Medieval crusaders modeled their conquest on Titus’s capture of Jerusalem.

Evidence

The goal of the chronicler/polemicist, in other words, was to show that the Crusade was not new, that it had been predicted by earlier Christians, and that it would play an important role in the apocalyptic scenario of the last days: this mission is dramatically embodied in the Chanson d’Antioche, an epic describing the first Crusade through the conquest of Antioch. The anonymous author of the Chanson makes the Crusade central to Christian eschatology by having Christ himself predict it. The narrative opens with the Crucifixion: Christ, speaking to the good thief crucified at his side, predicts the eventual arrival of the crusaders: A “new people,” he foretells, the Franks, will avenge the Crucifixion, liberate the Holy Land, and eliminate paganism. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 667 (#complicates, via linked claim)

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 (#complicates, via linked claim)

When the apostles said to Jesus “behold, here are two swords,” he responded, “It is enough” (Luke 22:38). This means “that you should fight with preaching and with weapons against infidels.” Llull devotes the second book of De fine to a grand strategy for reconquering the Holy Land. He compares the pomp and luxury he found around the altar of Saint Peter in Rome with the poverty surrounding the altar of the holy sepulcher in Jerusalem, where there are only two lamps, and one is broken; the holy city itself is nearly abandoned; it has become the abode of snakes. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1336 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Crusade chroniclers retroactively framed the conquest as predicted by Christ at the Crucifixion — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 667; Crusaders justified conquest by recasting Muslims as pagan Roman idolaters — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125; French crusade epic imagined sacrificing for conquest of Mecca and its idol’s treasure — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1711 (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• Crusade chroniclers retroactively framed the conquest as predicted by Christ at the Crucifixion #complicates (0.95) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 667
• Crusaders justified conquest by recasting Muslims as pagan Roman idolaters #complicates (0.90) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 125
• Medieval crusade advocates fabricated prophecies to promise certain victory. #complicates (0.90) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1087
• Medieval crusade theorists read Jesus’s two swords as license for holy war #complicates (0.90) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1336
• Biblical Jews served as the medieval model for Christian depictions of Muslims #complicates (0.90)
• Medieval Christians equated the destruction of Jews with that of Muslims in Jerusalem #complicates (0.90) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 291
• French crusade epic imagined sacrificing for conquest of Mecca and its idol’s treasure #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1711
• The Crusades can be framed as a response to prior Muslim invasion #complicates (0.85)
• Medieval European epics invented Saracen idolatry to justify crusader violence #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 589
• Aragonese crusader kings framed Moorish conquests as holy warfare against Islam #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 914
• Crusaders justified holy war by calling Muslims pagan idolaters #complicates (0.85) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 648
• The Crusades were framed as a militaristic pilgrimage against Islamic advance #complicates (0.85) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 172
• Medieval crusade epics made Mecca the Saracen cult center to be conquered #complicates (0.80) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 671
• Medieval chroniclers had crusaders smash golden idols inhabited by demons to court martyrdom #complicates (0.80)
• Medieval crusader imagery was repurposed to justify modern French colonization #complicates (0.75)