The Crusader States

Sunni/Shia Split
Sunnis
Abu Bakr was
Muhammads
successor
Successor chosen by
consensus
Four rightly guided
Caliphs
Sufism

Shias
Ali was Muhammads
successor
Imams divinely
ordained
Have special mystical
insight
Occultation of the
last Imam

Jihad
Jihad as holy war or struggle
Greater and lesser jihad
Historical contexts for the practice of jihad
Significance in the Crusades

Fall of the Crusader States

After the 1st
Crusade

Before the 3rd

Crusade

Zengi (1085-1146)
Wanted greater unity
in the Muslim world
against the Franks
Unwittingly prompted
an alliance between
Damascus and the
Crusader states
Initiated the
reconquest of
crusader territories
with Edessa (1144)

Nur al-Din (1118-1174)

Son of Zengi
Defeated Antioch
(1149)
Conquered Damascus
(1154)
Conquered Egypt
(1169)

Saladin (1137-1193)
Took control of Egypt
in 1171
Took control of Syria
in 1174
Major player in Third
Crusade

Fall of Edessa and

Aftermath
Zengi attacks when
crusader states are
weak
Changes perceptions
in Christian and
Muslim worlds
Prompts declaration
of Second Crusade by
Pope Eugenius III
(1145)

Toward the Horns of

Hattin
Lack of support from
Europe
Succession dispute
between Melisende
and Baldwin III
After Baldwin IV
another succession
dispute
Failed attempt to
preemptively attack
Saladin

Military Orders
Templars
Founded in 1128
Order of warriormonks
Used to defend
strategic positions in
Levant
Under full control of
Pope

Hospitallers

Branch of another
order
Started a major
hospital after 1st
Crusade
Became an
independent order in
1113
Took control of
fortresses starting in
1136