The Crusades were a series of military campaigns organised by popes and Christian western powers to take Jerusalem and the Holy Land back from Muslim control and then defend those gains. There were eight major official crusades between 1095 and 1270, as well as many more unofficial ones.
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Timeline
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Apr 1081 - Aug 1118Reign of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
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1088 - 1099Reign of Pope Urban II.
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1095 - 1102The First Crusade is formed to recapture Jerusalem for Christendom. It is successful in its primary aim.
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Mar 1095Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos appeals to the west for aid against the Seljuks.
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27 Nov 1095At the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade to form and retake Jerusalem for Christendom.
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Mar 1096The people's army led by Peter the Hermit departs for Constantinople during the First Crusade.
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21 Oct 1096The 'People's Crusade' is wiped out near Nicaea by a Seljuk army.n
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21 Oct 1096The "People's Crusade" led by Peter the Hermit is wiped out by a Seljuk army near Nicaea.
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1097The First Crusaders arrive at Constantinople.
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1097The First Crusaders capture Nicaea.
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1 Jul 1097A Crusader army wins a great victory against a Muslim army at Dorylaion.
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Mar 1098Baldwin of Boulogne takes control of Edessa and the County of Edessa is formed, one of four Crusader-created states in the Levant.
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3 Jun 1098The First Crusaders capture Antioch after an 8-month siege.
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28 Jun 1098The Crusaders defeat a large Muslim army sent to recapture Antioch.
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7 Jun 1099The Crusader army arrives at the walls of Jerusalem, the objective of the First Crusade.
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17 Jun 1099A small fleet of Genoese and English ships arrives at Jaffa bringing essential supplies for siege weapons to the First Crusaders at Jerusalem.
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10 Jul 1099Siege towers are built by the First Crusaders to better attack Jerusalem.
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15 Jul 1099Jerusalem is captured during the First Crusade.
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10 Aug 1099A Muslim army is sent to recapture Jerusalem but is defeated by the Crusaders at the battle of Ascalon.
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Sep 1099The Crusader state, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is created.
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17 May 1101Caesarea is captured by the Crusaders.
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26 May 1101Acre is captured by the Crusaders.
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1113The Knights Hospitaller are recognised as a religious order by Pope Paschal II.
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c. 1119Foundation of the military order the Knights Templar.
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c. 1130Albert of Achen's account of the First Crusade, the 'Jerusalem History", is written based on soldiers accounts.
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24 Dec 1144The Muslim Seljuk Turks, led by Imad ad-Din Zangi, capture Edessa.
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1 Dec 1145Pope Eugenius III calls for the Second Crusade.
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Sep 1146Joscelin II's attempt to retake Edessa fails and the city is sacked by Nur ad-Din.
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1147The Knights Templar's first military engagement during the Second Crusade.
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1147 - 1148Campaigns against pagans in the Baltic are led by Germanic and Danish nobles during the Second Crusade.
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1147 - 1149The Second Crusade is launched to recapture Edessa for Christendom. It is not successful.
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Jun 1147 - Oct 1147The siege of Lisbon during the Second Crusade.
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Jun 1147 - Sep 1147Dobin and Malchow in northeast Germany are captured during the Second Crusade.
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Sep 1147 - Oct 1147The armies of the Second Crusade arrive in Constantinople.
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17 Oct 1147Almeria in northern Spain is captured from the Moors during the Second Crusade.
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21 Oct 1147The capture of Lisbon by the Second Crusaders.
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25 Oct 1147At Dorylaion a force of Muslim Seljuk Turks attacks an army led by Conrad III during the Second Crusade.
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Dec 1147An army led by Louis VII defeats a Seljuk army in Asia Minor during the Second Crusade.
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7 Jan 1148An army led by Louis VII is defeated by the Seljuks as it crosses the Cadmus Mountains during the Second Crusade.
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24 Jul 1148 - 28 Jul 1148The unsuccessful siege of Damascus during the Second Crusade.
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Sep 1148Conrad III, one of the leaders of the Second Crusade, returns to Europe.
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30 Dec 1148Tortosa in eastern Spain is captured from the Moors during the Second Crusade.
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29 Jun 1149The Muslim Seljuk leader Nur al-Din captures Crusader-held Antioch.
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Jul 1149A new Church of the Holy Sepulchre is completed in Jerusalem.
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1174 - 1193Reign of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.
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1186 - 1192Guy of Lusignan reigns as king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
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3 Jul 1187 - 4 Jul 1187Saladin defeats the Franks army at the Battle of Hattin.
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Sep 1187Saladin captures Jerusalem.
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Oct 1187Pope Gregory VIII calls for the Third Crusade to recapture Jerusalem.
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Jul 1188Saladin besieges the Knights Hospitaller castle of Krak des Chevaliers but withdraws to meet the Third Crusade.
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1189 - 1192The Third Crusade is formed with the aim of recapturing Jerusalem for Christendom. Although some cities were recaptured, Jerusalem was not one of them.
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Aug 1189 - Jul 1191The siege of Acre during the Third Crusade.
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1190Richard I of England captures Messina on Sicily during the Third Crusade.
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10 Jun 1190Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, drowns in the Seraph River in Cilicia on his way to the Middle East during the Third Crusade.
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May 1191Richard I of England captures Cyprus during the Third Crusade.
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Jun 1191The Crusader armies of Philip II of France and Richard I of England arrive at the siege of Acre.
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12 Jul 1191Richard I of England captures Acre during the Third Crusade.
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Aug 1191Philip II leaves Acre and returns to France during the Third Crusade.
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20 Aug 1191Richard I of England orders the execution of 2,500 Muslim prisoners after the siege of Acre during the Third Crusade.
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7 Sep 1191Richard I of England defeats Saladin's army at Arsuf during the Third Crusade.
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Jan 1192The Crusader army led by Richard I of England arrives within sight of Jerusalem but decides not to attack for fear of a counter-attack by Saladin.
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Jul 1192Saladin takes Jaffa during the Third Crusade.
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Aug 1192Richard I of England retakes Jaffa from Saladin during the Third Crusade.
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Oct 1192Richard I of England, returning home from the Third Crusade is shipwrecked and eventually imprisoned by the German emperor Henry VI.
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4 Mar 1193Death of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria.
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1197 - 1198The German Crusade led by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.
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Sep 1197A Crusade army captures Beirut.
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28 Nov 1197A Crusade army begins the siege of Toron.
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2 Feb 1198A Crusade army abandons the siege of Toron on hearing of the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.
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May 1198The Order of Teutonic Knights is officially sanctioned by Pope Innocent III.
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Aug 1198Pope Innocent III calls for the Fourth Crusade to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim rule.
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Aug 1201Marquis Boniface of Montferrat is selected to lead the Fourth Crusade.
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1202 - 1204The Fourth Crusade is formed to recapture Jerusalem for Christendom. Instead, the Crusaders attack Constantinople.
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Oct 1202The Fourth Crusade fleet leaves Venice.
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24 Nov 1202The armies of the Fourth Crusade capture Christian Zara on the Dalmatian coast.
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May 1203A small force of Crusader knights arrives in the Middle East during the Fourth Crusade.
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24 Jun 1203The army of the Fourth Crusade arrives at Constantinople.
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12 Apr 1204Constantinople is sacked by the Fourth Crusaders.
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9 May 1204Count Baldwin of Flanders is made the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople.
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1209 - 1229The Albigensian Crusade against Cathars heretics in southern France.
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1212The Children's Crusade when Nicholas of Cologne leads a children's army to Jerusalem but many die of hunger crossing the Italian Alps and the Pope tells them to go home.
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1215Pope Innocent III calls for the Fifth Crusade.
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1217 - 1221The Fifth Crusade is formed to attack Muslim-held cities in North Africa and Egypt. It is not particularly successful.
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1218The Château Pèlerin ("Pilgrim Castle") is built in Israel by the Knights Templar.
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May 1218The army of the Fifth Crusade arrives in Egypt.
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Jun 1218 - Nov 1219Damietta in Egypt is attacked and conquered after a long siege during the Fifth Crusade.
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28 Aug 1221After a failed attack on the Sultan of Egypt's army at Mansourah, hit by floods from the river Nile and with another two Muslim armies blocking their escape, the army of the Fifth Crusade surrenders.
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Sep 1221The Fifth Crusaders surrender Damietta.
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1228 - 1229The Sixth Crusade is formed by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. It achieves through diplomacy Christian control of Jerusalem.
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7 Sep 1228Frederick II arrives in the Levant on the Sixth Crusade.
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18 Feb 1229The Treaty of Jaffa is signed between Frederick II and al-Kamil to hand over Jerusalem to Christian rule.
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1244The Teutonic Order adopts a white surcoat and black cross insignia for all knights.
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17 Oct 1244An army of the Ayyubid dynasty defeats a large Latin army at the battle of La Forbie (Harbiya) in Gaza.
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Dec 1244Louis IX, king of France, takes up the cross and vows to embark on a Crusade.
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1245 - 1249Al-Salih is the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, leader of the Ayyubid Dynasty.
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1247Al-Salih, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, captures Ascalon from the Franks.
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1248 - 1254The Seventh Crusade is formed to attack Muslim-held cities in North Africa and Egypt. Led by Louis IX, it is not successful.
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25 Aug 1248The army of the Seventh Crusade sets sail for Egypt from Aigues Mortes in Southern France.
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Jun 1249The army of the Seventh Crusade lands in Egypt.
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Jun 1249The army of the Seventh Crusade captures Damietta in Egypt.
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20 Nov 1249The army of the Seventh Crusade marches from Damietta to Cairo.
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5 Apr 1250The army of the Seventh Crusade is defeated at Mansourah. Louis IX is captured.
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6 May 1250Louis IX, leader of the Seventh Crusade, is released by his captors, the Ayyubid Dynasty.
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1270The Eighth Crusade is formed to attack Muslim-held cities in North Africa. Led by Louis IX, it is not successful.
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Jul 1270The army of the Eighth Crusade lands at Tunis in North Africa.
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25 Aug 1270Louis IX dies of dysentery at Tunis during the Eighth Crusade, which is, consequently, abandoned.
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Nov 1270Charles of Anjou leads the withdrawal of the Eighth Crusade army from Tunis to Sicily. Many ships are lost in a storm.
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1291With the fall of Acre, the Crusader States, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, are absorbed into the Mamluk Sultanate.
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18 May 1291Acre, the last Christian stronghold in the Middle East, falls to the Mamluks.
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1312Pope Clement V officially abolishes the medieval military order the Knights Templar.
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25 Sep 1396The Battle of Nicopolis, aka the Nicopolis Crusade, where a western Christian army is defeated by the Ottoman Turks.
