Free Republic

1204: What really happened? When Saladin retook the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem for Islam in 1187,Pope Innocent III declared a new crusade to recapture it. But the crusaders ran into financial difficulties and took advantage of Greek imperial in fighting to raise money. The scheme was a disaster, laying Constantinople to waste, gutting its churches and sending many of its citizens into slavery in Europe. The crusaders never went on to Jerusalem, but calcified the mistrust between eastern and western Christendom IN THE history of crusading, the idea that Christians should unite against Muslims for the defence of the Holy...

<p>Having lived nine years in parts of the former Ottoman Empire but never having visited Turkey, the country at the core of that entity, I was looking forward to seeing what its largest city and former capital, Istanbul, looked like.</p>

Crusade vs. Jihad The rage of Muslim fundamentalists against America, the 'Great Satan,' can be traced back to holy wars of the 11th century and winds through a history of European colonialism and Cold War competition. SALIM MANSUR, For the London Free Press On the Sunday following 9/11, President George W. Bush spoke to Americans reeling from the shock of terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The twin towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed, but the fires and smoke from Ground Zero were still visible and painted Manhattan's skyline in dull brown and grey. Bush appealed for...

A few days before the fall of Constantinople to the armies of Ottoman jihad, some six centuries ago, a strange debate was taking place inside the imperial city. Constantinople then had a very loud senate, stubborn theologians, and merciless philosophers. It was the heir to Greco-Roman civilization, but also host to hot debates — so hot that they effectively isolated the city's elites from the realities of then-world politics. The political establishment of the Eastern Rome was consumed in complex rhetoric — what historians would later call "Byzantine debate." Just days before the city fell to the Islamic armies...

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 Back to "Decline of the Byzantine Empire" Chronology Back to "Ottoman Empire" Chronology The siege of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world, took place in 1453. Sultan Mehmed II, ruler of the Ottoman Turks, led the assault. The city was defended by, at most, 10,000 men. The Turks had between 100,000 and 150,000 men on their side. The siege lasted for fifty days. The Turks employed various important war tactics in taking over the city. They used huge cannon to destroy the...

PORTLAND, Oregon, 3 March 2003 — Suppose Islam lost a great war. What would the consequences be? Some believe it will cause terrorism to erupt, disrupt the globe’s largest reserves of oil — the life-blood of the modern age — and plunge the Arab world into an age of fanaticism and darkness. But as we verge on a controversial war with Iraq, there is a fascinating — and surprising — lesson to be learned from another great battle in history. On May 28, 1453, two of the greatest armies in the world ended an epic 52-day battle on the border...

Patriarch Celebrates Divine Liturgy in Ravenna; Plans to Sign Declaration with Pope VATICAN CITY, JUNE 9, 2002 (ZENIT.org).- A step toward full unity between Catholics and Orthodox was taken when, for the first time in a millennium, a patriarch of Constantinople celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine basilica of Ravenna. John Paul II, at the Vatican, applauded today´s event, which he said helps "encourage us to continue on the road toward full unity between the Christian East and West." For the first time since the schism of 1054, an Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople celebrated the Divine Liturgy in...