Chapter I:
A triumph on the Nile.
The Crusader forces were composed of the men from Montferrat, Blois, Champagne, Burgundy and Flanders. The majority rallied at Venice, aiming to land in Egypt and gain a foothold there. However, the Venetian Doge was jealous of Rhomaic wealth and had a long hatred towards them. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they had little to no finances, so the Venetians requested that they pay by fighting. This resulted in capture of Zara (and from here is the POD). The Pope, after hearing what has happenned, has swiftly denounced such actions , and ordered the forces to return to the original plan. The Ventian fleet land in Shkoder, Dyrrhacium, Otranto, Crete (which was however seized and transferred nto Venetian hands) and Cyprus to reúpletish supplies.
A surprise night attack on Alexandria from the sea proved victorious. From there, a quick campaign secured the remaining parts of the Nile Delta within one year.
Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders was crowned as the first Christian King. At first, his realm encompassed only the Nile Delta without Cairo, and there were no more than 15 000 Latin Christians at the time, most of whom were part of the Crusading army. In the next year, a campaign has begun to conquer Cairo and the majority of Upper Egypt from the north; while the Nubians were to hit from the south, and secure the Aswan governorate. After the four month long siege of Cairo, the rest was secured quickly. King Baldwin declared, that any town which surrenders without hesitation will be spared, and all that will be demanded will be one coin per head. In case of resistance, however, the risks of a bloodbath were quite high.
For the first decade, King Baldwin has implemented some reforms, which dramatically changed the society. First of all, most land owned by Muslims was confiscasted and given to Christians (Latins were foavourised). Also all restrictions previously imposed on the Copts were diminsihed, and imposed on their Muslim neighbours. What was not forgotten, was seizure of weapons from Muslims.
Most of the land in Lower Egypt was owned either by the Crusaders, or by Egyptiotes (Alexandrian Greeks , or Jews. In the south, majority of land was transferred to the Copts, who became the landlords. Egypt experienced a drift towards the medieval European feudalism.
Venetians were given many priviliges in the trade, while the Jews and Greeks were offered land as compensation (before they were mostly preoccupied with trade). The Coptic Church was also given large fiefs, mainly in the western part of the Nile Delta. ( The so-called Patrimony of Saint Mark covering the rural outskirts of Alexandria)
At first, the Copts viewed the Crusaders with mistrust, fearing that if they collaborate with them, the Arab´s revenge will hit them heavily. However, as the Crusaders managed to hold the realm, and expressed sympathy for them, many have risen to become counts or knights.
The King officially supported the Coptic church , although he himself were a Catholic and brought also a Catholic bishop to serve him and his compnions. The Greek Patriarch was tolerated, and the King explicitly banned Arabic from the households from all of his vassals. The court languages were Old French and Latin, and the use of Coptic was encouraged heavily also by the the Patriarch. However, it was Greek that became the lingua franca, as for the crusaders it was easier to learn the language, while the Copts were also familiar with the language. However, a way was found to go around that obstacle. Aramaic, the language of the LORD himself has not been banned and was quite intelligible with Arabic itself.
The social mobility tied to conversion to Christianity was large enough for many to do so, however only the next generation was to be fully equal with the original Christians. In times of rage, or violence, quite a few minarets were torn down, and some tens of thousands of Muslims fled to Hejaz and Tunisia.
A triumph on the Nile.
The Crusader forces were composed of the men from Montferrat, Blois, Champagne, Burgundy and Flanders. The majority rallied at Venice, aiming to land in Egypt and gain a foothold there. However, the Venetian Doge was jealous of Rhomaic wealth and had a long hatred towards them. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they had little to no finances, so the Venetians requested that they pay by fighting. This resulted in capture of Zara (and from here is the POD). The Pope, after hearing what has happenned, has swiftly denounced such actions , and ordered the forces to return to the original plan. The Ventian fleet land in Shkoder, Dyrrhacium, Otranto, Crete (which was however seized and transferred nto Venetian hands) and Cyprus to reúpletish supplies.
A surprise night attack on Alexandria from the sea proved victorious. From there, a quick campaign secured the remaining parts of the Nile Delta within one year.
Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders was crowned as the first Christian King. At first, his realm encompassed only the Nile Delta without Cairo, and there were no more than 15 000 Latin Christians at the time, most of whom were part of the Crusading army. In the next year, a campaign has begun to conquer Cairo and the majority of Upper Egypt from the north; while the Nubians were to hit from the south, and secure the Aswan governorate. After the four month long siege of Cairo, the rest was secured quickly. King Baldwin declared, that any town which surrenders without hesitation will be spared, and all that will be demanded will be one coin per head. In case of resistance, however, the risks of a bloodbath were quite high.
For the first decade, King Baldwin has implemented some reforms, which dramatically changed the society. First of all, most land owned by Muslims was confiscasted and given to Christians (Latins were foavourised). Also all restrictions previously imposed on the Copts were diminsihed, and imposed on their Muslim neighbours. What was not forgotten, was seizure of weapons from Muslims.
Most of the land in Lower Egypt was owned either by the Crusaders, or by Egyptiotes (Alexandrian Greeks , or Jews. In the south, majority of land was transferred to the Copts, who became the landlords. Egypt experienced a drift towards the medieval European feudalism.
Venetians were given many priviliges in the trade, while the Jews and Greeks were offered land as compensation (before they were mostly preoccupied with trade). The Coptic Church was also given large fiefs, mainly in the western part of the Nile Delta. ( The so-called Patrimony of Saint Mark covering the rural outskirts of Alexandria)
At first, the Copts viewed the Crusaders with mistrust, fearing that if they collaborate with them, the Arab´s revenge will hit them heavily. However, as the Crusaders managed to hold the realm, and expressed sympathy for them, many have risen to become counts or knights.
The King officially supported the Coptic church , although he himself were a Catholic and brought also a Catholic bishop to serve him and his compnions. The Greek Patriarch was tolerated, and the King explicitly banned Arabic from the households from all of his vassals. The court languages were Old French and Latin, and the use of Coptic was encouraged heavily also by the the Patriarch. However, it was Greek that became the lingua franca, as for the crusaders it was easier to learn the language, while the Copts were also familiar with the language. However, a way was found to go around that obstacle. Aramaic, the language of the LORD himself has not been banned and was quite intelligible with Arabic itself.
The social mobility tied to conversion to Christianity was large enough for many to do so, however only the next generation was to be fully equal with the original Christians. In times of rage, or violence, quite a few minarets were torn down, and some tens of thousands of Muslims fled to Hejaz and Tunisia.
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