The Real Crusades
World history
is shrouded in blurry mist. One of the
principal reasons is that so many protagonists had written different versions
of it. By researching many of these
versions, I had been able to triangulate a version that fits logic and common
sense. In this assay I portrait a
version of the Crusades that does not fit conventional “wisdom” in any European
society.
Although, in
the West, we recognize as real the events that occurred between the years 1098-1250
as a series of military incursions from Europe to the Levant, nobody else
does. The two main powers in the region
were the Romans and the Fatimids. While
most western historians and even universities teach that the Romans seized to
exist back in the year 450, it is true that Constantine I, emperor of Rome,
moved the capital to Byzantium in the year 321 renaming it New Rome de-facto continuing
Roman history for another millennium. The term “Byzantine” is modern and never
did Romans in Constantinople called themselves that way.
The
Fatimids had reinforcements from Moors, Seljuks, and other Muslims; Taifas,
Emirates and Caliphates. Being outnumbered,
Romans requested reinforcements from other Christian powers like the Aragonese,
Venetians and Catholics. There is a well
translated and preserved record when reinforcements from Northern Europe
arrived and reported to Emperor Alexius I Komnenos. Nothing else is said about them other than
they were ill equipped, poorly trained, and barbaric in nature. Muslim accounts recount the same adjectives
never mentioning by name any of the accepted European commanders. Not even King Baldwin of Jerusalem or the
rest of the European generals.
The Theater
of War deviates a lot from what Europeans teach. The Christian-Muslim “Crusades” happened in
Iberia, Venetia, and the Levant, not just in Jerusalem. Also, the main forces at war were local Romans
and Fatimids with foreign reinforcements.
There are
other logical obstacles to Northern Europeans playing a key role in the “Crusades”. I cannot imagine hundreds of thousands of Nordics
riding on horseback from France or Germany to the scorching hot Levant. It is impossible physically as well as
logistically. Northern Europe, at the
time, was an extremely poor and primitive region. Writing, arts, and other means of
communications were neglectable and only practiced by monks in an extinct
language: Latin.
After reading
Roman and Muslim accounts, I could not find any cease fires or truce agreements
between the warring kingdoms. All happened
randomly. Yes, Romans did take
Jerusalem, but Muslims kept Al Andaluz and Venetians kept Muslim forces at
bay. Strangely enough, Jerusalem fell to
Muslims eventually but remained neutral having Muslim as well as Persian and
Christian communities. Freedom of
religion was imperative in Jerusalem.
I must
address the European issue because they distorted history so bad that is
imperative to clarify the facts. As I
stated before, Europeans did not play a significant role in these wars. Yet, in Europe, we have heroes, major players
and even places and kingdoms belonging to them, in the Levant. The kingdom of Jerusalem and King Baldwin
most specifically. Also, there are the
Knight Templars. Why this illogical
version is the one accepted by Westerners now?
I will explain as a conclusion.
Europeans
of the 12th century (1098) were beginning a renaissance from the end
of Romans in Europe. It was impossible
to accept that Romans did not cease to exist.
Therefore, they told their citizens that “Crusaders” were going to
recover the Holy Land from Muslims. There
was no media back then, so European common citizens had only one version to
learn from. They believed their
kings. Every war needs heroes, so they
created an elite clerical force called The Templars (guardians of the temple). As far as lay people in Europe knew, courageous
European knights marched to the Levant to fight in the name of God.
When
European reinforcements left the Levant to go home, they grabbed everything
they could from the area. Chalices,
chests, pieces of rare wood, jewelry, stained cloth, and even a jarred baby prepusium.
All those “relics” came to enhance every church or mansion of donors to the “Crusades”. Even today, the prepusium of “Jesus” is claimed
to be in many churches in Europe (many?).
Unluckily for
the former “heroes” of the Crusades, the Templars, they knew the truth. For that reason, I argue, they were
exterminated one by one, and their knowledge silenced. The European Crusades served one purpose and
one purpose only: the recollection of charity and goods to support the Crusaders
that may or may not had gone to the Levant.
This hoax lasted for decades until the heroes had to be
exterminated. Some even say that the bank
used to keep all this wealth could still be found in Switzerland.
This war of
misinformation can still be seen in Europe and the US during the Iraq War and
the Conflict in Ukraine.
Please, do
comment and debunk my hypothesis. I will
be more than glad to have a civilized discussion about all my claims.
