During the First Crusade, the various nations of the Moslem world were disorganized. But by 1127, the Seljuq Sultan of Baghdad appointed Atabeg (General) Zengi regent of Mosul and Aleppo. The general spent the early years of his regency reorganizing Syria and then turned his energy on the County of Edessa. In 1132, Zengi began a campaign of raids, which captured or destroyed all the of border defenses of Edessa. Due to of political and manpower problems, Edessa was unable to halt the incursions, and was recaptured by Zengi in late 1144.

The fall of Edessa caused the King of Jerusalem to ask the Pope for another Crusade. In December 1145, the Pope charged King Louis of France to lead the new Crusade. During March 1146, the French king and his assembled vassals pledged themselves to the Crusade while the Pope absolved them of all their sins. In Germany, King Konrad too was convinced to go. Both kings chose to travel by land rather than face a risky sea voyage. The armies arrived separately at Constantinople in the fall of 1147. Konrad’s soldiers, much like the first Crusaders, antagonized the Byzantines. Appalled with the Westerners, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel agreed to a truce with the Turks, and pledged not to help the Crusaders when they entered Anatolia. This lack of trust and support would mean disaster for the Crusaders.

The French and Germans crossed the Bosporus separately. Konrad, ignoring the usual routes, stormed ahead and in October fell into a Turkish trap at Dorylaeum. Here the Germans were wiped out; Konrad managed to save a small portion of his army and moved to Nicaea, where he joined the French in September.

The combined army crept along the Anatolian coast. At Atallia they assembled a small fleet which was large enough to transport the royal portion of the Crusaders to Palestine, leaving the rest of the army to march the remainder of the way. Konrad sailed to Acre and was in Jerusalem by April without incident. Louis was delayed for a while in Antioch by an intrigue between himself, his bride, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and her uncle, Prince Raymond of Antioch.

The Principality of Antioch was fighting with the Saracen leader Nur al-din, son of Zengi. Nur al-din had called for a Jihad (holy war) against the Franks and claimed all the land east of the Orontes River. Despite Antioch’s request for aid, Louis would not stay. He stubbornly pushed on to Jerusalem, kidnapping his wife, who wished to stay with her uncle.

Once in Jerusalem, the Crusaders finally chose to attack Damascus. The city was a worthy prize, but it proved to be a bad decision. Until now, Damascus had always allied itself with the New Kingdom of Jerusalem. Upon hearing of the Crusader’s plans to attack Damascus, the Atabeg of the city, Unur, sought help from his neighbor, Nur al-din, who had been expecting the Crusaders to attack him in reprisal for his father’s capture of Edessa. Nur al-din agreed to help Damascus.

Kings Baldwin, Louis and Konrad marched on Damascus, laying siege to it and capturing the outlying areas. They then began to argue over its division. This delay allowed Unur to retake these outlying areas while Nur al-din approached with a vast force. Konrad and Louis wanted to fight, but Baldwin and his aides realized the weakness of their position. The Crusaders were caught between Nur al-din and Unur’s armies. If they did not avoid the two, they would risk total destruction. Baldwin, with some difficulty, returned to Palestine. From there, first Konrad, and then Louis, returned home in disgust.

If the First Crusade was a success, the Second Crusade was a disaster. Despite the good intentions of most, the nobles could not work together to a single end. The Moslems recognized this fault and capitalized on it. In the end, Papal Rome would blame Byzantium for the failure.

More History of the Crusades

Introduction
First Crusade
Second Crusade
Third Crusade
Fourth and Fifth Crusades