The Crusader States

The Crusader States

1. Outremer

   • Edessa, Tripoli, Jerusalem, Antioch
   • 'land beyond the sea' in French

2. Similarities/Differences between Western Europe and Outremer

   • Differences
     • crusaders made little effort to convert local people to Christianity
       • Franks wouldn't have been able to survive economically without tolls charged to Muslim traders crossing coast
     • native population consisted of Christian Syrians divided into several ethnic groups
   • Similarities
     • church in Outremer controlled by the Pope
     • castles were built to control countryside

3. Structural weaknesses

   • Geographical
     • crusaders failed to secure land beyond mountains of Lebanon and river Jordan
       • here lay Aleppo and Damascus
         • a united Muslim world would be able to defeat the crusader states
   • once crusaders completed their pilgrimage to Jerusalem they returned home
     • in 1100 Baldwin had only 300 knights to defend the states

4. Castles and the states

   • important in the frontier regions
     • Belvoir was part of the 'great frontier' and was the centre of operations against the Muslims
     • Krak de Chevaliers on an important section of the frontier
       • guarded the mountain pass through Tripoli and guarded a valley from the Syrian interior to Lebanon to the sea
   • Templars and hospitallers wealthy enough to build and maintain castles