Crusade chroniclers cast Muslims as pagan Romans to claim martyrdom.

Evidence

In the interim, many Latin chroniclers and Western theologians developed the view that the Saracens were pagans who bore a striking resemblance to the Roman idolaters of antiquity against which the earliest generations of Christians struggled. This construction of Islam as paganism was particularly prominent around the time of the First Crusade, serving as one of the major propagandistic tools used by crusaders to justify their efforts to conquer the Holy Land. The struggles of ancient Christians against Roman idolaters were now replicated in the battles waged by Christians against Saracen pagans. Crusaders could find comfort in knowing that the risks they undertook were not in vain but were part of an ongoing battle in Christian history to eradicate those enemies of Christ who worshipped false gods and idols. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

If Islam is seen in the familiar and despised guise of ancient paganism, then the struggles of Christians against it will be seen as part of the continuing struggle against the pagan persecutions of Roman days. With the notion of opposing paganism, naturally came the ideal of martyrdom: the chroniclers compared the struggle with the “pagan” Saracen to the struggle against the ancient pagans of Rome. The patent falseness of these stories is obvious to anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Islam. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 664 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The martyr party branded Islam a heresy and collaboration with Muslim rulers as diabolical.; Medieval chroniclers had crusaders smash golden idols inhabited by demons to court martyrdom; Crusade chroniclers cast living Muslims as pagan idolaters to justify war (+20 more)

Broader Connections

• Crusade chroniclers cast Muslims as pagan idolaters to justify retaking Jerusalem #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 612
• Casting Islam as revived paganism reframed crusade as continued Roman martyrdom struggle #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 664
• Casting Islam as paganism let crusaders frame their war as revived martyrdom. #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 664
• Crusade chroniclers fabricated Muslim portraits by repurposing early Christian martyr narratives #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 604
• Crusaders justified conquest by recasting Muslims as pagan Roman idolaters #corroborates (1.00) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125
• Christians fantasized Muslims as pagan idolaters to justify crusading violence #corroborates (1.00)
• Crusade chroniclers framed Islamic rulers as issuing the standard pagan temptation offer to martyrs. #corroborates (1.00) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 630
• Asturian chroniclers adopted apocalyptic martyr-culture propaganda against Muslim rule #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 560
• Latin crusader chroniclers retold unobserved deaths as hagiographic martyr legends. #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 629
• Crusader chroniclers celebrated massacres they claimed to condemn. #complicates (0.80) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2113
• Crusade chroniclers fabricated idealized enemies to justify holy war #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 640
• Crusade chroniclers blurred the distinction between preaching martyrs and waging war #complicates (0.80)
• Medieval polemicists fabricated Muslim inferiority to justify Christian superiority claims. #complicates (0.70) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1252
• Crusade chroniclers framed mass slaughter of enemies as divine judgment #complicates (0.70) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 246
• Medieval crusade rhetoric framed Muslims as objects of conversion or extermination #complicates (0.70) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 625