By al-Din on January 27, 2010 10:57 PM
The old crusades, the papal killing fields.
On November 25 1095 Pope Urban II summoned the expedition for the 1st crusade to Jerusalem, (also) their holy land. Some 25,000 marched 3000 miles from Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Germany ...) to Muslim-held Jerusalem and captured it by July 1099 and established the Latin (Crusader)Kingdom. Some 40,000 Jews and Muslims were savagely butchered.
2nd crusade (1144- ) - called by Pope Eugenius III and led by King Louis VII of France and King Conrad of Germany failed.
In 1187 Salahudin al-Ayubi routed the entire Christian army at the Battle of Hattin and recaptured Jerusalem (Al-Quds). Nearly all the knights of Templers and Hospitalliers were killed.
3rd crusade (1187-1192) - the fall of Jerusalem led Pope Gregory VIII to call for crusade. Led by Richard I (Lion Heart) but failed to capture Jerusalem which Salahudin successfully defended.
Salahudin, the Hero of Al-Quds died in 1193 in Syria, a poor man as he had given away much of his possessions! Till today Jerusalem remains in Muslim hands.
4th crusade (1203-1204) - encouraged by Pope Innocent III. The west christians instead of going after the Muslims befelled Byzantine (orthodox) Constantinople in 1204 and gained much booty! They established the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople.
5th crusade 1218-1221)- again announced by Pope Innocent III, an attacked Egypt (Damietta) ended in failure.
6th crusade (1245-1249)- announced by Pope Innocent IV again, attacked Egypt (detour to Jerusalem) ended in a rout.
7th crusade (1271-1272) - led by King Edward I of England, failed to halt the Mamluk Turks from regaining several strongholds of the Latin Kingdom.
By 1453 the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople fell to the Turks led by Mehmet, the Ottoman sultan.
However, in Andalus the Muslims were losing their hold of the country. By January 1492, Abu ‘Abdullah, the last Khalif of Granada, Spain was fleeing in exile to Morocco. The mother of the Khalif scolded her son, “Do not weep like a woman for what you could not defend like a man!”
The Muslim rule of Andalus (Spain) which lasted for 772 years (since 720) was over. Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors capitulated to the Spanish army on that fateful January. Thousands of lives had perished. Al-Hambra, the resplendent palace was lost. Over 1,005,000 volumes of works on Moorish culture were burnt. Ferdinand, the King of Spain issued an edict of expulsion which sent 100,000 Jews to Portugal.
Fisabilillah.
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