Student Question
What two factors led to the success and failure of the first four Crusades?
Quick answer:
Different kinds of leadership can explain the successes and failures of the first four Crusades. The successes of the Crusaders were a result of knowledgable military leadership and a disunified enemy. Their failures were a result of monarchs with divided attentions and their own internal rivalries.
The initial successes of the Crusades were largely a result of divisions within the Muslim world. The Muslim states at the time the First Crusade arrived in the Holy Land were far from unified. A series of recent conflicts between them weakened their military power and made them distrustful of one another. This caused them to be slow to react to the Crusader threat. The Crusaders were able to exploit this and conquer them one by one.
Another cause of their success was that they had leaders with large amounts of military experience and knowledge. Most of the leaders of the early Crusades were European princes who had already fought in various wars. Indeed, feudal wars were a common factor in Europe at the time. Many of the leaders of the Crusades were battle-hardened as a result. They took this experience and applied their knowledge of military tactics effectively against...
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the Muslims in the Holy Land.
A major cause of their failures had to do with the weakening of the leadership of European monarchs in their home countries. Starting with the Third Crusade, European kings began personally leading crusades. They soon found that it was difficult to maintain control over their home country while being so far away. For instance, King Richard I of England found that his brother, John, who he left in charge while he was away, was doing an inept job. Furthermore, John had no intention of rescinding the throne upon Richard's return. By having their attentions and priorities divided between continuing the Crusades and managing their domestic affairs, the resolve of crusading monarchs was weakened.
Another factor of the failure of the Crusaders was that they had internal rivalries. There was seldom one unified leadership and various factions competed against each other. The Muslim forces also had their own internal divisions. However, once they united during the Second Crusade and then under the leadership of Saladin, it became more difficult for the various Crusader factions to put up an effective unified fight.