Reynald of Châtillon,
leader of the Franks, broke the truce when he heard of a rich caravan
of unarmed merchants traveling on the east bank of Jordan. In
retaliation, Saladin invaded Palestine in 1187. The Franks got their
forces together to withstand Saladin at Zippori.
On July 4 Saladin defeated the Latin army at Hattin in
Galilee. Jerusalem surrendered on October 2. On October 29, 1187,
Pope Gregory VIII, who succeeded Pope Urban II after he died
from shock of the defeat at Hattin, declared the Third Crusade. Three
major European monarches joined: the holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I;
the French King, Philip II; and the English King, Richard I. It was
the largest force of crusaders since 1095. Frederick died in
Anitoch along with many others as a result of an epidemic. Most of his
army returned to Germany. Philip and Richard reached Palestine but
couldn't regain Jerusalem. Many cities along the Mediterranean coast
were freed from Saladin's control. On July 12, 1191 Acre
surrendered to the Christians. Richard left the Holy Land on October
9, 1192. The Latin Kingdom had been restored.
In 1198 Pope Innocent III proclaimed a Fourth Crusade. In
April 1202 the crusaders asked the Venetians for transport because
they overestimated the number of people who would sail. The Venetians
agreed to postpone the payment due to them if the crusaders helped
them recapture Zara which had been taken from them by Hungary. The
leaders of the crusade had no other choice. Some protested, saying
that an attack on a Christian city is a sin. On November 24, Zara was
captured. The entire army was excommunicated but the Pope lifted it
when he heard of the situation. On June 24, 1203, the fleet anchored
at Chalcedon, and on July 17, Constantinople was attacked from sea and
land. Emperor Alexius III fled in fear. Isaac II Angelus and his son
Alexius IV became co-emperors. In a revolt in January 1204, both were
murdered. Alexius V Ducas Murzuphlus became emperor. On April 12,
1204, they stormed the city and took control of the walls. On April
14 Constantinople was captured. The Crusaders and Venetians murdered
and looted for three days. Afterwards the crusaders started their own
empire in the Byzantine ruins with a Catholic religion, French speech,
and Italian commercial
policies.
The Albigensian Crusade was from 1202-1229. During the 12th
Century Albigensians made many converts in western Languedoc. Innocent III preached a crusade against Raymond VI of Toulouse,
protector of the Albigensians. The crusade turned into a fight for
control of the Pyrenean kingdom of Catalonia and southern France.