combined army defeated the Muslims near Nicaea. Afterwards, the Western Europeans marched toward Jerusalem, fighting bloody battles along the way. Many crusaders died at Antioch. The Europeans arrived at Jerusalem in the summer of 1099. They recovered the Holy City after six weeks of fighting. Most of the crusaders then returned home. The leaders who remained divided the conquered land into four states.Since many knights left Jerusalem after they captured and went back home. Christians forces were growing weak and the Turks captured Edessa. This threat caused Christians to bring another Crusade, The Second Crusade (1147-1149). The religious leader of France, Bernard of Clairva, inspired Europeans of the West to defend the Latin states against the Muslims. The two armies, one of them being French and the other from Germany did not cooperate. The Muslims crushed them before they reached Edessa.The Muslims continually attacked the Christians in the Holy Land. The sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin, united the Muslims around the Latin States. In 1187, Saladin’s forces destroyed a Christian army at the Battle of Horns of Hattin, and entered Jerusalem. The Christians only had the cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. The loss of Jerusalem led the way for the Third Crusade (1189-1192). The European leaders were Frederick I, King Richard I, and King Philip II. While on his way to the Holy Land, Frederick had drowned. The leaders got into quarrels and were not successful. They captured the Palestinian Ports of Acre and Jaffa in 1191. Richard tried to recapture Jerusalem, but failed. He did, however, made an agreement with Saladin so Christian pilgrims would be allowed to enter Jerusalem freely.The Forth Crusade (1202-1204) resulted from the failure to recapture Jerusalem. The crusaders never reached their original goal because they became involved in attacks of the Byzantine Empire. In 1212, thousands of boys and girls from ages 1...
