Who's Who and What's What in the Crusades

Because context is so important to understanding points in history, it is equally important to understand terminology and phrases of the time period. It helps no one if, in the midst of a translated letter, several vocabulary terms come up that the reader simply doesn't understand. Therefore, here are a number of terms, their backgrounds, events, and understandings to help a reader interested in getting into the Crusades:

Holy Roman Empire - This is one of the most misunderstood terms of the Medieval world. Many people have thought that this was the reincarnation of the Roman Empire, the unifying force come at last to rebuild on the ashes of the old times, the phoenix of an empire if one will. However, what these people called themselves and what they were are two very different things. In fact, the notion of Holy Roman Empire had very little to do with the Roman Republic and Empire and certainly didn't adhere to the ideals of the fabled S.P.Q.R.

Perhaps the most obvious difference between the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire is that the former was German, rather than Latin or Italian. The German Reich was founded by the first Holy Roman Emperor, the man whose name has become synonymous with chivalric legend, Charlemagne. Charlemagne, whose name comes from the Latin name Carolus Magnus, is considered by some to be the Father of Europe, for his expansion throughout Europe that united the Germans and the Franks, forging the path for both modern France and Germany. In evicting the Lombards and Saxons and protecting the Papacy, he, more than any single figure, helped increase the advent of the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe.

The Holy Roman Empire's name is derived not from the Principate, but rather its status as a representative and later challenger of the Papal throne in Rome. It was more of a reference to the Roman Catholic Church than the ancient empire, and so should not be considered the successor to Caesar and Augustus.

The Holy Roman Empire played a pivotal part in the Crusades - contributing soldiers, finances, and more than a little intrigue as it later kidnapped and ransomed King Richard the Lionheart during his return journey to England. However, most of its impact was made on the home front, as such a superpower was important to appease in fear that its complex political system and family connections should encourage it to expand into otherwise unprotected territories in France and Poland.

Saracen - Considered by some to be a modern pejorative term, the earliest known reference to Saracens dates back to Ptolemy's reference to the nomadic easterners, which he called "Sarakenes". Translated, it literally means Easterners - but was later used primarily to describe Arabs in the Middle East. Many stories drifted back to the East, and was the case with most gossip and rumors, very few of them held actual weight. From writings of bishops in Alexandria and perpetuated by the fear of the unknown, by the time it reached Europe the term Saracen was synonymous with a demonic figure interested in little more than plunder and bloodlust.

One of the most interesting stories that flowed throughout Europe was the belief that the Saracens had established a counter Catholic Church. It was believed by some that Islam had an anti-Pope and carried on a perverse series of rituals that were entirely opposite those of the West in every way, though this myth was quickly debunked once the Crusader Kingdoms were established and the West had a longer exposure to the Middle East.

Although Saracen literally means Easterner, it's important to understand that it more generally only applied to the Arab population and its minorities. Persians were still referred to as Persians, Turks were still considered Turks, Moors were still considered Moors, but Arabs and Kurds were considered Saracens.

Moor - The African-Islamic population that had resettled into Spain during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the Iberian Peninsula had been long contested between the natives and the Africans since the days of Carthage. The term, though inaccurately, is still used today to describe the Arab-Berber population of Spain. Although it would apply to any particular Muslim occupying or living in Spain, it was generally applied to the Berber and African population from which the Greek word was derived, which meant "black" or "dark".

Interestingly, although common usage in Spain was to refer to any Muslim as a Moor, the term Saracen was still applied to those in the far east. The "Moor" was a more local threat to the Spaniards, whereas Saracen was the more universal, eastern barbarian.

Levant - A term that arose in the 15th century to describe the imprecise region around Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza. More appropriately the entire region is referred to as the Orient by more contemporary sources, or the Far East (even though it is now acknowledged as the Middle East). However, it will often appear in sources, especially in conjunction with the Seljuk emergence and attempted foundation of the Turkish Caliphate.

Orient - In modern culture, the Orient is seen as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, China - but during the Crusades, the modern day Middle East was referred to as the Orient, interchangeably as the Far East. Though there was clearly a further East, as China had been trading with the Byzantines since the days of Rome through third parties in Persia and Asia Minor, this was considered as far east as any European was really expected to travel until after the fall of Constantinople.

Seljuks - Although it is relatively common sense what a "Turk" is, the Turkish peoples were broken down into a number of smaller kingdoms, communities, and tribes. The Seljuks specifically played a major hand in regional affairs when they became bent on conquering the Orient and Levant, restoring them to a unified Caliphate. But the goal did not end there - their religious fervor continued their journey onward towards Constantinople, which had been a goal of Islam for centuries.

The ambitions of the Seljuks later paid off - as the movement they started later transformed into the Ottoman Empire, which ruled as a constant Caliphate up until its dissolution in World War I.

Asia Minor - This is simply the term applied to modern Anatolia, dating back to the days of the Greek Empires.

Caliphate - The supreme authority and unified Islamic state on Earth. It acts much the same way the Papacy does - but on as much of a secular level as it is a religious one. The Caliph, the head of a Caliphate, is the supreme leader and authority of Sharia on all matters involving the State. The history of Caliphs date back to the death of Muhammad, and saw the split between Sunnis and Shi'ites over whether the title should be inherited by Ali or elected to Abu Bakr. Despite the minority behind Ali failing to press him in as the first Caliph, he later took up the mantle as the third - and the modern minority of Shi'a Islam was, for a time, the vast majority.

The establishment of a worldly Caliphate was a strongly driven goal of the East for some time, finally seeing fruition with the Ottomans.

Reconquista - A period of constant warfare between the Iberian Spaniards and the invading/occupying Muslims/Moors. It started almost instantly with the fall of Andalusia and went on until 1492, when the Moors were finally driven out by Phillip and Isabella.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljuks
http://www.crisismagazine.com/april2002/cover.htm
The Alexiad - Anna Comnena
Warriors of God - James Reston Jr.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/april2002/cover.htm
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/selcuk.htm
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/fractured/centralAsia.html
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005647/Alexius-I-Comnenus