Kingdom of Jerusalem: Encyclopedia II - Kingdom of Jerusalem - Life in the kingdom

Kingdom of Jerusalem - Life in the kingdom

The Latin population of the kingdom was always small; although a steady stream of settlers and new crusaders continually arrived, most of those who fought in the First Crusade simply went home. The Latins were little more than a superstrate over the native Muslim and Syrian population. But Jerusalem came to be known as Outremer, the French word for "overseas," and as new generations grew up in the kingdom, they also began to think of themselves as native easterners, 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".

Fulcher, a participant in the First Crusade, continued his chronicle up to 1127. Thereafter there is no eyewitness to events in Jerusalem until William of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre and chancellor of Jerusalem, who began writing around 1167 and died around 1184, although he includes much information about the First Crusade and the intervening years from the death of Fulcher to his own time. From the Muslim perspective, there is Usamah ibn Munqidh, a soldier and frequent ambassador from Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt, whose memoirs, Kitab al i'tibar, include lively accounts of crusader society in the east. Other information can be gathered from travellers such as Benjamin of Tudela and Ibn Jubayr.

Kingdom of Jerusalem - Demographics

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, closer to the royal court. As in Europe the nobles had their own 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 at first not allowed in Jerusalem at all), in rural areas they continued to live as they had before. The rais, the leader of a Muslim 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. The greatest problem for the crusaders was that although many soldiers and pilgrims came and went, for the most part they did not stay. This meant that a stable Western society could never be effectively built and that a minority of Westerners would be forced to govern a large and very foreign population of Arabs and Syrians, who could not be relied upon for manpower.

The problem of lack of manpower 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, the knights themselves 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.

In the 13th century, John of Ibelin drew up a list of fiefs and the number of knights owed by each; unfortunately this probably reflects the 13th-century kingdom, not the 12th, and gives no indication of the non-noble, non-Latin population.

Kingdom of Jerusalem - Economy

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 woolen textiles of northern Europe, made their way to the Middle East and Asia, while Asian goods were transported back to Europe. Jerusalem was especially involved from the silk, cotton and spice trade; other items that first appeared in Europe through trade with crusader Jerusalem included oranges and sugar, the latter of which chronicler William of Tyre called "very necessary for the use and health of mankind." The Italian city-states made enormous profits from this trade, and it influenced their Renaissance in later centuries.

Jerusalem also collected money through tribute payments, first from the coastal cities which had not yet been captured, and later from other neighbouring states such as Damascus and Egypt, which the crusaders could not conquer directly. After Baldwin I extended his rule over Oultrejordain, Jerusalem also gained revenue from the taxation of Muslim caravans passing from Syria to Egypt or Arabia. The money economy of Jerusalem meant that their manpower problem could be partially solved by paying for mercenaries, an uncommon occurrence in medieval Europe. Mercenaries could be fellow European crusaders, or, perhaps more often, Muslim soldiers, including the famous Turcopoles.

Kingdom of Jerusalem - Government and legal system

Immediately after the First Crusade, land was distributed to loyal vassals of Godfrey, forming numerous feudal lordships within the kingdom. This was continued by Godfrey's successors. The king was also assisted by a number of officers of state. Because the nobles tended to live in Jerusalem rather than on estates in the countryside, they had a larger influence on the king than they would have had 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 (or a regent if necessary), collecting taxes, minting coins, allotting money to the king, and raising armies. The haute cour was the only judicial body for the nobles of the kingdom, hearing criminal cases such as murder, rape, and treason, and simpler feudal disputes such as recovery of slaves, sales and purchases of fiefs, and default of service. Punishments included forfeiture of land and exile, or in extreme cases death. The first laws of the kingdom were, according to tradition, established during Godfrey of Bouillon's short reign, but were more probably established by Baldwin II in 1120, although no written laws survive from earlier than the 13th century (the so-called Assizes of Jerusalem).

There were other, lesser courts for non-nobles and non-Latins; the Cour des Bourgeois provided justice for non-noble Latins, and special courts such as the Cour de la Fond and the Cour de la Mer existed for merchants in the coastal cities. Islamic courts continued to function, as did courts for eastern Christians, although for capital crimes they too would be tried in the Cour des Bourgeois (or even the Haute Cour if the crime was sufficiently severe).

The king was recognized as head of the Haute Cour, although he was legally only primus inter pares. The king and the royal court were normally located in Jerusalem, but the king just as often held court at Acre, Nablus, Tyre, or wherever else he happened to be. In Jerusalem, the royal family lived in the palace complex surrounding the Tower of David, or alternately on the Temple Mount, where the Knights Templar also had their headquarters.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life in the kingdom", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki