Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a French kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 by the First Crusade. It was finally destroyed in 1291 with the fall of Acre.

Life in the kingdom

As new generations grew up in the kingdom, they began to think of themselves as native, rather than immigrants. Thus, in many senses, they behaved and thought more like "orientals" (Syrians) than like Western-Europeans of their day. They often learned to speak Greek, Arabic, and other eastern languages, and married Greeks or Armenians: as the chronicler Fulcher of Chartres wrote, "we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals".

Related Topics:
Greek - Arabic - Armenia - Fulcher of Chartres

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The kingdom was essentially based on the feudal system of contemporary western Europe, but with many important differences. First of all, the kingdom was situated within a relatively small area, with little agricultural land. Since ancient times it had been an urban economy, unlike medieval Europe; in fact, although the nobility technically owned land, they preferred to live in Jerusalem or the other cities.

Related Topics:
Feudal system - Europe

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As in Europe the nobles had vassals and were themselves vassals to the king. However, agricultural production was regulated by the Muslim equivalent of the feudal system (the iqta), and this system was not disrupted by the Crusaders. Although Muslims (as well as Jews and Eastern Christians) were persecuted somewhat in the cities (and were not allowed in Jerusalem at all), in rural areas they continued to live as they had before. The rais, the leader of a community, was a kind of vassal to whatever noble owned his land, but as the Crusader nobles were absentee landlords the rais and their communities had a high degree of autonomy. They grew food for the Crusaders, but owed no military service as vassals would have in Europe; likewise, the Italian city-states owed nothing despite living in the port cities. As a result, Crusader armies tended to be small, and drawn from the French families of the cities.

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The urban composition of the area, combined with the presence of the Italian merchants, led to the development of an economy that was much more commercial than it was agricultural. Palestine had always been a crossroads for trade; now, this trade extended to Europe as well. European goods, such as the textiles of northern Europe, made their way to the Middle East and Asia, while Asian goods were transported back to Europe. The Italian city-states made enormous profits from this trade, and it influenced their Renaissance in later centuries.

Related Topics:
Palestine - Renaissance

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Because the nobles tended to live in Jerusalem rather than an estate in the countryside, they had a larger influence on the king than they would have in Europe. The nobles formed the haute cour (high court), one of the earliest forms of parliament that was also developing in western Europe. The court consisted of the bishops and the higher nobles, and was responsible for confirming the election of a new king, allotting money to the king, and raising armies.

Related Topics:
Haute cour - Parliament

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The problem of lack of manpower for armies was solved to some extent by the creation of the military orders. The Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller were both formed in early years of the kingdom, and they often took the place of the nobles in the countryside. Although their headquarters were in Jerusalem, they often lived in vast castles and bought land that the other nobles could no longer afford to keep. The military orders were under the direct control of the Pope, however, not the king; they were essentially autonomous and technically owed no military service, though in reality they participated in all the major battles.

Related Topics:
Military order - Knights Templar - Knights Hospitaller - Castle - Pope

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Some important sources of information about life in the Kingdom of Jerusalem are William of Tyre from the Christian perspective, and Usamah ibn Munqidh from the Muslim perspective.

Related Topics:
William of Tyre - Usamah ibn Munqidh

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