Crusade of 1197

Crusade of 1197
Part of the Crusades
Date 1197-1198 Location the Levant Result Crusader victories followed by hasty withdrawal
Belligerents
Holy Roman Empire	Ayyubids
Commanders and leaders
Henry VI	Al-Adil I
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Crusade of 1197 (also known as the Crusade of Henry VI or the German Crusade of 1197) was a crusade launched by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI in response to the partway victory of Frederick I Barbarossa's crusade in 1190, and thus is also known as the "Emperor's Crusade." The Crusade ended abruptly, after the fall of Sidon and Beirut. Henry VI died of a fever in Messina in October of 1197, with many higher ranking nobles returning to Germany to protect their interests in the next imperial election. The remaining nobles in the Crusade captured Sidon and Beirut before returning to Germany.

Background

In 1187 Saladin captured Jerusalem from the Crusader states. In an effort to reclaim it, the Third Crusade was launched by King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard Coeur de Lion of England and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Frederick Barbarossa, although taking Iconium, died after drowning in Anatolia and the German Crusade, which may have included between 100,000 and 150,000 men, disbanded. Only a few Germans continued to the Holy Land. A compromise was reached between the crusaders and the muslims. The Holy Land remained largely a Muslim stronghold, but now Christian pilgrims could go there.

Frederick's older son Henry VI declared a new Crusade hoping that the massive momentum of the Third could still be utilized. Despite the stalemate of the Third Crusade, a large number responded:

• Two Archbishops
• Nine Bishops
• Five dukes

A large number of minor nobles also joined the Crusade and before long a powerful military host was on its way.

German Crusade

Henry VI decided to take advantage of his Father's threat of force against Byzantium to exact tribute and had a threatening letter sent to the Byzantine Emperor, Isaac Angelus. Isaac had been overthrown in April 1195 by his brother Alexius III Angelus. Alexius immediately submitted to the tributary demands of Henry VI and then exacted high taxes from his subjects to pay the Crusaders 5,000 pounds of gold. Before he could set sail, Henry died. When this occurred, a substantial German army was already on their way to Palestine. The crusaders landed at Acre in September 1197 and captured Sidon and Beirut. When news of the emperor's death reached them the Crusaders returned home without any further victories.

References

• Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1990). Atlas of the Crusades. New York: Facts on File. 
• Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York: Vintage Books.