The Second Crusade

The plan was to cross to Anatolia in order to destroy the Turkish armies that had been seen the year prior, while the ultimate aim of the crusade was to recover the County of Edessa, secure the pilgrim pass and provide reinforcements to Jerusalem. The latter was at risk because the vast majority of knights had died since the First Crusade, which took place between 1095 and 1099.

They attacked the Muslim city of Damascus first, which had been allied to the Christians until that point. However, upon the arrival of Nur al-Din and his armies, both Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany were defeated by the Turks and abandoned their siege, ending the Second Crusade. The armies did have a small measure of success in that they acquired Lisbon in Portugal and numerous other small settlements.

One of the major reasons behind the failure of the Second Crusade was the lack of communication between the two kings. Conrad launched an initial attack on the Seljuk Turks capital, Iconium, while the French attacked another target in Anatolia. This splitting up gave the Turks a chance to march at speed from one location to the next without being outnumbered by the crusade and overwhelmed.

Conrad was instantly defeated by the Turks and almost died as a result. The French, while lasting longer, were also defeated and their army nearly entirely destroyed.

Europe suffered greatly in terms of its economy and lack of recruits as a result of the failure of the Second Crusade, which was seen as marking the first sign of the fall of the Crusaders States in the Middle East. The Egyptians were now ruled by Saladin, who managed to successfully unite Syria and Egypt over their common enemy, the Christians, therefore completely surrounding the Crusaders.

Following the failure of the Second Crusade, Jerusalem was also left without adequate protection, something which ultimately led to the demand for the Third Crusade.

See also: The Third Crusade