How Many Crusades Were There?

The short answer is that it depends on what counts. By the most common numbering, there were nine major Crusades to the Holy Land, plus a number of related movements that are sometimes called Crusades as well. The traditional list runs from the First Crusade in 1096 to the Ninth Crusade in 1271–1272. The number “nine” is itself a modern convention, and as Jonathan Riley-Smith pointed out in The Crusades: A Short History (1987), there is no medieval source that calls them “the nine Crusades.” The point is not pedantic; the count shapes which expeditions get studied and which get ignored. For a chronological view, see the Timeline of the Crusades.

The Traditional Numbering

The conventional list of Crusades to the Holy Land is:

  1. First Crusade (1096–1099) – Captured Jerusalem. See the First Crusade.
  2. Second Crusade (1147–1149) – Failed. See the Second Crusade.
  3. Third Crusade (1189–1192) – Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. See the Third Crusade.
  4. Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) – Sacked Constantinople. See the Fourth Crusade.
  5. Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) – Aimed at Egypt.
  6. Sixth Crusade (1228–1229) – Diplomatic, led by Frederick II.
  7. Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) – Louis IX in Egypt.
  8. Eighth Crusade (1270) – Louis IX at Tunis.
  9. Ninth Crusade (1271–1272) – Edward I of England.

What About the People’s Crusade?

In 1096, before the main army of the First Crusade set out, a popular expedition led by Peter the Hermit and others crossed into Anatolia. This so-called People’s Crusade was destroyed by the Seljuk Turks before reaching the Holy Land. Some historians count it as the first Crusade; others do not.

What About the Children’s Crusade?

The Children’s Crusade of 1212 is sometimes counted, sometimes not. Modern historians debate whether it occurred at all as a single coherent movement, and whether those who took part were really children. It is examined in was the Children’s Crusade real.

Other Movements Sometimes Called Crusades

Beyond the numbered Crusades to the Holy Land, several other medieval campaigns have been classified as Crusades:

How Should We Count?

If you count all of these, the total is well over a dozen. If you count only the traditional numbered expeditions to the Holy Land, there were nine. The standard historical convention, used in most textbooks, is to count nine, with the People’s and Children’s Crusades treated as related but separate phenomena.

For a survey of the entire movement, see the main article on the Crusades.

A Closer Look at the People’s Crusade

The People’s Crusade is the most famous of the unofficial crusading movements. It was led by Peter the Hermit, a French preacher who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Walter Sans-Avoir, a noble from the Île-de-France. The army that gathered in 1096 was enormous by the standards of the time, perhaps 20,000 people, including many non-combatants and even women and children. They set out well in advance of the main army of the First Crusade, reaching Constantinople by July 1096 and crossing into Anatolia shortly afterward.

In Anatolia, the People’s Crusade met disaster. The Seljuk Turks, who had not yet been informed of the main Crusader army, had no reason to treat this ragged mob as legitimate combatants. They attacked the People’s Crusade at the Battle of Civetot in October 1096, killing most of the army. The survivors straggled back to Constantinople or were sold into slavery. Peter the Hermit himself escaped and joined the main army of the First Crusade, where his knowledge of the route proved useful.

The episode is significant because it showed both the power of the Crusade ideal and its limits. The People’s Crusade was not authorized by the pope and was not technically a crusade in the strict sense. But it captured the popular imagination and demonstrated that the appeal of the expedition extended far beyond the knightly class.

A Closer Look at the Children’s Crusade

The Children’s Crusade of 1212 is the subject of a separate article. Briefly, modern historians have questioned whether it really happened as the medieval sources describe. The earliest accounts suggest that bands of young people set out for the Holy Land, some inspired by a French boy named Stephen of Cloyes, others by a German boy named Nicholas of Cologne. Most of these young people appear to have been redirected to other destinations or to have perished in transit. The most famous version, in which the children were sold into slavery in North Africa, may be a later embellishment.