“How far do you agree that Muslim disunity was the major reason why the Crusader States
were able to survive in the period 1100-1143?”
After the first Crusade in 1099, many of the crusaders returned back to Europe but around 10,000 to
20,000 people stayed, seeking to establish control over the territories surrounding Jerusalem and establish
a new country known as the Crusader States. This country survived for nearly half a century between the
years of 1100 to 1143 due to a variety of factors including the power of the monarchy, Muslim disunity and
the Crusader castles. There has been debate between Historians over which of these factors is the most
significant but arguably, the major reason the Crusader States were able to survive was due to Muslim
disunity as had the Muslims been united, the Crusader army would have been easily defeated.
Muslim disunity was one of, if not the most significant reason why the Crusader States were able to survive
between the period of 1100 to 1143. Disunity amongst the Muslims continued from the first crusade and
the Muslims were divided both religiously due to the split between the Sunni and Shi’ite divisions of Islam
and politically due to the constant struggle for power and control over Jerusalem. There were two key
groups of Muslims, the Fatimids and the Seljuk Turks, and these two groups despised each other even
more than the Crusaders. As a result, they failed to unite against the Crusaders to destroy the Crusader
State. A key example of this were the numerous offences from Egypt to attack the Crusader Kingdom in the
years 1101, 1102 and 1105. However, all of these offences failed as the south Egyptians planned these
offences individually and without help from Damascus in the north. Muslim Disunity was extremely
significant in allowing the Crusader States to survive due to the Franks, as they were known whilst settling,
being vastly outnumbered by the Muslims. As previously mentioned, there were only a maximum of
around 20,000 Franks and they were surrounded and outnumbered by the Muslims. Had the Muslims all
united against them, they would have easily been defeated as the Muslims would have been too strong
and powerful. The Muslims did actually unite later in the century and this partially led to the downfall of
the Crusader States. Muslim leader Zengi, who ruled Mosul and Aleppo, began to unite the Muslims
against the Franks and in 1144, they successful attacked and besieged Edessa, leading to the second
crusade and ultimate downfall of the Crusader Kingdom. Therefore, Muslim disunity was the major factor
in helping the Crusader States survive as without it, they would have been easily defeated.
The power of the Frankish monarchy was also a significant factor; however, it was arguably less important
than Muslim disunity. There were three main kings during this time, all of whom had their own strengths
and showed great military and political ability: Baldwin I, Baldwin II and Fulk. Having strong leaders was
important for the survival of the Crusader Sates because they helped to establish the Crusader Sates by
capturing cities, uniting the Franks and building castles. Without a strong monarchy with excellent military
and political tactic, the Crusader States would have likely fell as their numbers were very limited, as
previously mentioned, so needed these tactics to help them survive. As previously mentioned, a key
military tactic used by the kings of Jerusalem was capturing cities, which was crucial as it helped them to
consolidate control over the kingdom and prevent rebellion against them. Two key cities which were
captured were the city of Acre in 1104 under Baldwin I and the city of Tyre in 1124 under Baldwin II. These
two cities were crucial as they were deep water ports so allowed connection with Europe from the Holy
Land for trade and support which allowed the Crusader State to thrive. Also, all three kings built crucial
castles in the city which gave the crusaders places to defend themselves from any opposition and was a
significant military and political tactic. However, during Fulk’s reign, there was a lack of political ability and
disunity amongst the Franks which ultimately contributed to their demise. A lot of the Franks were
unhappy that Fulk, who was an outsider, automatically gained all this power when they were the ones who
fought in the crusade. There was also a domestic rebellion between 1132 to 1134 led by Hugh Le Puiset.
Therefore, this lack of political ability and leadership led to disunity which the Muslims were able to take
advantage of. Overall, whilst the power of the monarchy was important, as mentioned there were some
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