Essay Title: Why did Islamic forces win the second crusade - Assignment Example

Download file to see previous pages... With the help of this essay, the reasons behind the failure of the second crusade and the success of the Islamic forces will be highlighted. Furthermore, the essay will provide a background to the event and why did it take place.
During the late eleventh century (High Middle Ages) and the thirteenth century (Late Middle Ages), there were military expeditions by the Christians of the Western Europe and Roman Catholic Church. These military excursions / campaigns were known as the Crusades (Lock 2006)1. After the capture of the county of Edessa following the first crusade in 1144, the Christians and Catholic Church tried to defeat the Muslims. The Muslims were still considered as a threat by the Christians who can retake control of Holy Lands. County of Edessa was among one of the three Crusaders state that were formed during the Crusade of 1101 (Tyerman, The Crusades: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 2005).
Compared to other Crusaders state, Edessa was the weakest and had a very less population. It is why it became the first crusader state to fall and was captured by Muslim states in its surrounding. These states were ruled by Ortoqids, Danishmends, Selijuq Turks2, etc. (Murray 2006). When the news of the fall of Edessa was reported to the pilgrims and the Christians they informed it to the Pope Eugene III who called for a second crusade against the Muslims. It was considered as an essential due against the capture of their county. Although the Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III, European Kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany along with other small armies led the huge army (Tyerman, Gods War: A New History of the Crusades 2007)3.
The Second Crusade started with the formation of a huge army containing more than 10,000 crusaders and with a fleet of more than 150 ships. The second crusade was announced following the success of the first one; however, the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More