Crusader Jerusalem

First, I enjoyed the guest speaker, and learning about the Crusades. I feel like we didn't cover it enough because there is so much to talk about, but maybe I'm just thinking about the Crusades as a whole and not just Jerusalem. I would also like to mention that there is crusader stuff everywhere in Israel. For instance, at the kibbutz where I stayed, there was an old Crusader castle called Belmont which is French means something like strong mountain or something. And when
I was hiking in the North there was just a random castle and I was like damn, that's cool.

Now to the material...

The crusader period lasted from 1099 to 1187. The crusades were inspired by Pope Urban II's speech in 1095, where he used lots of religious imagery and rhetoric against the Muslims, saying how they controlled their holy land, war, Christ, duty, responsibility, destined by God, all those cache words that inspire people. and so 1097, the peasant's crusade was launched and was ultimately squashed as they were not financed or trained compared to their Turkish rivals.

Eventually there were four principalities in the eastern Mediterranean- Odessa, Antioch, tripoli, and Jerusalem, with Jerusalem being the governing main center. By 1099, Godfry de Boullion conquered Jerusalem and in 1100, Baldwin became King. He established three quarters. The patriarchs, the Templar's, the Syrian, and The Armenian. He also set out to convert the Dome of the Rock, rebuild the Byzantine churches that had been in disrepair, and build new churches throughout Jerusalem. Today we located 42 churches that have been identified to the Crusader period.

Uhhhh, in 1197, Saladin won at the horns of Hattin. Pretty fun part of history I think. so much clash, emotion, Jerusalem, religion. Sort of like how when people make fantasy basketball teams-Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, and Oscar Robertson all one team- its kind of like that with the Crusades. Popes, Jerusalem, Christianity vs. Islam, some win some lose, changes of power, heroes, famous characters. It's like an all-star game of history. And I think that is why it has such a lasting legacy and it is so remembered today. We always hear people using Crusader imagery in speeches and poems and books. Maybe not as much now because it is so sensitive and powerful, but that is what makes the Crusades fun to learn about.