Roman Palestine and the Crusades

I am quite familiar with History of England and Europe since even before my teens. That was because my father had beautifully illustrated school History text books from England. Plus many historical novels eg Walter Scotts The Talisman which is set in Palestine during the Crusades. I read them all many times over as nothing better to do as no TV then in SL till 1977.

Let us start with the historical Jewish Diaspora. Historical as verified from sources other than the Bible. The Romans controlled the middle east around 1 BC. (Think Julius Caesar and Cleopatra an Egyptian Queen of Greek Origin)

To quote
Asia Minor after the Macedonian Wars (214–148 B.C.). In 63 B.C. The defeat of the Carthaginians gave Rome almost complete control of the Mediterranean. Romans conquered most of Asia Minor in 188 B.C., Syria and Palestine in 64 and 63 B.C.

In 70 C.E. (a few years after the purported passing of Jesus Christ the Romans Destroyed the Judaism Temple in Jerusalem. Apparently this ended the ability to make animal sacrifices to God (Yahweh). Plus the Roman persecution of the Jews and Judaism led to their disperal from Palestine, i.e. the Diaspora

Note: There is no evidence of a Kingdom or Country called Israel in any of the Historical or Pre-historical records of the Babylonians and Assyrians. There was region called Palestine (Palaistinê, Παλαιστῑ́νη) since at least since the Greek times. The word Israel became considered “Fact” when Europe became Christian and the Bible an accepted source of fact given by the Divine. The Jews became notable and rich because they were money lenders. Christians (and Muslims) are forbidden to lend money on interest (usury). Think Merchant of Venice and Shylock the Jew

Now to the The Crusades

There were three Crusades,
First Crusade (1096–1099)
The Crusades were purpotedly to recapture Jerusalem and have it under Christian Rule. But more likely to get back two-thirds of land held by Christians that had been conquered by Muslim forces prior to the First Crusade . The Crusaders successfully capture Jerusalem and establish the Crusader States

The Second Crusade (1147–1149)
Was announced by Pope Eugene III, and was led in the east by European kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, with help from a number of other European nobles. It ended with Jerusalem capitulating to Saladin. His forces then spread north to capture all but the capital cities of the Crusader States, precipitating the Third Crusade

The Third Crusade (1189–1192)
This is the Crusade I am most familiar, as it features heavily in English novels and English school text books.
The main characters in this Crusade are King Richard I of England, King Philip II of France, the Knights Templar and Saladin Sultan of Egypt and Syria. Ended with Saladin Regaining Palestine Including Jerusalem and Egypt
.
King Richard I of England
The English lionize King Richard the Lion Heart. In reality he was a bad King for England. Spending most of time in France (Aquitane) and on the Crusades. England was used as piggy bank to fund the Crusade and his Ransom. The burden was on taxes for peasants. Like the US and its forever wars funded by debt which is an indirect funding paid by the average person. However, considered brave and handsome “He was tall, of elegant build; the colour of his hair was between red and gold; his limbs were supple and straight”
Note: Both King Richard, King Philp II and all other Christians in Western Europe were Catholic. The Anglican Church (Church of England) and Protestant Churches were founded centuries later.

King Philip II of France
After Richard became king, he and Philip agreed to go on the Third Crusade, since each feared that during his absence the other might usurp his territories. the son of Louis VII and Adela of Champagne. He was nicknamed “Dieudonné” (God-given) being the first born son, arriving late in his father’s life.
In Contrast to Richard I, Philip II transformed France into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns free themselves from seigneurial authority, granting privileges and liberties to the emergent bourgeoisie.

Sultan Salah ad-Din (Saladin) of Syria and Egypt
Saladin was a Sunni Muslin and a Kurd (an Iranian Tribe). Under Saladin’s command, the Ayyubid army defeated the Crusaders at the decisive Battle of Hattin in 1187, capturing Jerusalem and re-establishing Muslim military dominance in the Levant. Although the Crusaders’ Kingdom of Jerusalem persisted until the late 13th century, the defeat in 1187 marked a turning point in the Christian military effort against Muslim powers in the region. Saladin died in Damascus in 1193, having given away much of his personal wealth to his subjects.

Richard proposed that his sister Joan should marry Saladin’s brother and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift. However, Saladin rejected this idea when Richard insisted that Saladin’s brother convert to Christianity. Richard suggested that his niece Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany be the bride instead, an idea that Saladin also rejected. These stories are featured in Walter Scotts The Talisman.

Saladin was widely renowned in medieval Europe as a model of kingship, and in particular of the courtly virtue of regal generosity. “Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the Muslim leader became one of the great exemplars of chivalry in 13th century European literature. Much has been written about the sultan during his own lifetime and since, but the fact that an appreciation for his diplomacy and leadership skills can be found in both contemporary Muslim and Christian sources would suggest that Saladin is indeed worthy of his position as one of the great medieval leaders.”

Some other Tidbits

Damascus Steel
Saladin and his armies were reputed have swords light and sharp. So sharp that with with a flick of the wrist it could cut a silk scarf that was resting on the sword blade. Now it is considered to be Wootz Carbon Steel that was made in South India and Sri Lanka. The other advantages were the lithe fast Arabian horses. In contrast the English had Iron Amour and big heavy Iron swords. Both needed big horses ill suited to the hot mid east climate

Saladin Tithe
A tax of of 10% on revenues and movable properties in England and France. Another massive tax was imposed on England in order to raise King Richards ransom money at the much higher rate of 25%.

Saladin Armored Car (Irony)
FV601 Saladin is a six-wheeled armored car developed by Crossley Motors and later manufactured by Alvis.
The Saladin also spawned an armoured personnel carrier counterpart, the Alvis Saracen

Not many Pure Arab Caliphs
Many of the Caliphs or Sultan of the Islamic Empires were not proper Arabs,  Kurds (an Iranian Tribe) ,  Turks and children of concubines, typically Circassian or Persian (Circassians are considered extremely beautiful and desired in the Mid East). Quite similar to the Moghul (Mongol) Kings marrying Persian/Iranian women. Probably to end up with light skinned children, permanent Fair and Lovely. A modern day example is King Farouk, the last effective King of Egypt, He had Albanian, Circassian, Turkish, French, Greek and Egyptian ancestry

Scheherazade
The Legendary Queen who is the story teller of Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). Her name is from the Middle Persian name Čīhrāzād, which is composed of the words čīhr (‘lineage’) and āzād (‘noble, exalted’). Many of the stories are set in Caliph Hārūn al-Rāshīd’s (766 – 809) court. Harun Al Rashid too was born in Tehran, Iran