Teutonic Knights of Acre (House of the Hospitalers of Saint Mary of the Teutons in Jerusalem)
Ideology | Defunct
1190 CE to 1291 CE
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly the Teutonic Order, is a German medieval military order, and becomes in modern times a purely religious Catholic order.
It is formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals.
Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, since they also serve as a crusading military order in the Middle Ages.
The military membership is always small, with volunteers and mercenaries augmenting the force as needed.
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Swedish crusaders first invade Russia along the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, but they are halted in 1240 on the banks of the Neva River by Prince Alexander of Novgorod, who thereby earns the name Alexander Nevsky ("of the Neva").
The second crusade, spearheaded by the Teutonic Knights, follows the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland and is defeated by Alexander Nevsky in 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus.
The Magyars, the last of the migrating tribes to establish a state in Europe, had settled in the Pannonian Basin in 896.
A century later their king, Stephen I, had integrated Transylvania into his Hungarian kingdom.
The Hungarians had construct fortresses, founded a Roman Catholic bishopric, and begun proselytizing Transylvania's indigenous people.
There is little doubt that these include some Romanians who remain faithful to the Eastern Orthodox Church after the East-West Schism.
Stephen and his successors recruit foreigners to join the Magyars in settling the region.
The foreign settlers include people from as far off as Flanders; Szeklers, a Magyar ethnic group; and even Teutonic Knights returned from Palestine, who found the town of Brașov before a conflict with the king prompts their departure for the Baltic region in 1225.
Hungary's kings reinforce the foreigners' loyalty by granting them land, commercial privileges, and considerable autonomy.
Nobility is restricted to Roman Catholics and, while some Romanian noblemen convert to the Roman rite to preserve their privileges, most of the Orthodox Romanians become serfs.
Another attempt to breach the walls fails on December 31.
Because Saladin can neither enter the city of Acre nor dislodge the crusaders, by winter of 1190-91 neither side has made progress, but the crusaders have suffered serious losses from disease and famine.
At this time, some German merchants from Bremen and Lübeck, seeking to serve a hospital during the siege, form a fraternity to nurse the sick here.
It will become the Brothers of the Hospital of Saint Mary of the Teutons in Jerusalem: the Teutonic Knights.
The partial collapse of Acre’s walls on January 6, 1191, leads to many Christian attempts at overrunning the Muslim garrisons.
Saladin’s army is now so large that it is impossible for any more Crusaders to arrive by land, and winter means that no more supplies or reinforcements can arrive by sea.
In the Christian camp, the leaders have begun to succumb to the epidemics.
Theobald of Blois and Stephen of Sancerre have died, and Frederick of Swabia also dies, on January 20, 1191.
Henry of Champagne struggles with sickness for many weeks before recovering.
Patriarch Eraclius also dies during the siege, but the date is unknown.
Saladin succeeds in breaking through the Christian lines and reaching the city on February 13, so that he can replace the exhausted defenders with a new garrison; the old garrison would otherwise have all died of disease.
Conrad of Montferrat attempts an attack by sea on the Tower of Flies, but adverse winds and rocks below the surface prevent his ship getting close enough to do significant damage.
Such is the situation in March 1191, when ships arrive off Acre bringing welcome supplies and news of the approach of the armies of the Third Crusade.
Duke Leopold V, mainly remembered outside Austria for his participation in the Third Crusade, arrives to take part in the siege of Acre in spring 1191, having sailed from Zadar on the Adriatic coast.
He had taken over command of what remains of the imperial forces after the death of Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia, in January.
Ships also bring devastating news for Saladin.
He has missed his chance to crush the remaining Christians and now King Richard of England and King Philip of France are on their way to the Holy Land, each accompanied by an army.
Saladin’s chance for victory has slipped away.
Philip arrives at Acre on April 20, 1191, with a Genoese fleet under Simone Doria.
Richard arrives on June 8 with an English fleet of one hundred ships (which carries eight thousand men).
He seeks a meeting with Saladin, and an armistice of three days is agreed upon so that the meeting could take place.
However, both Richard and Philip fall ill, and the meeting does not take place.
Philip had used the time before Richard’s arrival to build siege engines like the trebuchet, and now that stronger leadership from Europe has arrived, it is the city and not the Christian camp that is besieged.
The siege machines break holes into the walls of Acre, but every new breach leads to an attack from Saladin’s army, giving the garrison of Acre an opportunity to repair the damage while the Christians are distracted.
According to legend, Leopold’s tunic was blood-soaked after the fights and when he doffed his belt, a white stripe appeared.
Emperor Henry VI will later grant him the privilege to adopt these colors as his new banner, which later will become the flag of Austria.
Philip of Alsace on July 1 dies in the camp.
This creates a major crisis for the French king, since Philip, the Count of Flanders and Vermandois and one of the most important men in the king’s retinue, has no heirs and settling his inheritance is an urgent matter, yet a very difficult one so far away from France.
A sufficiently large breach is again created in the walls on July 3, but the Christian attack is repelled.
The city on July 4 offers its surrender, but Richard rejects the conditions.
This time Saladin does not make a large-scale attack on the Christian camp.
The city sends an embassy to Saladin on July 7 asking for assistance one last time, and threatens to surrender if he does not help.
There is one final battle on July 11, in which Saladin's nephew fails to fight his way into the city, and on July 12, the city once more offers terms of surrender to the Crusaders, who find their offer acceptable this time.
Conrad of Montferrat, who had returned to Tyre because of Richard's support for Guy of Lusignan as king of Jerusalem, is recalled to act as negotiator, at Saladin's request.
Saladin is not personally involved in the negotiations, but accepts the surrender, which provides for an exchange of prisoners and the restoration of the relic of the True Cross, which he had captured in 1187.
The Christians enter the city and the Muslim garrison is taken into captivity.
Conrad raises the banners of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and of France, England and the Duchy of Austria over the city.
Richard supports his vassal Guy in his political struggle, while Conrad is supported by his cousins Leopold of Austria and Philip of France.
After the surrender of Acre, the parties attempt to come to an agreement.
Guy is confirmed as king of Jerusalem, and Conrad is made his heir.
Conrad is to retain the cities of Tyre, Beirut, and Sidon, and his heirs are to inherit Jerusalem on Guy's death.
As the crusaders enter the city, there are disputes over the disposal of areas.
Leopold leaves shortly after the capture of the city, after quarreling with Richard: as the surviving leader of the German Imperial contingent, he has demanded the same position as Philip and Richard, but has been rejected and his flag torn down, by Richard, from the ramparts of Acre.
Philip, who feels that he has fulfilled his crusader's vow and who is unwell, on July 31 also returns home, to settle the succession in Vermandois and Flanders, and Richard is left solely in charge of the Christian expeditionary forces.
It is now up to Richard and Saladin to finalize the surrender of the city.
The Christians begin to rebuild Acre’s defenses, and Saladin collects money to pay for the ransom of the imprisoned garrison.
Saladin delivers the first of the three planned payments and prisoner exchanges on August 11, but Richard rejects this because certain Christian nobles are not included.
The exchange is broken off and further negotiations are unsuccessful.
Richard had also insisted on the handover of Philip's share of the prisoners, whom the French king had entrusted to his kinsman Conrad of Montferrat.
Conrad reluctantly agrees, under pressure.
Richard, impatient to move toward Jerusalem, thinks that Saladin had delayed too much, and on August 20 has twenty-seven thousand of the Muslim prisoners from the garrison of Acre, including wives and children, decapitated.
Saladin responds in like kind, killing all of the Christian prisoners he has captured.
Thus, the truce arrangements are voided, and Saladin does not return the True Cross.
Richard and his army on August 22 leave the city, given in custody to the crusaders Bertram de Verdun and Stephen de Lonchamp.