Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars with the objective of recovering the Holy Land, particularly Jerusalem, from Islamic rule. The best known of these military expeditions are those in the period between 1095, when plans for the original invasion began, with Pope Urban II rallying European allies during the ,Assassin's Creed: A Walk Through History (1189-1868) – Chapter 1: The Third Crusade – Historical Overview: The Rise of Saladin and lasted until 1291, with the Crusaders' loss at the .
==Selected Crusades==
===First Crusade===
The First Crusade (1096 – 1099) was called with the aim of recovering the Levant from the expanding , culminating with the Siege of Jerusalem. The four main armies left for the front in August 1096, arriving at Jerusalem three years later, by which time the retreating Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate had been occupying the city since August 1098. On 7 June 1099, the Christian army camped outside Jerusalem and began their assaults. The city fell relatively quickly and the Crusaders entered only to promptly massacre the city's Muslim and Jewish populations.Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Timeline The Kingdom of Jerusalem, a , was established immediately after.
===Second Crusade===
The Second Crusade (1147 – 1150) was a failed effort at consolidating Crusader control over the Holy Land after the city of , a Crusader state capital. With psychological pressure from Pope over the First Crusade's success, many nobles joined the expedition, but overconfident and underprepared, they were repeatedly defeated by the in Anatolia and ultimately withdrew following a mere week-long attempt to lay to Damascus. Their defeat raised Muslim confidence and allowed Zengi's son to accrue power by uniting different parts of Muslim society.Echoes of History – Assassins vs Templars – Episode 1: The Crusades
===Third Crusade===
The Third Crusade (1189 – 1192) was an attempt to reconquer Jerusalem from the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin, Nur-al Din's protégé and nephew to of his generals, after he it in 1187. European forces, principally led by King Richard I of England, managed to reclaim AcreAssassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles – Flow of Poison and fought Saladin's army near ArsufAssassin's Creed – Assassination II (Robert de Sablé) before coming to negotiate peaceful terms and signing the . Though Jerusalem remained under Saracen control, the Saracens agreed to allow unarmed Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
===Fourth Crusade===
The Fourth Crusade (1202 – 1204) was meant as a second attempt to take Jerusalem, which the Ayyubids still held under Saladin's brother . In 1202, the Crusaders required transport on Venetian ships to the Levant. Enrico Dandolo agreed to give them passage only if they first the n city of and then attacked Constantinople. When Constantinople , the Venetian Navy sacked itAssassin's Creed II – Database: Venezia before the majority of the Crusaders' forces returned home. Only a handful of the thousands who joined actually reached their destination and the venture ultimately failed.
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed 
*Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
*Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
*Assassin's Creed II
*Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
*Assassin's Creed III
*Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag 
*Assassin's Creed: Initiates 
*Assassin's Creed: Memories
*Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Eagle's Shadow
*Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
*Echoes of History 
==References==
Category:Timeline
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