The campaign was a dismal failure because the Muslims had regrouped. In 1147–49, the Second Crusade, championed by the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux ( 1975.1.70b), attempted to take Damascus in Syria. Precious works of art fashioned for the churches of Europe celebrated their links to the Holy Land ( 2002.18 Toulouse Cathedral Limoges Reliquary). Some pieces even bear an inscription indicating that they were made by an Islamic goldsmith for a Christian. Indeed, metalwork from this period sometimes combines an Islamic aesthetic with Christian subject matter ( 1971.39a,b). The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, for example, became the seat of a Western Christian bishop in 1110 ( 1988.1174.9).Īrtists from different traditions met in the city of Jerusalem, with, for example, Syrian goldworkers on the right of the market near the Holy Sepulcher, and Latin goldworkers on the left (Conder 1896). The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem established by the Crusaders boasted fifteen cathedral churches. For the Crusaders, the Dome of the Rock was the Temple of Solomon the Aqsa mosque was converted to use as a palace and stables. The Crusaders took over many of the cities on the Mediterranean coast and built a large number of fortified castles across the Holy Land to protect their newly established territories ( 28.99.1), while also establishing churches loyal to Rome. Ralph of Caen, watching the city from the Mount of Olives, saw “the scurrying people, the fortified towers, the roused garrison, the men rushing to arms, the women in tears, the priests turned to their prayers, the streets ringing with cries, crashing, clanging and neighing.” Eyewitness accounts attest to the terror of battle. In June 1099, the Crusaders began a five-week siege of Jerusalem, which fell on J( 92.1.15). With the support of the Byzantine emperor, the knights, guided by Armenian Christians ( 57.185.3), tenuously marched to Jerusalem through Seljuq-controlled territories in modern Turkey and Syria. Nobles and peasants responded in great number to the call and marched across Europe to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire. Absolution from sin and eternal glory were promised to the Crusaders, who also hoped to gain land and wealth in the East. At their core was a desire for access to shrines associated with the life and ministry of Jesus, above all the Holy Sepulcher, the church in Jerusalem said to contain the tomb of Christ ( 2005.100.373.100). Considered at the time to be divinely sanctioned, these campaigns, involving often ruthless battles, are known as the Crusades. Most historians consider the sermon preached by Pope Urban II at Clermont-Ferrand in November 1095 to have been the spark that fueled a wave of military campaigns to wrest the Holy Land from Muslim control.
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