十字军(Crusades)
指西元1095～1291年西方基督教徒组织的反对穆斯林国家的几次军事远征，目的是控制圣城耶路撒冷。主要有八次，对西欧社会、经济和制度等方面有重大影响。1092年东方的塞尔柱土耳其人占领尼西亚，威胁君士坦丁堡，拜占庭遣使向西方求救。教宗乌尔班二世正想藉此恢复教会统一，便在1095年召开克莱蒙会议，号召信徒进行圣战。因东征者佩戴十字，故称十字军。第一次十字军（1096～1099）由戈弗雷（Godfrey of Bouillon）、雷蒙六世（Raymond VI）等贵族领导，帮助拜占庭击退塞尔柱土耳其人，收复安纳托利亚西部、亚美尼亚和叙利亚部分地区，以及耶路撒冷，并在这些地方建立了几个西方公国。其中伊德撒伯国在1144年被摩苏尔总督赞吉（Zangi）所灭，由此引起第二次十字军（1147～1148），但在大马士革为赞吉之子努尔丁（Nureddin）所败。努尔丁之侄萨拉丁（Saladin）於1187年占领耶路撒冷，导致第三次十字军（1189～1192）。英王理查一世和法王腓力二世只夺取了塞浦路斯和阿卡（Acre），未能抵达耶路撒冷。教宗英诺森三世发动的第四次十字军（1202～1204）目标指向埃及，但在威尼斯的干预之下转向拜占庭（参阅Dandolo, Enrico），攻陷君士坦丁堡，建立了拉丁帝国。虽然埃及的阿尤布王朝愿意与十字军休战，但西方封建主在1212年的儿童十字军之後，又发动了进攻埃及的第五次十字军（1218～1221），但在进军开罗时由於尼罗河洪水泛滥而被迫撤退。第六次十字军（1228～1229）由德意志皇帝腓特烈二世领导，通过谈判与阿尤布王朝缔结条约，取得耶路撒冷、伯利恒及通往地中海的走廊。後来一支被蒙古人赶到西亚来的花剌子模突厥人在埃及支持下於1224年占领了耶路撒冷，於是法国国王路易九世发动第七次十字军（1248～1254），以征服埃及、解放巴勒斯坦为目标。由於缺乏审慎的计画，西方国家严重挫败於埃及。路易九世发动的第八次十字军（1270）并未开往东方，而是进军突尼斯。结果路易及其大部分军队在北非染病而死，十字军以悲剧告终。此後欧洲各国既不愿也不能给十字军国家以实质性援助，过去的宗教热忱一去不返。十字军的重要据点的黎波里和阿卡分别於1289和1291年为马木路克王朝所占，西亚大陆的十字军国家至此全部灭亡。参阅Albigensian Crusade。
English version：
Crusades
Series of military expeditions by European Christians (the name derives from the Latin word for “cross”) against Muslim powers between 1095 and 1291, aimed at gaining control of Jerusalem. In response to a plea for help from Byzantines and Eastern Christians living under Muslim rule, Pope Urban II called on Western nobles at the Council of Clermont to aid the East. The result of his preaching and that of others, including Peter the Hermit, was the First Crusade (1095-99). Led by many important nobles of the period, including Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond VI, the crusaders helped the Byzantines repel the Seljuq Turks (see Battle of Dorylaeum) and regain western Anatolia, parts of Armenia and Syria, and Jerusalem (1099). The resultant foundation of Western principalities, including the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem and Antioch, formed the basis of the crusading movement, which focused on protecting the lands won. The Second Crusade (1147-49), intended to free Edessa from the Turks, ended in failure, and by 1187 most of the principalities had been lost. Jerusalem's fall to Saladin prompted the Third Crusade (1189-92), during which Richard I the Lionheart and Philip II of France captured Cyprus and Acre but failed to reach Jerusalem. The Fourth Crusade (1202-4), directed against Egypt, became entangled in Venetian-Byzantine politics (see Enrico Dandolo) and was instead diverted to Constantinople, where crusaders set up the Latin empire of Constantinople. Enthusiasm for the religious ideals embodied in the liberation of the Holy Places remained high and spawned the so-called Children's Crusade of 1212. The Fifth Crusade (1217-21) failed to capture Egypt and ended with a truce. The Sixth Crusade (1227-29) was led by the emperor Frederick II, who negotiated the surrender of Jerusalem with the Egyptian sultan; however, the city later fell to the Turks (1244). The Seventh Crusade (1248-50), led by Louis IX of France, aimed at the conquest of Egypt and the liberation of Palestine. Despite careful planning, the Westerners were badly defeated by the Egyptians. Louis planned the abortive Eighth Crusade (1270), but he and much of his army died of disease shortly after landing in Tunis. The fall of Acre in 1291 and the loss of outposts on the mainland ended the era of the Crusades, though interest lasted into the 14th century. See also Albigensian Crusade.