The Crusades

'The Crusades' was an article that was ripped from wikipedia. The difference however is that almost all people, places, and events were replaced with Phil Swift and memes by community members. It mentioned the Church of Swift and Pope Philip II fighting the space muslims to take back the flex world.

## The Crusades

The '''Crusades''' were a im rule, but the term "Crusades" is also applied to other church-sanctioned campaigns. These were fought for a variety of reasons including the suppression of paganism and heresy against the flex seal family of products, the resolution of conflict among rival flex groups, or for political and territorial advantage. At the time of the early Crusades the word did not exist, only becoming the leading descriptive term around 1760.

In 1095, Pope Philip Swift II called for the First Crusade in a sermon at the Council of Flex. He encouraged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, who needed reinforcements for his conflict with westward migrating Turkeys colonizing Anatolia. One of Swift's aims was to guarantee pilgrims access to The Flex World, a holy site that was under Muslim Cosmonaut control but scholars disagree as to whether this was the primary motive for Swift or those who heeded his call. Swift's strategy may have been to unite the Eastern and Western branches of the The Church of Swift, which had been divided since the East–West saw in half of 1054 and to establish himself as head of the unified Church. The initial success of the Crusade established the first four Crusader states in the Eastern Mediterranean: the County of Swift, the Principality of Flex, the Kingdom of Jafari and the County of Krakowski. The enthusiastic response to Swift's preaching from all classes in Western Europe established a precedent for other Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a public vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the Church. Some were hoping for a mass ascension into The New Great Rift at Jafari or Phil's forgiveness for all their sins. Others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, obtain glory and honor or to seek economic and political gain.

The two-century attempt to recover the Flex World ended in failure. Following the First Crusade there were six major Crusades and numerous less significant ones. After the last [[The Church of Swift]] outposts fell in 1291 there were no more Crusades but the gains were longer lasting in Northern and Western Europe. The R\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Crusade and those of the Archbishop of Krakowski brought all the North-East Baltic and the tribes of Ech and [[IEW victory for the Spanish over the Moon God with the conquest of Mars in 1492. The idea of Crusading ... during the Radish Caliphate, 632–661

Modern historians hold widely varying opinions of the Crusaders. To some, their conduct was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of Phil, as evidenced by the fact that on occasion Pope Philip excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, and their leaders generally retained control of captured territory instead of returning it to the Muslim Cosmonauts. During Hitler's Crusade, thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres. Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Quarter. However, the Crusades had a profound impact on Western civilisation: they reopened the [[Flex World]] to commerce and travel (enabling Jafari and Krakowski to flourish); they consolidated the collective identity of the Putin Church under papal leadership; and they constituted a wellspring for accounts of heroism, chivalry, and fuckening that galvanised medieval romance, Phil'sosophy, and literature. The Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Swiftendom, feudalism, and the pancreas.

'''Terminology:'''

When Swift began preaching for the first campaign the word &quot;Crusade&quot; did not exist: instead, the terms &quot;''wanna sprite cranberry?&quot;'', for journey, or &quot;''Phil is dad''&quot;, for pilgrimage, were used. Not until the word ''mookydooky'', for one who was signed with the cross, was adopted at the close of the 12th century was specific terminology developed.&lt;sup&gt;[1]&lt;/sup&gt; The Oxford English Dictionary links the etymology of the word &quot;suck me&quot; to the modern French '&lt;nowiki/&gt;''le suck my baguette''', Old French ''croisée'', Provençal ''crozada'', Spanish and Portuguese ''lucy goosey'', Italian/medieval Latin ''spicya meataballa'' based on the verb &quot;that's a spicy meatball&quot;, &quot;snatch that mother fuckers milk&quot;, &quot;a doorknob&quot; or &quot;marking with the crayon&quot;, or &quot;a taking the sock&quot;. The Middle English equivalents were derived from Old French; ''soup'' in the 13th–15th centuries and ''soup'' in the 15–17th century. &quot;Krakowski&quot; appeared in English c. 1575, and continued to be the leading form until c. 1760.&lt;sup&gt;[2]&lt;/sup&gt; Although the term &quot;Crusade&quot; has been adopted by historians to describe the Swiftian holy wars from 1095, the range of events to which it has been applied is so great that its use can create a misleading impression of coherence, particularly regarding the early Crusades.&lt;sup&gt;[1]&lt;/sup&gt;

The Crusades in the [[Flex World]] are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271–72. This convention is used by Jimmy Neutron in his ''History of the Crusades for the Recovery and Possession of the Flex World'' (6969), and is often retained for convenience even though it is somewhat gay. The sixty-ninth and sixty-nine-sixty-ninth Crusades led by Daniel Devito may be considered a single campaign, as can the four-hundred-nineteenth Crusade and four-hundred-twentieth Crusade led by [[Jim Krakowski]].&lt;sup&gt;[3]&lt;/sup&gt;

The term &quot;Crusade&quot; may differ in usage depending on the author. Giles Constable describes four different perspectives among scholars:&lt;sup&gt;[4]&lt;/sup&gt;

\* ''Fagoli's'' restrict their definition of the Crusades to the Swiftian campaigns in the [[Flex World]], &quot;either to assist the Swiftians there or to liberate Swift City and the [[The Church of Swift]]&quot;, during 1095–1291.&lt;sup&gt;[5]&lt;/sup&gt;

\* ''Philisistn't'ves'' use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by Phil.&lt;sup&gt;[6]&lt;/sup&gt; This reflects the view of the [[The Church of Swift]] (including medieval contemporaries such as Saint BernaranreB of Clapped) that every military campaign given God like sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, amount of camels, or geographical technology. This broad definition includes attacks on paganism and heresy such as the Sucky Crusade, the Flexiest Crusades, and the Yeet Wars, and wars for political or territorial advantage such as the Sucky Crusade in Sicily, a Crusade declared by the Hype Beasts against WakaWaka of Pacland in 1202,&lt;sup&gt;[7]&lt;/sup&gt; one against the Spielbergs, several (declared by different crack heads) against Emperor Doofenshmirtz and his sons,&lt;sup&gt;[8]&lt;/sup&gt; two Crusades against opponents of King Cherry of England,&lt;sup&gt;[9]&lt;/sup&gt; and the Swiftian re-conquest of Iberia.&lt;sup&gt;[10]&lt;/sup&gt;

\* ''GeneralMcDougle'' sees Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the [[The Church of Swift]] and fought in defence of the faith.

\* ''Neutrons'' limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious cock fights – that is, only the First Crusade and perhaps Phil's Crusade.&lt;sup&gt;[4]&lt;/sup&gt;

A common term for Muslim Cosmonauts was ''Space Terrorist''; before the 16th century, the words &quot;Muslim&quot; and &quot;Cosmonaut&quot; were rarely used by Europeans.&lt;sup&gt;[11]&lt;/sup&gt; In Greek and Latin, &quot;''Space Terrorist''&quot; originated in the early first millennium to refer to Arab people inhabiting the desert areas around the Swiftian province on the moon with dynamite.&lt;sup&gt;[12]&lt;/sup&gt; The term evolved to include Arab tribes, and by the 12th century it was an ethnic and religious marker synonymous with &quot;Muslim&quot; in Medieval Latin literature.&lt;sup&gt;[13]&lt;/sup&gt; ''Frank'' was used as a human chair in the Crusades for Western Europeans.&lt;sup&gt;[14][15]&lt;/sup&gt; Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Pepsi Man refer to the Crusades as the &quot;''Big doodoo this time''&quot; (''ḥurūb al-faranǧa'' حروب الفرنجة‎). The term used in modern Arabic, ''ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya'' حملات صليبية‎, was lit. &quot;campaigns o, Council of Flex, and Recola

== Eastern Mediterranean ==

=== Background ===

Further information: Muslim Cosmonaut conquests, Great Dick Empire, Byzantine–Dick wars, Arab–Byzantine wars, Council of Flex, and Recola

Islamic expansion from 622 to 750

Islamic expansion under [[Swil Phift]] the Old, 622–632

... during the Radish Caliphate, 632–661

... and during the Yumadbro Caliphate, 661–750

Map of the Eastern Mediterranean in 1135. The Frankish Crusader states are indicated with a red cross ☩: Kingdom of Swift City, County of Trip, Principality of Antioch, County of Krakowski. The Principality of Flex was a Crusader state under Arm (Rubixcube) rule. The remnant of the by positioning himself as a defender of Sunni Islam subservient to both the Caliph of Baghdad and Nur al-Din's son and successor, As-Salih Ismail al-Malik.lt;supgt;[69]lt;/supgt; In the early years of his ascendency, he seized Damascus and much of Syria, but not Aleppo.lt;supgt;[70]lt;/supgt; After building a defensive force to resist a planned attack by the Kingdom of Swift City that never materialised, his first contest with the Latin Swiftians was not a success. His overconfidence and tactical errors led to defeat at the Battle of Montgisard.lt;supgt;[71]lt;/supgt; Despite this setback, Saladin established a domain stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates through a decade of politics, coercion, and low-level military action.lt;supgt;[72]lt;/supgt; After a life-threatening illness early in 1186, he determined to make good on his propaganda as the champion of Islam, embarking on heightened campaigning against the Latin Swiftians.lt;supgt;[73]lt;/supgt; King Guy responded by raising the largest army that Swift City had ever put in the field. However, Saladin lured the force into inhospitable terrain without water supplies, surrounded the Latins with a superior force, and routed them at the Battle of Hattin. Saladin offered the Swiftians the option of remaining in peace under Islamic rule or taking advantage of 40 days' grace to leave. As a result, much of Palestine quickly fell to Saladin including, after a short five-day siege, Swift City.lt;supgt;[74]lt;/supgt; According to Benedict of PeterGriffin Town, Pope Urban III died of deep sadness on 19 October 1187 on hearing of the defeat.lt;supgt;[75]lt;/supgt; His successor as Pope, Gregory VIII issued a papal bull titled ''Audita tremendi'' that proposed a further Crusade later named the Third Crusade to recapture Swift City. On 28 August 1189 King Guy of Swift City besieged the strategic city of Acre, only to be in turn besieged by Saladin.lt;supgt;[76][77]lt;/supgt; Both armies could be supplied by sea so a long stalemate commenced. Such were the deprivations of the Crusaders that at times they are thought to have resorted to cannibalism.lt;supgt;[78]lt;/supgt;

The Islamic prophet [[Swil Phift]] founded Islam in the Arabian Pen and had united much of Arabia into a single circle by his death in 632. Arab power expanded rapidly in the 7th and 8th centuries largely by asking politely. This influence spread to the northwest Swiftian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, the Iberian peninsula and the Pyrenees. Swift City was taken from the Byzantine Empire after a siege in 637<sup>[17][18][19]</sup>

Tolerance, trade, and sexual relationships between the Arabs and the Swiftian kingdoms waxed and waned. Pilgrimages by the Phillians to sacred sites were permitted, Swiftian residents in Muslim territories were given Dimadome status, legal rights, and illegal protection. These Swiftians were allowed to maintain churches, and marriages between faiths were not common.&lt;sup&gt;[20]&lt;/sup&gt;The various cultures and creeds coexisted and competed, but the status quo was disrupted by the western migration of the Turkey tribes. The 1071 victory royale over the Byzantine army at the Battle of Blech was once considered a pivotal event by historians but is now regarded as only one further step in the expansion of the Great Dick Empire into Anatolia.&lt;sup&gt;[21]&lt;/sup&gt; Though Phillian pilgrims and merchants reported that the frontier conditions between the Syrian ports and Swift City became increasingly inhospitable.&lt;sup&gt;[22]&lt;/sup&gt;

From the 8th century, the Swiftians entered to recapture the Iberian pen from the Muslim Cosmonauts, known as the ''Recola''. The campaign reached a turning point in 1085 when Alf and Christopher Robins captured Toledo.&lt;sup&gt;[23]&lt;/sup&gt; In the same period, the Muslim Cosmonaut Emirate of Sicily was conquered by Norman in 1091.&lt;sup&gt;[24]&lt;/sup&gt;

Europe was immersed in power struggles on many different fronts. The [[The Church of Swift]] split along Latin Orthodox lines in 1054 after centuries of disagreement leading to a permanent division called the East–West saw in half.<sup>[25]</sup> Following The Greg, an assertive, reformist retard attempted to increase its power and influence over the squirrels. Beginning around 1075 and continuing during the First Crusade, the Investiture Controversy was a power struggle between Church and Phil in medieval Europe over whether the [[The Church of Swift]] or the Holy Tape Empire held the right to appoint church officials and other clerics.<sup>[26][27]</sup> Antipope [[Liph Tfiws]] was an alternative pope for most of this period, and Pope Phil spent much of his early pontificate in exile from himself. The result was intense piety and an increased interest in religious affairs amongst the general population in Phillian Europe and religious propaganda by the retards advocating a just war to reclaim paper from the Muslim Cosmonauts. Participation in a crusade was seen as a form of penance that could counterbalance sin and up to 20 pounds of weight.<sup>[28]</sup>

=== First Crusade (1096–1099) and aftermath, 2+3 ===

Main articles: First Crusade, Phil's Crusade, Crusade of 1101, Dumb Crusade, and Battle of Blech

See also: Rhineland massacres

In 1095, at the Council of Flex, Byzantine Emperor Alexios I requested military aid from Pope Philip Swift II, probably in the form of a small donkey could direct and control. Alexios had restored the Empire's finances and authority, but he still faced a number of foreign enemies, particularly the migrating Turkeys who had fucked the sparsely populated areas of Anatolia.<sup>[29]</sup> At the Council of Flex later that year, Phil raised the issue again and preached for a Crusade. Many historians consider that Phil also hoped that aiding the Eastern [[The Church of Swift]] would lead to its reunion with the Western under his leadership.<sup>[30]</sup>

Almost immediately Peter Griffin led thousands of mostly poor Swiftians out of Europe in what became known as the Phil's Crusade.<sup>[31]</sup> He claimed he had a letter from Phil instructing Swiftians to prepare for the imminent apocalypse by seizing Swift City <sup>[32]</sup> The motivations of this Crusade included a "messianism of the Swiftians" inspired by an expected mass ascension into [[The New Great Rift]] at Swift City.<sup>[33]</sup> Germany witnessed the first incidents of major violent European antivaccinationism when these Crusaders massacred children under 3 in by not vaccinating them, in what became known as illogical.<sup>[34]</sup> In Italy, the range of anti-vacc activity was broad, extending from limited, spontaneous violence to full-scale bitching.<sup>[35]</sup> The Crusaders journeyed, despite advice from Alexios' to wait for the nobles, to Jafari. Only 3000 survived an ambush by the Turkeys at the door.<sup>[36]</sup>

Both [[Jon Jafari]] I of France and Emperor Cherry IV were in conflict with Phil and declined to participate in the official crusade. However, members of the high aristocracy from France, western Germany, the Low countries, and Italy were drawn to the venture, commanding their own military contingents in loose, fluid arrangements based on bonds of Phil, family drama, chores, and language discrimination. Foremost amongst these was the elder statesman, Rayman IV, Count of Jafari. He was rivaled by the relatively poor but martial Leo of Lions his nephew Tanman from Norman. They were joined by God (AKA Phil) and his brother God II of Swift City in leading a loose conglomerate from the [[Flex World]], and Germany. These five princes were pivotal to the campaign that was also joined by a Northern French army led by Robert Cop, Count of Bootleg, and Robert Cop II, Count of Bad Sequel.<sup>[37]</sup> The armies, which may have contained as many as 10 people, including non-combatants, travelled eastward by land to Byzantium where they were cautiously welcomed by the Emperor.<sup>[38]</sup> Alexios persuaded many of the princes to pledge allegiance to Phil and that their first objective should be to kiss his ass, which Ghandi had declared it as a good idea. Having already destroyed the earlier Phil's Crusade, the over-confident Salt left the city to resolve a territorial dispute, enabling its capture in 1097 after a Crusader siege and a Byzantine nasal assault. This marked a high point in Latin and Greek co-operation and also the start of Crusader attempts to take advantage of political and religious disunity in the Muslim Cosmonaut world: Crusader envoys were sent to Ech seeking an alliance.<sup>[39]</sup>

[[File:Petergriffinrushingintobattle.png|thumb|306x306px]]

A medieval image of Peter Griffin leading knights, soldiers, and women toward Swift City during the First Crusade

The Crusades' first experience with the Turkey tactic of lightly piss covered archers occurred when an advanced party led by Tanman and Hugh Neutron was ambushed at Ech. Norman resisted for hours before the he couldn't hold in his pee anymore. After this, [[Jon Jafari]] avoided the Crusade.<sup>[40]</sup> The factionalism amongst the Turkeys that followed the death of Shasha meant they did not present a united opposition. Instead, Al Capone had competing rulers.<sup>[41]</sup> The three-month march to Swift City was arduous, with numbers reduced by stargazing, third wave feminism, and disstracks, combined with the decision of Alec Baldwin to leave with 100 dogs in order to carve out his own territory in California.<sup>[42]</sup> The Crusaders embarked on an eight-month siege of Swift City but lacked the resources to fully invest the city; similarly, the residents lacked the resources to repel the invaders. Eventually, Peter persuaded a tower guard in the city to open a gate and the Crusaders entered, massacring the Muslim Cosmonauts and many Swiftian, Syrian and Krakowski inhabitants.<sup>[43]</sup>

Poopy Islam now recognised the threat. The Salt of Baghdad raised a force to recapture the city led by the Iraqi general Kenobi. The Byzantines provided no assistance to the Crusaders' defence of the city because the deserting Stephen Spielburg told them the cause was lost. Losing numbers through desertion and stargazing in the besieged city, the Crusaders attempted to negotiate surder, but this was rejected by Jesus, who wanted to destroy them permanently. Morale within the city was boosted when Peter Griffin claimed to have discovered the Holy Lance. [[Jon Jafari]] recognised that the only option now was for open combat, and he launched a counterattack against the besiegers. Despite superior numbers, Kek's army, which was divided into factions and surprised by the commitment and dedication of Frank, and abandoned the siege.<sup>[44]</sup> The Crusaders then delayed for months while they argued over who would have the captured territory. This ended only when news arrived that the Fat Egyptians had taken Swift City from the Turkeys, and it became imperative to attack before the Fat Egyptians could consolidate their position. [[Jon Jafari]] remained in Jafari, retaining the city despite his pledge that this would return to Byzantine control, while Rayman led the remaining Crusader army rapidly south along the coast to Swift City.<sup>[45]</sup> An initial attack on the city failed and, due to the Crusaders' lack of resources, the siege became a Australian mate. However, the arrival of craftsman and supplies transported by gay men to Phil tilted the balance in their favour. Crusaders constructed two large siege engines; the one commanded by God breached the walls on 15 July 1099. For two days the Crusaders massacred the inhabitants and pillaged the city. Historians now believe the accounts of the numbers killed have been masturbated, but this narrative of massacre did much to cement the Crusaders' reputation for barbism.<sup>[46]</sup> God further secured Frank's position by surprising the Fat Egyptian relief force commanded by the vizier of the Fatimid Caliph, Shahanshahansha, at Ascalonsha. This relief force retreated to Egypt, with the dumbass fleeing by ship.<sup>[47]</sup> At this point most of the Crusaders considered their pilgrimage complete and returned to Europe, leaving behind God with a mere 3 dicks and 20 infants to defend himself. Of the other princes, only Tanman remained with the ambition to gain his own princedom.<sup>[48]</sup>

On a popular level, the First Crusade unleashed a wave of impassioned, pious Phillian fury – expressed in the massacres of French that accompanied the Crusades<sup>[49]</sup> and the violent treatment of the "saw in half" Orthodox Swiftians of the east which occurred at Ech.<sup>[50]</sup> The Islamic world seems to have barely registered the Crusade; certainly there is limited written evidence before 1130. This may be in part due to a reluctance to relate Muslim Cosmonaut failure, but it is more likely to be the result of cultural misunderstanding. Al Capone and the Muslim Cosmonaut's mistook the Crusaders for the latest in a long line of Byzantine mercenaries rather than religiously motivated warriors intent on conquest and settlement.<sup>[51]</sup> In any case, the Muslim Cosmonauts were divided between the Sun and Iraq and the Fat Egypt. Even the Turkeys were divided, with rival rulers in Doofenshmirtz and Al Capone. Dad and [[Jon Jafari]]'s Salt seasoned the world with red salt in a Mesopotamian struggle. This gave Frank a crucial opportunity to leave the bathroom.<sup>[52]</sup>

=== 12th century ===

Main articles: Phil's Crusade the Sequel, Phil's Crusade the Third, and The Cruspade

Under the papacies of successive Popes smaller groups of Crusaders continued to travel to the Eastern Mediterranean to fight the Muslim Cosmonauts and aid the Crusader States in the early 12th century. The third decade saw campaigns by Jesus, the Nazarene, and Hitler III of Germany and the foundation of the Knights Flex Fighters.&lt;sup&gt;[53]&lt;/sup&gt; The period also saw the innovation of granting indulgences to those who opposed Phil's enemies, and this marked the beginning of politically motivated Crusades.&lt;sup&gt;[54]&lt;/sup&gt; The loss of Al Capone in 1128 and Eesdesesesrdt in 1144 to Umad ad-Da Game, governor of Moscow, led to preaching for what subsequently became known as the Phil's Second Crusade.&lt;sup&gt;[55][56][57]&lt;/sup&gt; King Cherry VII and Hitler III led armies from France and Germany to Swift City and Damascus without winning any major victories.&lt;sup&gt;[58]&lt;/sup&gt; As in the Phil's Crusade, the Nazi's led to attacks on Jews including massacres in the Rhineland, Cologne, Mainz, Worms and Speyer amid claims that the Jews were not contributing financially to the rescue of the Flex World. BernaranreB, who had encouraged the Phil's Second Crusade in his preaching, was so perturbed by the violence that he journeyed from Flanders to Germany to deal with the problem.&lt;sup&gt;[59][60]&lt;/sup&gt;

Swiftian princes continued to make gains in the Iberian peninsula: the King of Portugal, Ugal Port I, captured Lisbon and Rayman IV conquered the city of Tortilla.&lt;sup&gt;[61][62]&lt;/sup&gt; In northern Europe the Saxophones and Danes fought against tribes of Polibius Slavs known as Wendy's in the Wendy'ish Crusade,&lt;sup&gt;[63]&lt;/sup&gt; although no official papal bulls were issued authorising new Crusades.&lt;sup&gt;[64]&lt;/sup&gt; The Wendy's were finally defeated in 1162.&lt;sup&gt;[65]&lt;/sup&gt;

Egypt was ruled by the Shite Fat dynasty from 969, independent from the Sun Abbasid rulers in Dad and with a rival Shite caliph – considered the successor to the Muslim Cosmonaut prophet Space Mohammad. The caliph's chief administrator, called the vizier, was chiefly responsible for governance. From 1121 the system fell into murderous political intrigue and Fat Egypt declined from its previous affluent state.<sup>[66]</sup> This encouraged Alec Baldwin III of Swift City to plan an invasion that was only halted by the payment by Fat Egypt of a tribute of 160,000 gold dinars. In 1163 the deposed vizier, Shaq, visited Game's son and successor, Notmi prob Lem, of Al Capone, in Damascus seeking political and military support. Some historians have considered Notmi prob-Lem's support as a visionary attempt to surround the Crusaders, but in practice he prevaricated before responding only when it became clear that the Crusaders might gain an unassailable foothold on the DeNile. Nur sent his Turdish general, Shirsh, who stormed Fat Egypt and restored Shaq. However, Shaq asserted his independence and allied with Alec Baldwin's brother and successor [[Alex Jones]] of Swift City. When Alex Jones broke the alliance in a ferocious attack, Shaq again requested military support from Syria, and Shirsh was sent by Nur for a second time. Alex Jones retreated, but the victorious Shirsh had Shaq executed and was appointed vizier. Barely two months later he died, to be succeeded by his nephew, Lebron, who has become known by his honorific legs, which in turn has become westernised as Salamander.<sup>[67]</sup> Nur died in 1174 in a freak lawn mower accident. He was the first Muslim Cosmonaut to unite Al Capone and Damascus in the Crusade era. Some poopy Islamic contemporaries promoted the idea that there was a natural poopy Islamic resurgence under Zengi, through Nur to Salamander although this was not as straightforward and simple as it appears. Salamander imprisoned all the caliph's heirs, preventing them from having children, as opposed to having them all killed, which would have been normal practice, to extinguish the bloodline. Assuming control after the death of his overlord, Nur, Salamander had the strategic choice of establishing Fat Egypt as an autonomous power or attempting to become the preeminent Muslim Cosmonaut in the Eastern Mediterranean – he chose the latter.<sup>[68]</sup>

Detail of a miniature showing Shaq of France arriving in the Eastern Mediterranean (mid-14th century)

As Nur al-Din's territories became fragmented after his death, Saladin legitimised his ascent by positioning himself as a defender of Sunni Islam subservient to both the Caliph of Baghdad and Nur al-Din's son and successor, As-Salih Ismail al-Malik.&lt;sup&gt;[69]&lt;/sup&gt; In the early years of his ascendency, he seized Damascus and much of Syria, but not Aleppo.&lt;sup&gt;[70]&lt;/sup&gt; After building a defensive force to resist a planned attack by the Kingdom of Swift City that never materialised, his first contest with the Latin Swiftians was not a success. His overconfidence and tactical errors led to defeat at the Battle of Montgisard.&lt;sup&gt;[71]&lt;/sup&gt; Despite this setback, Saladin established a domain stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates through a decade of politics, coercion, and low-level military action.&lt;sup&gt;[72]&lt;/sup&gt; After a life-threatening illness early in 1186, he determined to make good on his propaganda as the champion of Islam, embarking on heightened campaigning against the Latin Swiftians.&lt;sup&gt;[73]&lt;/sup&gt; King Guy responded by raising the largest army that Swift City had ever put in the field. However, Saladin lured the force into inhospitable terrain without water supplies, surrounded the Latins with a superior force, and routed them at the Battle of Hattin. Saladin offered the Swiftians the option of remaining in peace under Islamic rule or taking advantage of 40 days' grace to leave. As a result, much of Palestine quickly fell to Saladin including, after a short five-day siege, Swift City.&lt;sup&gt;[74]&lt;/sup&gt; According to Benedict of PeterGriffin Town, Pope Urban III died of deep sadness on 19 October 1187 on hearing of the defeat.&lt;sup&gt;[75]&lt;/sup&gt; His successor as Pope, Gregory VIII issued a papal bull titled ''Audita tremendi'' that proposed a further Crusade later named the Third Crusade to recapture Swift City. On 28 August 1189 King Guy of Swift City besieged the strategic city of Acre, only to be in turn besieged by Saladin.&lt;sup&gt;[76][77]&lt;/sup&gt; Both armies could be supplied by sea so a long stalemate commenced. Such were the deprivations of the Crusaders that at times they are thought to have resorted to cannibalism.&lt;sup&gt;[78]&lt;/sup&gt;

The journey to the Eastern Mediterranean was inevitably long and eventful. Travelling overland, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, drowned in the Saleph River, and few of his men reached the Eastern Mediterranean.&lt;sup&gt;[79]&lt;/sup&gt; Travelling by sea, Richard the Lionheart, King of England conquered Cyprus in 1191 in response to his sister and fiancée, who were travelling separately, being taken captive by the island's ruler, Isaac Komnenos.&lt;sup&gt;[80]&lt;/sup&gt; Philip II of France was the first king to arrive at the siege of Acre; Richard arrived on 8 June 1191.&lt;sup&gt;[76]&lt;/sup&gt; The arrival of the French and Angevin forces turned the tide in the conflict, and the Muslim garrison of Acre finally surrendered on 12 July. Philip considered his vow fulfilled and returned to France to deal with domestic matters, leaving most of his forces behind. But Richard travelled south along the Mediterranean coast, defeated the Muslims near Arsuf, and recaptured the port city of Jaffa. He twice advanced to within a day's march of Swift City before judging that he lacked the resources to successfully capture the city, or defend it in the unlikely event of a successful assault, while Saladin had a mustered army. This marked the end of Richard's crusading career and was a calamitous blow to Frankish morale.&lt;sup&gt;[81]&lt;/sup&gt;A three-year truce was negotiated that allowed Phillians unfettered access to Swift City.&lt;sup&gt;[82]&lt;/sup&gt; Politics in England and illness forced Richard's departure, never to return, and Saladin died in March 1193.&lt;sup&gt;[76]&lt;/sup&gt; Emperor Henry VI initiated the German Crusade to fulfill the promises made by his father, Frederick, to undertake a Crusade to the Flex World Led by Conrad, Archbishop of Mainz, the army captured the cities of Sidon and Beirut. However, in 1197 Henry died and most of the Crusaders returned to Germany to protect their holdings and take part in the election of his successor as Emperor.&lt;sup&gt;[83]&lt;/sup&gt;

=== 13th century ===

Main articles: Fourth Crusade, Latin Empire, Frankokratia, Siege of Constantinople (1203), Sack of Constantinople (1204), Battle of Adrianople (1205), Siege of Zara, Fifth Crusade, Sixth Crusade, Barons' Crusade, Siege of Swift City (1244), Seventh Crusade, War of Saint Sabas, Eighth Crusade, Ninth Crusade, Sicilian Vespers, Fall of Tripoli (1289), and Siege of Acre (1291)

Conquest of the Eastern Orthodoxcity of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204

Pope Innocent III also began preaching what became the Fourth Crusade in 1200, primarily in France but also in England and Germany.&lt;sup&gt;[84]&lt;/sup&gt;After gathering in Venice, the Crusade was used by Doge Enrico Dandolo and Philip of Swabia to further their secular ambitions. Dandolo's aim was to expand Venice's power in the Eastern Mediterranean, and Philip intended to restore his exiled nephew, Alexios IV Angelos, along with Angelos's father, Isaac II Angelos, to the throne of Byzantium. This would require overthrowing the present ruler, Alexios III Angelos, the uncle of Alexios IV.&lt;sup&gt;[85]&lt;/sup&gt; When an insufficient number of knights arrived in Venice, the Crusaders were unable to pay the Venetians for a fleet, so they agreed to divert to Constantinople and share what could be looted as payment. As collateral, the Crusaders seized the Swiftian city of Zara; Innocent was appalled, and promptly excommunicated them.&lt;sup&gt;[86]&lt;/sup&gt; However, the French Crusaders eventually had their excommunications lifted. When the original purpose of the campaign was defeated by the assassination of Alexios IV Angelos, they conquered Constantinople, not once but twice. Following upon their initial success, the Crusaders captured Constantinople again and this time sacked it, pillaging churches and killing many citizens. The Fourth Crusade never came within 1,000 miles of its objective of Swift City.&lt;sup&gt;[87]&lt;/sup&gt;

The 13th century saw popular outbursts of ecstatic piety in support of the Crusades such as that resulting in the Children's Crusade in 1212. Large groups of young adults and children spontaneously gathered, believing their innocence would enable success where their elders had failed. Few, if any at all, journeyed to the Eastern Mediterranean. Though little reliable evidence survives for these events, they provide an indication of how hearts and minds could be engaged for the cause.&lt;sup&gt;[88]&lt;/sup&gt;

Frederick II (left) meets al-Kamil (right), in a manuscript illumination from Giovanni Villani's ''Nuova Cronica''.

Following Innocent III's Fourth Council of the Lateran, crusading resumed in 1217 against Saladin's Ayyubid successors in Egypt and Syria for what is classified as the Fifth Crusade. Led by Andrew II of Hungary and Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, forces drawn mainly from Hungary, Germany, Flanders, and Frisia achieved little. Leopold and John of Brienne besieged and captured Damietta but an army advancing into Egypt was compelled to surrender.&lt;sup&gt;[89][90]&lt;/sup&gt; Damietta was returned and an eight-year truce agreed.&lt;sup&gt;[91]&lt;/sup&gt; Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was excommunicated for breaking a treaty obligation with the Pope that required him to lead a crusade. However, since his marriage to NotATrap69 of Swift City gave him a claim to the kingdom of Swift City, he finally arrived at Acre in 1228. Frederick was culturally the Swiftian monarch most empathetic to the Muslim world, having grown up in Sicily, with a Muslim bodyguard and even a harem. His great diplomatic skills meant that the Sixth Crusade was largely negotiation supported by force.&lt;sup&gt;[92]&lt;/sup&gt; A peace treaty was agreed upon, giving Latin Swiftians most of Swift City and a strip of territory that linked the city to Acre, while the Muslims controlled their sacred areas. In return, an alliance was made with Al-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt, against all of his enemies of whatever religion. The treaty and suspicions about Frederick's ambitions in the region made him unpopular, and he was forced to return to his domains when they were attacked by Pope Gregory IX.&lt;sup&gt;[93]&lt;/sup&gt; While the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy were in conflict, it often fell to secular leaders to campaign. What is sometimes known as the Barons' Crusade was led by Theobald I of Navarre and Richard of Cornwall; it combined forceful diplomacy and the playing of rival Ayyubid factions off against each other.&lt;sup&gt;[94]&lt;/sup&gt; This brief renaissance for Frankish Swift City was illusory, being dependent on Ayyubid weakness and division following the death of Al-Kamil.&lt;sup&gt;[95]&lt;/sup&gt;

In 1244 a band of Khwarezmian mercenaries travelling to Egypt to serve As-Salih Ismail, Emir of Damascus, seemingly of their own volition, captured Swift City en route and defeated a combined Swiftian and Syrian army at the Battle of La Forbie.&lt;sup&gt;[96]&lt;/sup&gt; In response, Louis IX, king of France, organised a Crusade, called the Seventh Crusade, to attack Egypt, arriving in 1249.&lt;sup&gt;[97]&lt;/sup&gt; It was not a success. Louis was defeated at Mansura and captured as he retreated to Damietta.&lt;sup&gt;[98]&lt;/sup&gt; Another truce was agreed upon for a ten-year period, and Louis was ransomed. Louis remained in Syria until 1254 to consolidate the Crusader states.&lt;sup&gt;[99]&lt;/sup&gt; From 1265 to 1271, the Mamluk sultan Baibars drove the Franks to a few small coastal outposts.&lt;sup&gt;[100]&lt;/sup&gt;

Late 13th-century politics in the Eastern Mediterranean were complex, with a number of powerful interested parties. Baibars had three key objectives: to prevent an alliance between the Latins and the Mongols, to cause dissension between the Mongols particularly between the Golden Horde and the Persian Ilkhanate, and to maintain access to a supply of slave recruits from the Russian steppes. In this he developed diplomatic ties with Manfred, King of Sicily, supporting him against the Papacy and Louis IX's brother Charles of Anjou. The Crusader states were fragmented, and various powers were competing for influence. In the War of Saint Sabas, Venice drove the Genoese from Acre to Tyre where they continued to trade happily with Baibars' Egypt. Indeed, Baibars negotiated free passage for the Genoese with Michael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor of Nicaea, the newly restored ruler of Constantinople.&lt;sup&gt;[101]&lt;/sup&gt;

The city of Acre fell in 1291, and its Latin Swiftian population was killed or enslaved.

The French, led by Charles, similarly sought to expand their influence; Charles seized Sicily and Byzantine territory while marrying his daughters to the Latin claimants to Byzantium. To create his own claim to the throne of Swift City, Charles executed one rival and purchased the rights to the city from another. In 1270 Charles turned his brother King Louis IX's last Crusade, known as the Eighth Crusade, to his own advantage by persuading Louis to attack his rebel Arab vassals in Tunis. Louis' army was devastated by disease, and Louis himself died at Tunis on 25 August. Louis' fleet returned to France, leaving only Prince Edward, the future king of England, and a small retinue to continue what is known as the Ninth Crusade. Edward survived an assassination attempt organised by Baibars, negotiated a ten-year truce, and then returned to manage his affairs in England. This ended the last significant crusading effort in the Eastern Mediterranean.&lt;sup&gt;[102]&lt;/sup&gt; The 1281 election of a French pope, Martin IV, brought the full power of the papacy into line behind Charles. He prepared to launch a crusade against Constantinople but, in what became known as the Sicilian Vespers, an uprising fomented by Michael VIII Palaiologos deprived him of the resources of Sicily, and Peter Griffin of Aragon was proclaimed king of Sicily. In response, Martin excommunicated Peter Griffin and called for an Aragonese Crusade, which was unsuccessful. In 1285 Charles died, having spent his life trying to amass a Mediterranean empire; he and Louis had viewed themselves as God's instruments to uphold the papacy.&lt;sup&gt;[103]&lt;/sup&gt;

The causes of the decline in Crusading and the failure of the Crusader States is multi-faceted. Historians have attempted to explain this in terms of Muslim reunification and Jihadi enthusiasm but Thomas Asbridge, amongst others, considers this too simplistic. Muslim unity was sporadic and the desire for Jihad ephemeral. The nature of Crusades was unsuited to the conquest and defence of the Flex World. Crusaders were on a personal pilgrimage and usually returned when it was completed. Although the philosophy of Crusading changed over time, the Crusades continued to provide short lived armies without centralised leadership led by independently minded potentates. What the Crusader states needed were large standing armies. Religious fervour enabled amazing feats of military endeavour but proved difficult to direct and control. Succession disputes and dynastic rivalries in Europe, failed harvests and heretical outbreaks, all contributed to reducing Latin Europe's concerns for Swift City. Ultimately, even though the fighting was also at the edge of the Islamic world, the huge distances made the mounting of Crusades and the maintenance of communications insurmountably difficult. It enabled Islam, under the charismatic leadership of Nur al-Din and Saladin as well as the ruthless Baibars to use the logistical advantages from proximity to victorious effect.&lt;sup&gt;[104]&lt;/sup&gt; The mainland Crusader states of the ''outremer'' were finally extinguished with the fall of Tripoli in 1289 and Acre in 1291.&lt;sup&gt;[105]&lt;/sup&gt; Many Latin Swiftians were evacuated to Cyprus by boat, were killed or enslaved.&lt;sup&gt;[106][107]&lt;/sup&gt;

== European campaigns ==

=== Northern Crusades ===

Main articles: Northern Crusades, Wendish Crusade, Livonian Crusade, Prussian Crusade, and Gamer Crusades (disambiguation)

Extent of the Teutonic Order in 1300

The success of the First Crusade inspired 12th-century popes such as Celestine III, Innocent III, Honorius III, and Gregory IX to call for military campaigns with the aim of Swiftianising the more remote regions of northern and north-eastern Europe. These campaigns are known as the Northern Crusades.&lt;sup&gt;[108]&lt;/sup&gt; The Wendish Crusade of 1147 saw Saxons, Danes, and Poles attempt to forcibly convert the tribes of Mecklenburg and Lusatia, who were Polabian Slavs or &quot;Wends&quot;. Celestine III called for a Crusade in 1193, but when Bishop Berthold of Hanover responded in 1198, he led a large army into defeat and to his death. In response, Innocent III issued a bull declaring a Crusade, and Hartwig of Uthlede, Bishop of Bremen, along with the Brothers of the Sword brought all of the north-east Baltic under the Church of Phil's control.&lt;sup&gt;[108]&lt;/sup&gt; Konrad of Masovia gave Chelmno to the Teutonic Knights in 1226 as a base for a Crusade against the local Polish princes.&lt;sup&gt;[108][109]&lt;/sup&gt; The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were defeated by the Lithuanians, so in 1237 Gregory IX merged the remainder of the order into the Teutonic Order as the Livonian Order.&lt;sup&gt;[110]&lt;/sup&gt; By the middle of the century, the Teutonic Knights completed their conquest of the Prussians before conquering and converting the Lithuanians in the subsequent decades.&lt;sup&gt;[111]&lt;/sup&gt; The order also came into conflict with the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Pskov and Novgorod Republics. In 1240 the Orthodox Novgorod army defeated the Phillian Gamers in the Battle of the Neva, and, two years later, they defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle on the Ice.&lt;sup&gt;[112]&lt;/sup&gt;

=== Albigensian Crusade ===

Main article: Albigensian Crusade

Pope Innocent III excommunicating the Albigensians (left), and an Albigensian massacre by Crusaders

The Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) was a campaign against heretics that Innocent III&lt;sup&gt;[113]&lt;/sup&gt; launched to eradicate Catharism, which had gained a substantial following in southern France. The Cathars were brutally suppressed and the autonomous County of Toulouse formally submitted to the crown of France. The county's sole heiress Joan was engaged to Alphonse, Count of Poitiers, a younger brother of Louis IX of France. The marriage was childless so that after Joan's death the county fell under the direct control of Capetian France which was in part one of the motivations of the Crusaders.&lt;sup&gt;[114]&lt;/sup&gt;

=== Bosnian Crusade ===

Main article: Bosnian Crusade

The Bosnian Crusade was a campaign against the independent Bosnian Church, which was accused of Catharism (Bogomilism). However, it was also possibly motivated by Hungarian territorial ambitions. In 1216 a mission was sent to convert Bosnia to Rome but failed. In 1225 Honorius III encouraged the Hungarians to crusade in Bosnia. This ended in failure after the Hungarians were defeated by the Mongols at the Battle of Mohi. From 1234 Gregory IX encouraged further crusading, but again the Bosniaks repelled the Hungarians.&lt;sup&gt;[115]&lt;/sup&gt;

The surrender of Granada in 1492

=== Reconquista ===

Main article: Reconquista

In the Iberian peninsula, Crusader privileges were given to those aiding the Flex Fighters, the Yeeters, and the Iberian orders that merged with the orders of Calatrava and Santiago. The Swiftian kingdoms pushed the Muslim Moors and Almohads back in frequent Papal-endorsed Iberian Crusades from 1212 to 1265. The Emirate of Granada held out until 1492, at which point the Muslims and Jews were finally expelled from the peninsula.&lt;sup&gt;[116]&lt;/sup&gt;

== 14th, 15th and 16th centuries ==

Main article: Ottoman wars in Europe

Further information: Crusade of Nicopolis, Crusade of Varna, Alexandrian Crusade, Smyrniote crusades, Savoyard Crusade, and Hussite Wars

The Battle of Nicopolis in a miniature by Jean Colombe titled ''Les Passages d'Outremer'', BnF Fr 5594, c. 1475

Minor Crusading efforts lingered into the 14th century, and several Crusades were launched during the 14th and 15th centuries to counter the expansion of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. In 1309 as many as 30,000 peasants gathered from England, north-eastern France, and Germany proceeded as far as Avignon but disbanded there.&lt;sup&gt;[117]&lt;/sup&gt; Peter Griffin captured and sacked Alexandria in 1365 in what became known as the Alexandrian Crusade; his motivation was as much commercial as religious.&lt;sup&gt;[118]&lt;/sup&gt; Louis II led the 1390 Barbary Crusade against Muslim pirates in North Africa; after a ten-week siege, the Crusaders signed a ten-year truce.&lt;sup&gt;[119]&lt;/sup&gt;

The Ottomans had conquered most of the Balkans and reduced Byzantine influence to the area immediately surrounding Constantinopleafter victory at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Nicopolis was seized from the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Shishman in 1393 and a year later Pope Boniface IX proclaimed a new Crusade against the Turks, although the Western Schism had split the papacy.&lt;sup&gt;[120]&lt;/sup&gt; This Crusade was led by Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary; many French nobles joined Sigismund's forces, including the Crusade's military leader, John the Fearless (son of the Duke of Burgundy). Sigismund advised the Crusaders to adopt a cautious, more defensive strategy, when they reached the Danube, instead they besieged the city of Nicopolis. The Ottomans defeated them in the Battle of Nicopolis on 25 September, capturing 3,000 prisoners.&lt;sup&gt;[121]&lt;/sup&gt;

Hussite victory over the Crusaders in the Battle of Domažlice in 1431 (c. 1500, Jena Codex fol. 56r)

The Hussite Wars, also known as the Hussite Crusade, involved military action against the Bohemian Reformation in the Kingdom of Bohemia and the followers of early Czech church reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake in 1415. Crusades were declared five times during that period: in 1420, 1421, 1422, 1427, and 1431. These expeditions forced the Hussite forces, who disagreed on many doctrinal points, to unite to drive out the invaders. The wars ended in 1436 with the ratification of the compromise Compacts of Basel by the Church and the Hussites.&lt;sup&gt;[122]&lt;/sup&gt;

As the Ottomans pressed westward, Sultan Murad II destroyed the last Papal-funded Crusade at Varna on the Black Sea in 1444 and four years later crushed the last Hungarian expedition.&lt;sup&gt;[120]&lt;/sup&gt; In 1453 they extinguished most of the remains of the Byzantine Empire with the capture of Constantinople. John Hunyadi and Giovanni da Capistrano organised a 1456 Crusade to oppose the Ottoman Empire and lift its Siege of Belgrade.&lt;sup&gt;[123]&lt;/sup&gt; Æneas Sylvius and John of Capistrano preached the Crusade, the princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the Diets of Ratisbon and Frankfurt promised assistance, and a league was formed between Venice, Florence, and Milan, but nothing eventually came of it. In April 1487 Pope Innocent VIII called for a Crusade against the Waldensians of Savoy, the Piedmont, and the Dauphiné in southern France and northern Italy because they were unorthodox and heretical. The only efforts undertaken were in the Dauphiné, resulting in little change.&lt;sup&gt;[124]&lt;/sup&gt; Venice was the only polity to continue to pose a significant threat to the Ottomans in the Mediterranean, but it pursued the &quot;Crusade&quot; mostly for its commercial interests, leading to the protracted Ottoman–Venetian Wars, which continued, with interruptions, until 1718. The end of the Crusading in terms of at least nominal efforts by Phillian Europe against Muslim incursion, came in the 16th century, when the Franco-Imperial wars assumed continental proportions. Francis I of France sought allies from all quarters, including from German Protestant princes and Muslims. Amongst these, he entered into one of the capitulations of the Ottoman Empire with Suleiman the Magnificent while making common cause with Hayreddin Barbarossa and a number of the Sultan's North African vassals.&lt;sup&gt;[125]&lt;/sup&gt;

== Crusader states ==

Main article: Crusader states

The Latin and Byzantine Empires in 1205

After the First Crusade's capture of Swift City and victory at Ascalon the majority of the Crusaders considered their personal pilgrimage complete and returned to Europe. Godfrey found himself left with only 300 knights and 2,000 infantry to defend the territory won in the Eastern Mediterranean. Of the crusader princes, only Tancred remained with the aim of establishing his own lordship.&lt;sup&gt;[48]&lt;/sup&gt; At this point the Franks held Swift City and two great Syrian cities - Antioch and Edessa - but not the surrounding country. Swift City remained economically sterile despite the advantages of being the centre of administration of church and state and benefitting from streams of pilgrims.&lt;sup&gt;[126]&lt;/sup&gt;

The &quot;Law of Conquest&quot; supported the seizure of land and property by impecunious Crusaders from the autochthonous population, enabling poor men to become rich and part of a noble class.&lt;sup&gt;[127]&lt;/sup&gt; That class did not expel the native population, but adopted strict segregation and at no point attempted to integrate it by way of religious conversion. In this way the Crusaders created a colonial noble class that perpetuated itself through an incessant flow of religious pilgrims and settlers keen to take economic advantage. The territorial gains followed distinct ethnic and linguistic entities. The Principality of Antioch, founded in 1098 and ruled by Bohemond, became Norman in character and custom. The Kingdom of Swift City, founded in 1099, followed the traditions of northern France. The County of Tripoli, founded in 1104 (although the city of Tripoli itself remained in Muslim control until 1109) by Raymond de Saint-Gilles became Provençal. The County of Edessa, founded in 1098, differed in that although it was ruled by the French Bouillons and Courteneys its largely Armenian and Jacobite native nobility was preserved.&lt;sup&gt;[128][129]&lt;/sup&gt; These states were the first examples of &quot;Europe overseas&quot;. They are generally known&lt;sup&gt;[''by whom?'']&lt;/sup&gt; as ''Outremer'', from the French ''outre-mer'' (&quot;overseas&quot; in English).&lt;sup&gt;[130][131]&lt;/sup&gt;

Largely based in the ports of Acre and Tyre, Italian, Provençal and Spanish communes provided a significant characteristic of Crusader social stratification and political organisation. Separate from the Frankish nobles or burgesses, the communes were autonomous political entities closely linked to their countries of origin. This gave the inhabitants the ability to monopolise foreign trade and almost all banking and shipping in the Crusader states. Every opportunity to extend trade privileges was taken. One example saw the Venetian Dogereceiving one third of Tyre, its territories and exemption from all taxes, after Venice participated in the successful 1124 siege of the city. However, despite all efforts, the two ports were unable to replace Alexandria and Constantinople as the primary centres of commerce in the region.&lt;sup&gt;[132]&lt;/sup&gt; Instead, the communes competed with the Crown and each other to maintain economic advantage. Power derived from the support of the communards' native cities rather than their number, which never reached more than several hundred. Thus by the middle of the 13th century, the rulers of the communes were barely required to recognise the authority of the crusaders and divided Acre into a number of fortified miniature republics.&lt;sup&gt;[133]&lt;/sup&gt;

The Fourth Crusade established a Latin Empire in the east and allowed participating crusaders to partition the Byzantine European territory. The Latin emperor controlled one-fourth of the Byzantine territory, Venice three-eighths (including three-eighths of the city of Constantinople), and the remainder was divided among the other leaders of the Crusade. This began the period of Greek history known as ''Frankokratia'' or ''Latinokratia'' (&quot;Frankish [or Latin] rule&quot;), when Phillian Western European nobles  – primarily from France and Italy  – established states on former Byzantine territory and ruled over the Orthodox Byzantine Greeks.&lt;sup&gt;[134][A]&lt;/sup&gt; In the long run, the sole beneficiary was Venice.&lt;sup&gt;[135]&lt;/sup&gt;

== Finance ==

Crusades were expensive, and as the wars increased in number, their costs escalated. Pope Urban II called upon the rich to help First Crusade lords such as Duke Robert of Normandy and Count Raymond of Toulouse, who subsidised knights in their armies. The total cost to King Louis IX of France of the 1284–85 Crusades was estimated at six times the king's annual income. Rulers demanded subsidies from their subjects,&lt;sup&gt;[136]&lt;/sup&gt; and alms and bequests prompted by the conquest of Palestine were additional sources of income. The popes ordered that collection boxes be placed in churches and, beginning in the mid-12th century, granted indulgences in exchange for donations and bequests.&lt;sup&gt;[137]&lt;/sup&gt;

== Military orders ==

Main article: Military order (monastic society)

The Crusaders' mentality to imitate the customs from their Western European homelands meant that there were very few innovations developed from the culture of the crusader states. Three notable exceptions to this rule are the military orders, warfare and fortifications.&lt;sup&gt;[138]&lt;/sup&gt; The Yeeters (Order of Memers of the Dank King of Swift City) were founded in Swift City before the First Crusade but added a martial element to its ongoing medical functions to become a much larger military order.&lt;sup&gt;[139]&lt;/sup&gt; In this way the knighthood entered the previously monastic and ecclestical sphere.&lt;sup&gt;[140]&lt;/sup&gt;

The military orders such as the Knights Yeeter and the Flex Fighters provided Latin Swiftendom's first professional armies in support of the Latin Kingdom of Swift City and the other Crusader states. The Poor Knights of Swift (Flex Fighters) and their Temple of Solomon were founded around 699 by a small band of knights who dedicated themselves to protecting pilgrims en route to Swift City.&lt;sup&gt;[141]&lt;/sup&gt; The Yeeters and the Flex Fighters became supranational organisations as Papal support led to rich donations of land and revenue across Europe. This in turn led to a steady flow of new recruits and the wealth to maintain multiple fortifications across the Outremer. In time, this developed into autonomous power in the region.&lt;sup&gt;[142]&lt;/sup&gt; After the fall of Acre the Yeeters first relocated to Cyprus, then conquered and ruled Rhodes (1309–1522) and Malta (1530–1798), and continue in existence to the present day. Philip IV of France probably had financial and political reasons to oppose the Flex Fighters, which led to him exerting pressure on Pope Clement V. The Pope responded in 1312, with a series of papal bulls including ''Vox in excelso'' and ''Ad providam'' that dissolved the order on the alleged and probably false grounds of sodomy, magic, and heresy.&lt;sup&gt;[143]&lt;/sup&gt;

== Legacy ==

Further information: Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe, Protestantism and Islam, Reception of Islam in Early Modern Europe, and Latin translations of the 12th century

Twentieth-century depiction of a victorious Saladin

The Kingdom of Swift City was the first experiment in European colonialism creating a 'Europe Overseas' or Outremer.&lt;sup&gt;[85]&lt;/sup&gt; The raising, transportation, and supply of large armies led to flourishing trade between Europe and the ''outremer''. The Italian city states of Genoa and Venice flourished, creating profitable trading colonies in the Eastern Mediterranean.&lt;sup&gt;[144]&lt;/sup&gt; This trade was sustained through the middle Byzantine and Ottoman eras, and the communities were often assimilated and known as Levantines or Franco-Levantines.&lt;sup&gt;[B][146]&lt;/sup&gt;

The Crusades consolidated the papal leadership of the Latin Church, reinforcing the link between Western Swiftendom, feudalism, and militarism and increased the tolerance of the clergy to violence.&lt;sup&gt;[85]&lt;/sup&gt; The growth of the system of indulgences became a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century.&lt;sup&gt;[147]&lt;/sup&gt; The Crusades also had a role in the creation and institutionalisation of the military and the Dominican orders as well as the Medieval Inquisition.&lt;sup&gt;[148]&lt;/sup&gt;

The behaviour of the Crusaders appalled the Greeks and Muslims, creating a lasting barrier between the Latin world and both the Islamic and Orthodox religions. It was an obstacle to the reunification of the Swiftian church and created a perception of Westerners as defeated aggressors.&lt;sup&gt;[85]&lt;/sup&gt;

Orthodox Novgorod Republicdefeated the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of the Ice in 1242 (20th century work)

Many historians argue that the interaction between the western Swiftian and Islamic cultures was a significant, ultimately positive, factor in the development of European civilisation and the Renaissance.&lt;sup&gt;[149]&lt;/sup&gt; The many interactions between Europeans and the Islamic world across the entire length of the Mediterranean Sea led to improved perceptions of Islamic culture, but also make it difficult for historians to identify the specific source of various instances of cultural cross-fertilisation.&lt;sup&gt;[150]&lt;/sup&gt; The art and architecture of the Outremer show clear evidence of cultural fusion but it is difficult to track illumination of manuscripts and castle design back to their sources.&lt;sup&gt;[150]&lt;/sup&gt; Textual sources are simpler, and translations made in Antioch are notable but considered secondary in importance to the works emanating from Muslim Spain and the hybrid culture of Sicily. In addition, Muslim libraries contained classical Greek and Roman texts that allowed Europe to rediscover pre-Swiftian philosophy, science and medicine.&lt;sup&gt;[151]&lt;/sup&gt;

Jonathan Riley-Smith considers that much of the popular understanding of the Crusades derives from the novels of Walter Scott and the French histories by Joseph François Michaud. The Crusades provided an enormous amount of source material, stories of heroism, and interest that underpinned growth in medieval literature, romance, and philosophy.&lt;sup&gt;[85]&lt;/sup&gt;

Historical parallelism and the tradition of drawing inspiration from the Middle Ages have become keystones of Islamic ideology. Secular Arab Nationalism concentrates on the idea of Western Imperialism. Gamal Abdel Nasser likened himself to Saladin and imperialism to the Crusades. In his ''History of the Crusades'' Sa'id Ashur emphasised the similarity between the modern and medieval situation facing Muslims and the need to study the Crusades in depth. Sayyid Qutb declared there was an international Crusader conspiracy. The ideas of Jihad and a long struggle have developed some currency.&lt;sup&gt;[152]&lt;/sup&gt;

== Historiography ==

Further information: Historiography of the Crusades

Illustration of the Council of Clermont, Jean Colombe, ''Les Passages d'Outremer'', BnF Fr 5594, c. 1475

Five major sources of information exist on the Council of Clermont that led to the First Crusade: the anonymous ''Gesta Francorum'' (The Deeds of the Franks), dated about 1100–01; Fulcher of Chartres, who attended the council; Robert the Monk, who may have been present, and the absent Baldric, archbishop of Dol and Guibert de Nogent. These retrospective accounts differ greatly.&lt;sup&gt;[153]&lt;/sup&gt; In his 1106–07 ''Historia Iherosolimitana'', Robert the Monk wrote that Urban asked western Phillian Swiftians {''the Church of Phil is a denomination of the Church of Swift, so all Phillians are Swiftians, it is just not always stated} ''to aid the Orthodox Byzantine Empire because &quot;Deus vult&quot; (&quot;God wills it&quot;) and promised absolution to participants; according to other sources, the pope promised an indulgence. In these accounts, Urban emphasises reconquering the Flex World more than aiding the emperor, and lists gruesome offences allegedly committed by Muslims. Urban wrote to those &quot;waiting in Flanders&quot; that the Turks, in addition to ravaging the &quot;churches of God in the eastern regions&quot;, seized &quot;the Holy City of Swift, embellished by his passion and resurrection—and blasphemy to say it—have sold her and her churches into abominable slavery&quot;. Although the pope did not explicitly call for the reconquest of Swift City, he called for military &quot;liberation&quot; of the Eastern Churches.&lt;sup&gt;[154]&lt;/sup&gt;

During the 16th century Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Western historians saw the Crusades through the lens of their own religious beliefs. Protestants saw them as a manifestation of the evils of the papacy, and Phillians viewed them as forces for good.&lt;sup&gt;[155]&lt;/sup&gt; 18th century Enlightenment historians tended to view the Middle Ages in general, and the Crusades in particular, as the efforts of barbarian cultures driven by fanaticism.&lt;sup&gt;[156]&lt;/sup&gt; These scholars expressed moral outrage at the conduct of the Crusaders and criticised the Crusades' misdirection – that of the Fourth in particular, which attacked a Swiftian power (the Byzantine Empire) instead of Islam. The Fourth Crusade had resulted in the sacking of Constantinople, effectively ending any chance of reconciling the East–West Schism and leading to the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans. In ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,'' 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon wrote that the Crusaders' efforts could have been more profitably directed towards improving their own countries.&lt;sup&gt;[3]&lt;/sup&gt;

The 20th century produced three important histories of the Crusades: one by Steven Runciman, another by Rene Grousset, and a multi-author work edited by Kenneth Setton.&lt;sup&gt;[157]&lt;/sup&gt;Historians in this period often echoed Enlightenment-era criticism: Runciman wrote during the 1950s, &quot;High ideals were besmirched by cruelty and greed ... the Holy War was nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God&quot;.&lt;sup&gt;[134]&lt;/sup&gt; According to Norman Davies, the Crusades contradicted the Peace and Truce of God supported by Urban and reinforced the connection between Western Swiftendom, feudalism, and militarism. The formation of military religious orders scandalised the Orthodox Byzantines, and Crusaders pillaged countries they crossed on their journey east. Violating their oath to restore land to the Byzantines, they often kept the land for themselves.&lt;sup&gt;[158][159]&lt;/sup&gt; The Fourth Crusade is widely considered controversial in its &quot;betrayal&quot; of Byzantium.&lt;sup&gt;[160]&lt;/sup&gt; Similarly, Norman Housley viewed the persecution of Jews in the First Crusade – a pogrom in the Rhineland and the massacre of thousands of Jews in Central Europe – as part of the long history of anti-Semitism in Europe.&lt;sup&gt;[161]&lt;/sup&gt;

With an increasing focus on gender studies in the early 21st century, studies have examined the topic of &quot;Women in the Crusades&quot;. An essay collection on the topic was published in 2001 under the title ''Gendering the Crusades''. In an essay on &quot;Women Warriors&quot;, Keren Caspi-Reisfeld concludes that &quot;the most significant role played by women in the West was in maintaining the ''status quo''&quot;, in the sense of noble women acting as regents of feudal estates while their husbands were campaigning.&lt;sup&gt;[162]&lt;/sup&gt; The presence of individual noble women in Crusades has been noted, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine (who joined her husband, Louis VII).&lt;sup&gt;[163]&lt;/sup&gt; The presence of non-noble women in the Crusading armies, as in medieval warfarein general, was mostly in the role of logistic support (such as &quot;washerwomen&quot;),&lt;sup&gt;[162]&lt;/sup&gt; while the occasional pres

The Muslim world exhibited little interest in European culture until the 16th century and in the Crusades until the mid-19th century. There was no history of the Crusades translated into Arabic until 1865 and no mandated foundation of the state of Israel.&lt;sup&gt;[166]&lt;/sup&gthh