History: Advanced History: The Cross & the Crescent - The Crusades

A very careful and detailed examination of the reins of power held within the Kingdom of Jerusalem will form a major part of this term’s course, continually looking for factors which may have contributed to internal rivalries and disputes within the leadership there, and why those particular problems would become so critically Important for the future Of Outremer. We will also look at the continued growth of the Zengid dynasty at the same time and why its expansion would become a major external threat to the survival of the Christian states Of Palestine; This insight will naturally lead to a further examination of the emergence of Saladin as a leader of significant proportions committed to the downfall of Outremer; how he was able to unify the various Muslim states under a single authority and how his policies would ultimately provoke a response from the Kingdom of Jerusalem which would lead to its downfall. By contrast however, we will also at least devote some time to chief rivalries within the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the 1170s and why those particular difficulties would by themselves become dominant contributing factors in leading to the fateful battle of Hattin, and collapse of Outremer.