The first Crusades
The First Crusade (1096–1099) drew knights from France, Italy and Germany; at Constantinople Emperor Alexios I demanded an oath from them that the lands they took would be dependent on Byzantium. The crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, and many Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were killed. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and other crusader states were created in Syria and Palestine; the crusaders made local peasants dependent, forcing them to pay a third of the harvest and extra taxes, which increased the hatred of the local population. To protect pilgrims, religious-knightly orders were formed — the Hospitallers (Knights of St John), the Templars and the German (Teutonic) Order — whose members were at once monks and warriors. The Second Crusade (1147–1149) included the kings of France and Germany and ended in failure. The sultan of Egypt, Saladin (Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi), recaptured Jerusalem from the crusaders in 1187. In response the Third Crusade (1189–1192) was organized, with the German emperor and the kings of France and England, but Jerusalem was not recovered.
“On the map”: pupils mark the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other crusader states on a map of Syria–Palestine.