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When we think of the Crusades, we think of kings, knights and peasants from places like France, England and the Holy Roman Empire marching to the Holy Land to retake important Christian cities.

But during the time of the Crusades, to the south of the Aeubid Sultanates at the Nubian Christian kingdoms of Dottuo and Arrua, and to their south was Ethiopia.

It won't surprise you to know that these kingdoms also didn't get along with their Islamic neighbours, which raises an obvious question.

When the Crusades kicked off, did they get involved?

Did these African kingdoms take part in the Crusades?

So, when the first Crusade was called, the Christians of Europe knew very little about those in Africa.

Christians from Nubia, Ethiopia and Arabia had travelled to the Holy Land on pilgrimages.

However, these were just seen as individual Christians, not as representatives of potential allies.

In fact, the Crusaders just saw Africans as subjects of the Ayyubids, and even after the first crusade had conquered Jerusalem, contact between the 2 groups was rare.

It was during the third crusade that the relationship between Europeans and Nubians began to flourish, and the crusaders started to realise that unlike their fellow Coptics in Egypt, these Christians were free of Muslim oversight, and thus were a potential ally, and the Ayyubids desperately tried to stop this relationship from blossoming.

This was mostly because its leaders were worried about the 2 uniting and attacking from both sides.

Which was fairly logical because as the third crusade was ongoing, this is exactly what happened.

Whilst Richard the Lionheart was doing his thing, King Moses, who had briefly united Dottawa and Arua, invaded Egypt.

Saladin retaliated but wasn't able to strike a killing blow because every time he invaded the Crusaders in the north would attack.

This wasn't coordinated or anything, it's just that whenever troops had to move away to deal with the other threat it presented an opportunity to invade.

Beyond this though there isn't any evidence to suggest that African Christians were fighting in the Crusades proper in any great numbers, just that the 2 groups were growing ever more aware of each other via contact in Jerusalem.

It was the Fifth Crusade which saw the height of European hopes with respect to African Christians.

When the Crusaders landed in Egypt there was a hope that a major Nubian army would march north.

They'd then conquer Egypt together before turning their collective attention to the Holy Land.

Slight hiccup with this plan though, the Nubians weren't aware of any of this and so obviously couldn't act on it.

The help didn't come, the crusaders were defeated, and contact between the 2 groups came to a near halt when Jerusalem fell again in 1244.

And after this, the EU bid soon turned their full attention to Dottuo, which fractured and converted several decades later.

Arrua fell the next century to an invasion from Arabia, and also converted soon afterwards.

Some fled from these kingdoms and ended up in Cyprus, which left only Ethiopia.

Again, Christians had little idea of where it actually was or even if it existed at all, which meant the said relationship went nowhere at least until Europeans returned to the continent in the 19th century, with 1 notable exception.

In the mid-15th century there was an attempt to reunite the Western and Eastern churches.

During these discussions the Pope invited Christians from all over the world to Florence to attend the meeting, and the idea of both attacking the Ottomans at the same time was put forward.

The plan was to retake the Holy Land and restore the Byzantines, but this obviously didn't happen, mostly because the Ethiopian kingdom at this time was much smaller than the Christians thought it was.

And with this being a no-go, it marked an end to the Crusades and any potential African involvement with them.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patrons...

Captain Seydol, Camoon Yoon, Gustav Swan, Daniel Tobien, Mrs.

Et Aaron the White, Matthew Shipley, Maggie Patskowski, Alex Schwin, Corey Turner, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, The McWhopper and Charles I.


Speaker 0: When we think of the Crusades, we think of kings, knights and peasants from places like France, England and the Holy Roman Empire marching to the Holy Land to retake important Christian cities. But during the time of the Crusades, to the south of the Aeubid Sultanates at the Nubian Christian kingdoms of Dottuo and Arrua, and to their south was Ethiopia. It won't surprise you to know that these kingdoms also didn't get along with their Islamic neighbours, which raises an obvious question. When the Crusades kicked off, did they get involved? Did these African kingdoms take part in the Crusades?

So, when the first Crusade was called, the Christians of Europe knew very little about those in Africa. Christians from Nubia, Ethiopia and Arabia had travelled to the Holy Land on pilgrimages. However, these were just seen as individual Christians, not as representatives of potential allies. In fact, the Crusaders just saw Africans as subjects of the Ayyubids, and even after the first crusade had conquered Jerusalem, contact between the 2 groups was rare. It was during the third crusade that the relationship between Europeans and Nubians began to flourish, and the crusaders started to realise that unlike their fellow Coptics in Egypt, these Christians were free of Muslim oversight, and thus were a potential ally, and the Ayyubids desperately tried to stop this relationship from blossoming.

This was mostly because its leaders were worried about the 2 uniting and attacking from both sides. Which was fairly logical because as the third crusade was ongoing, this is exactly what happened. Whilst Richard the Lionheart was doing his thing, King Moses, who had briefly united Dottawa and Arua, invaded Egypt. Saladin retaliated but wasn't able to strike a killing blow because every time he invaded the Crusaders in the north would attack. This wasn't coordinated or anything, it's just that whenever troops had to move away to deal with the other threat it presented an opportunity to invade.

Beyond this though there isn't any evidence to suggest that African Christians were fighting in the Crusades proper in any great numbers, just that the 2 groups were growing ever more aware of each other via contact in Jerusalem. It was the Fifth Crusade which saw the height of European hopes with respect to African Christians. When the Crusaders landed in Egypt there was a hope that a major Nubian army would march north. They'd then conquer Egypt together before turning their collective attention to the Holy Land. Slight hiccup with this plan though, the Nubians weren't aware of any of this and so obviously couldn't act on it.

The help didn't come, the crusaders were defeated, and contact between the 2 groups came to a near halt when Jerusalem fell again in 1244. And after this, the EU bid soon turned their full attention to Dottuo, which fractured and converted several decades later. Arrua fell the next century to an invasion from Arabia, and also converted soon afterwards. Some fled from these kingdoms and ended up in Cyprus, which left only Ethiopia. Again, Christians had little idea of where it actually was or even if it existed at all, which meant the said relationship went nowhere at least until Europeans returned to the continent in the 19th century, with 1 notable exception.

In the mid-15th century there was an attempt to reunite the Western and Eastern churches. During these discussions the Pope invited Christians from all over the world to Florence to attend the meeting, and the idea of both attacking the Ottomans at the same time was put forward. The plan was to retake the Holy Land and restore the Byzantines, but this obviously didn't happen, mostly because the Ethiopian kingdom at this time was much smaller than the Christians thought it was. And with this being a no-go, it marked an end to the Crusades and any potential African involvement with them. I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patrons...

Captain Seydol, Camoon Yoon, Gustav Swan, Daniel Tobien, Mrs. Et Aaron the White, Matthew Shipley, Maggie Patskowski, Alex Schwin, Corey Turner, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, The McWhopper and Charles I.

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Did Ethiopians or Nubians join the Crusades? (Short Animated Documentary)