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One of the canonical Eastern Orthodox churches is still called the Antiochian
Orthodox Church, although it moved its headquarters from Antioch to Damascus,
Syria, several centuries ago (see list of Patriarchs of Antioch), and its prime bishop
retains the title "Patriarch of Antioch," somewhat analogous to the manner in
which several Popes, heads of the Roman Catholic Church remained "Bishop of
Rome" even while residing in Avignon, France in the 14th century.
History of the Crusades a Holy War
From the eleventh through the fifteenth
centuries, Christians from Western Europe were
pitted in a series of Holy Wars against their
Islamic, Pagan, and even other Christian
neighbors. This course offers a multi-faceted
overview of military, political, religious and
cultural aspects of the Crusades, useful in several
contexts.
The story of the Crusades actually begins
centuries before the First Crusade was launched
in AD 1096. When the center of the Roman
Empire shifted East, to Constantinople, it began
to grow a new culture which would become
known as Byzantium. However, the Church had
begun to develop with Rome as its center, and the churches of the East turned to
Constantinople rather than the developing Papacy in Rome. The first Popes were
warlike and power-hungry, however, and they wanted the entire Christian world
under their control. Then, during the latter half of the first millennium AD, the
teachings of Islam began to spread throughout North Africa and Asia Minor at an
alarming pace. The Popes of Rome, fearful that this new religion would displace
them from their still-tenuous position, needed a way to suppress this new, peaceful
religion coming out of the East.
Antioch was captured by the crusaders, led by Godfrey de Bouillon, Bohemond de
Hauteville and Raymond "de Saint-Gilles" Comte de Toulouse, in June 1098 after
an eight month siege. The Turks in the city, including the Governor, were
massacred. Abul-Feda records that "les Francs" invaded Syria in A. H. 491
(1097/98) and captured Antioch from "Yaghi-Sian…Turcoman d'origine et fils de
Mohammed ibn Alb-Arslan" in "le mois de djomada premier" (Apr/May 1098) after
a nine month siege, adding that he was beheaded by an Armenian. After their
successful conquest, the crusader leaders disagreed about who should take charge
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