The Second Crusade was a military expedition launched in 1147 to counter the Muslim threat to the Latin states created during the First Crusade. Despite the departure of many warrior pilgrims, eager to return to the West after fulfilling their duty, these crusader states persisted and even strengthened at the beginning of the 12th century, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, led by Baldwin I, as their flagship. To support the crusaders remaining in the Holy Land, Pope Eugene III tasked Bernard of Clairvaux with preaching the fight against the infidels at the assembly held in Vézelay in 1146. The new expedition was also highly successful, attracting prestigious recruits, including King Louis VII of France and Conrad III, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Context of the Second Crusade
The crusaders’ campaign had been a major surprise for the various powers in the region, which were often in conflict with one another. The Turkish victory at Harran in 1105 was the first sign of a possible Muslim resurgence. This offensive and those in the following years were led by Mawdud, the atabeg of Mosul, sent by Sultan Muhammad, who controlled western Iran and Mesopotamia. Mawdud primarily targeted the County of Edessa around 1110 but failed each time, largely due to interventions by the King of Jerusalem.
The Turks also faced internal divisions, particularly over control of Aleppo, and rivalries with the Syrians and Ismailis. Some emirs even began to ally with the Franks to counter the ambitions of the sultan’s general! Mawdud was assassinated by an Assassin in 1115, and his successor was defeated by Roger of Antioch at Battle of Sarmin (also known as the Battle of Tell Danith), despite being allied with… the Syrians!
However, the situation improved for the Turks in the years 1118–1119: Roger was defeated (and killed) by the Artuqid Ilghazi, who had taken control of Aleppo. The battle was a massacre for the Franks, who later referred to the battlefield as “Ager Sanguinis” (Field of Blood). Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, succeeded Roger but was captured while heading to Edessa, which was under threat. The County of Edessa had to surrender several strongholds to the Turks in 1118 but held on, protecting the route to Antioch and Jerusalem.
Powerless Fatimids
The other major Muslim force in the region was the Fatimid caliphate, based in Cairo. Though they had lost ground to the Turks, they remained present south of Jerusalem and along the coast, particularly in Ascalon. This strategic port was unsuccessfully besieged by Baldwin I in 1102, though he managed to prevent its garrison from being reinforced. The caliph launched five offensives against the Franks between 1101 and 1105, without success, though the crusaders found themselves in grave danger and had to mobilize all their forces.
Between 1105 and 1108, the situation seemed to stabilize, and there were even some exchanges between Jerusalem and Cairo. However, the decisive (temporary) turn came at sea: the Egyptian fleet struggled to support its remaining coastal strongholds and had to bow to the rising power of Italian fleets supporting the crusader states. Meanwhile, Baldwin I secured the support of desert Bedouins and established a network of strongholds (including Montreal), cutting Egypt off from Palestine.
In 1116, he also occupied the port of Ailah on the Red Sea. The loss of maritime dominance and the severing of the Damascus-Cairo route rendered the Fatimids temporarily powerless to launch decisive attacks against the Latin states.
Jihad of the Zengids
Paradoxically, it was Turkish divisions that sparked the Muslim resurgence. In the early 1120s, Balak, Ilghazi’s nephew, won several important victories against the Franks, allowing him to capture the Count of Edessa and, most notably, Baldwin II, the new King of Jerusalem. However, when the Franks captured Tyre (with the support of Italian fleets) and Balak tried to rescue it, he was killed. This ushered in another period of Turkish divisions. Yet the early victories had shown that with unity, the crusaders could be defeated. This is why the ulema (religious scholars) supported the Zengid family in the subsequent struggles, as they were seen as the only ones capable of uniting the Muslim forces.
The Zengids were led by Zengi, the son of an officer of Malik Shah, who governed several cities in Iraq and Aleppo on behalf of Sultan Mahmoud. In 1127, Mahmoud appointed Zengi as Atabeg (guardian) of his son, which increased Zengi’s legitimacy and power. Zengi then turned his attention to Damascus, which he tried to subdue in 1135 for Sultan Masûd.
Since 1130, he had been fighting the Franks threatening the Aleppo region, but it wasn’t until 1143 that he was tasked with waging a full jihad against them. The ideology of holy war, encouraged by the ulema, had evolved during the 1120s and 1130s as the Franks advanced. Under the banner of religion, Muslim unity could be achieved, transcending the power struggles between emirs or between sultans and caliphs (though not between Sunni and Shiite caliphs). The Frankish enemy became the main focus.
At the same time, Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus decided to assert the Empire’s claims over Antioch, putting significant pressure on the principality. Divisions among the Christians, along with the Count of Edessa Jocelyn’s desire to expand westward, left Edessa vulnerable to attack. Zengi did not hesitate; after a siege of barely a month, he captured the city in 1144. The capital of the first Latin state was also the first to fall.
Bernard of Clairvaux’s Call for the Crusade
Zengi’s victory had a major impact, especially among Muslims. He had conducted his campaign in the spirit of jihad and was recognized as a fighter and defender of the faith. However, as previously mentioned, the Shiites were largely uninterested in the Sunni jihad, and rivalries persisted, particularly with the Ismailis (and the Assassin sect). Despite his victory at Edessa, Zengi was assassinated in 1146 while trying to subdue the Shiite Uqaylids in Iraq.
In the West, the fall of Edessa was also deeply felt; the news was brought by Armenians to Rome, where Pope Eugene III, through the bull Quantum praedecessores, called for a Crusade in 1145, appointing Bernard of Clairvaux as its preacher. However, the initial number of volunteers was disappointing. It wasn’t until King Louis VII of France, eager to embark on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, decided to join that momentum truly built.
A new papal bull was issued in March 1146, and Saint Bernard officially launched the new Crusade at Vézelay at the end of the same month. Louis VII and several Frankish lords were present, and the king also succeeded in convincing Conrad III, the German Emperor, to accompany him. Unlike the First Crusade, the Second was led by monarchs. They traveled with two separate armies, and the German crusade caused similar destruction in Central Europe as the Peasants’ Crusade had in 1096, particularly for the Jews.
The Second Crusade: Badly Started and Badly Ended
However, the crusaders set off with a few stones in their shoes. First, the new Byzantine emperor, Manuel I, fears that the expedition will strengthen the Principality of Antioch, which he claims, just like his father John did. Moreover, Conrad III’s participation also threatens the German-Byzantine alliance against Norman Roger II of Sicily! The emperor’s intuition proves right, as the King of Sicily takes advantage of the Byzantine army being stuck in Constantinople watching the crusaders and seizes Corfu from Byzantium, pillaging Thebes and Athens in 1147! Additionally, the Latin rulers refuse to swear allegiance to the Byzantines…
The crusaders logically lose Greek support, and their passage through Asia Minor is no walk in the park. Furthermore, their status makes them inevitable rivals, and they travel in two separate armies. With their forces divided, they suffer devastating attacks: starting with 25,000 men, only 5,000 reach Syria. Fortunately, Conrad III reconciles with Manuel I, and it is on Byzantine ships that he reaches Acre.
Despite this, the German emperor and the Capetian king agree to abandon the idea of recapturing Edessa and set their sights on Damascus. But Louis VII, not particularly skilled in strategy and also having to deal with his somewhat unfaithful wife (Eleanor of Aquitaine), enters into conflict with Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch! Refusing to support him in an attack on Aleppo, Louis prefers to complete his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he arrives in May 1148, after Conrad III.
In the Muslim camp, Zanki’s death does not reignite old demons. He is succeeded by two of his sons; one takes control of the Mosul region, while the other—more important—gains control of Aleppo. His name is Nur al-Din (Nur ad-Din), and he will become even more famous than his father. His first goal is to subdue Damascus, still in the hands of an independent Atabeg, in order to unify Syria. He then receives unexpected (and unintentional) help from the crusaders!
The crusaders have made the city their objective (likely under pressure from the most belligerent barons), but they prepare for the siege very poorly, allowing Nur al-Din to attack them from behind and deliver a crushing defeat! The retreat is decided on July 28, 1148: Conrad III leaves the Holy Land three months later; Louis VII remains until spring 1149. Despite the failure of the crusade, this allows him to maintain his prestige, appearing as a pious king thanks to his pilgrimage to Jerusalem and his donations to the Holy Sites.
Nur al-Din Strengthens His Position
The crusaders’ failure during the siege of Damascus, followed by the departure of Louis VII and Conrad III, allows Zanki’s son to further solidify his advantage. First, over his Muslim rivals, he capitalizes on his victory over the crusaders to subdue the Atabeg of Damascus and then ceremoniously enters the city in 1154, successfully unifying Syria! He then turns his attention to his long-standing enemies, the Shiites: he imposes Sunni Islam in Aleppo and constructs numerous Sunni madrasas there and in Damascus.
He continues his jihad against the crusaders: in June 1149, he inflicts a heavy defeat on Raymond of Poitiers, significantly weakening the Principality of Antioch (where a certain Renaud de Châtillon begins to make a name for himself), with its capital almost becoming a frontier outpost. Luckily for the Latin states, this time it is Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos who halts Nur al-Din’s advance and negotiates a peace. Nonetheless, Nur al-Din completely dissolves the County of Edessa in the early 1150s.
The following years are more mixed: first, he loses Harim to the Prince of Antioch in 1157 and then has to wait until 1160 to resume his offensive. Though he fails in front of the Krak des Chevaliers in 1163, he captures Renaud de Châtillon and regains most of the places he had briefly lost in previous years. Moreover, Nur al-Din extends his influence to northern Iraq and into Armenia and Cilicia, intervening in conflicts among the Armenians, Byzantines, and Franks. He also manages to capture some Templar strongholds.
However, it is when he turns his attention to Egypt, taking advantage of the weakening of the Fatimid regime under King Amalric I of Jerusalem, that he faces his most dangerous rival—the very one he had promoted: a certain Saladin…