay were taken captive after their defeat at the
Battle of Harran in 1104.
Baldwin and
Joscelin were both captured a second time in 1122, and although Edessa recovered somewhat after the
Battle of Azaz in 1125, Joscelin was killed in battle in 1131. His successor
Joscelin II was forced into an alliance with the
Byzantine Empire, but in 1143 both the
Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus and the
King of Jerusalem Fulk of
Anjou died. Joscelin had also quarreled with the
Count of Tripoli and the
Prince of Antioch, leaving Edessa with no powerful allies.
Meanwhile,
the Seljuq Zengi, Atabeg of
Mosul, had added
Aleppo to his rule in 1128. Aleppo was the key to power in
Syria, contested between the rulers of Mosul and Damascus. Both Zengi and
King Baldwin II turned their attention towards Damascus; Baldwin was defeated outside the city in 1129. Damascus, ruled by the
Burid Dynasty, later allied with
King Fulk when Zengi besieged the city in 1139 and 1140; the alliance was negotiated by the chronicler
Usamah ibn Munqidh.
In late 1144, Joscelin II allied with the Ortoqids and marched out of Edessa with almost his entire army to support the Ortoqid army against Aleppo. Zengi, already seeking to take advantage of Fulk's death in 1143, hurried north to besiege Edessa, which fell to him after a month on
24 December 1144.
Manasses of Hierges,
Philip of Milly and others were sent from Jerusalem to assist, but arrived too late. Joscelin II continued to rule the remnants of the county from
Turbessel, but little by little the rest of the territory was captured by Muslims or sold to the Byzantines. Zengi himself was praised throughout
Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, "the victorious king". He did not pursue an attack on the remaining territory of Edessa, or the Principality of Antioch, as was feared. Events in Mosul compelled him to return home, and he once again set his sights on Damascus. However, he was assassinated by a slave in 1146 and was succeeded in Aleppo by his son
Nur ad-Din.
The news of the fall of Edessa was brought back to
Europe first by pilgrims early in 1145, and then by embassies from
Antioch, Jerusalem, and
Armenia.
Bishop Hugh of Jabala reported the news to Pope Eugene III, who issued the bull
Quantum praedecessores on
1 December of that year, calling for a second crusade.
Hugh also told the
Pope of an eastern
Christian king, who, it was hoped, would bring relief to the crusader states: this is the first documented mention of
Prester John.
- published: 22 Dec 2013
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