Smyrniote Crusade
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The Smyrniote crusades (1343–1351) were two
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
sent by
Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...
against the
Beylik of Aydin The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty ( Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', Old Anatolian Turkish: آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی, also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one ...
under
Umur Bey Umur Ghazi, Ghazi Umur, or Umur The LionDonald MacGillivray Nicol, ''The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 144./ref> ( Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğlu Umur Bey'', c. 1309–1348), also known as Umur Pa ...
which had as their principal target the coastal city of
Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
in
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. The crusade was mostly successful in restricting piracy and leading to Umur's death and Smyrna remained in Latin hands until 1402.


Background

Smyrna had been conquered at the beginning of the 14th century by the
Aydinids The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty ( Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', Old Anatolian Turkish: آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی, also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one ...
who had used it since 1326-1329 as base for piracy in the southeastern Mediterranean sea. By the early 1340s the Aydinids and other Turkish beyliks had forced several Aegean islands to pay tributes and had devastated the surrounding coastal regions. The first Smyrniote crusade was the brainchild of
Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...
. The threat of Turkish piracy in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
had induced Clement's predecessors,
John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by the Conclave of ...
and
Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII (, , ; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was a cardinal and inquisitor, and later, head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope and reformed monasti ...
, to maintain a fleet of four
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
s there to defend Christian shipping, but starting in the 1340s, Clement endeavoured with Venetian aid to expand this effort into a full military expedition. He commissioned Henry of Asti, the Catholic
patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...
, to organise a league against the Turks, who had increased their piracy in the Aegean in recent years.
Hugh IV of Cyprus Hugh IV (1293/1296 – 10 October 1359) was King of Cyprus from 31 March 1324 to his abdication, on 24 November 1358 and, nominally, King of Jerusalem, as Hugh II, until his death. The son of Guy, Constable of Cyprus (son of Hugh III of Cyprus) ...
and the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
joined, and on 2 November 1342, the Pope sent letters to engage the men and ships of Venice. The
Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
granting the
Crusade indulgence In the history of the Catholic Church, a crusade indulgence was any indulgence—remission from the penalties imposed by penance—granted to a person who participated in an ecclesiastically sanctioned crusade. It had its origins in the Council of ...
and authorising its preaching throughout Europe, ''Insurgentibus contra fidem'', was published on 30 September.


First expedition

According to plan, twenty galleys fitted by the Cypriots, Hospitallers, Venetians and the papacy were to gather at Negroponte on the feast of All Saints on 1 November 1343. On 13 May next year, the united forces defeated a substantially larger Turkish fleet in the
Battle of Pallene The Battle of Pallene occurred in 1344 between the fleets of a Latin Christian league and Turkish raiders, at the Pallene Peninsula in northern Greece. Battle The battle is known through the chronicle of the Paduan jurist Guglielmo Cortusi, an ...
, at the western prong of the
Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedon ...
peninsula. Later that year, they were able to catch Umur off guard and launch a surprise attack on Smyrna, in which they recaptured the harbour fortress and harbour on the first assault. Though the allies were not able to capture the acropolis, Umur Bey's prestige had received a severe blow and he was forced to mount attacks by land. News of the victory were quickly brought back via Venice to pope Clement who spread the news to the kings of France and England in early 1345. In the meantime, the Latins fortified their positions while fending off Turkish attacks. They build a wall and moat around a shoreline suburb where a money exchange and shops were established. On 17 January 1345, having returned from what was likely a foray to secure supplies, patriarch Henry of Asti decided against the advice of the other leaders to celebrate mass in the former cathedral of Smyrna, which lay outside of the suburb. In the middle of the service Umur Bey swept down on the congregation and the leaders of the crusade were killed, including the Patriarch,
Martino Zaccaria Martino Zaccaria was the Lord of Chios from 1314 to 1329, ruler of several other Aegean islands, and baron of Veligosti–Damala and Chalandritsa in the Principality of Achaea. He distinguished himself in the fight against Turkish corsairs in ...
, commander of the Papal galleys and the Venetian commander, Pietro Zeno.


Second expedition

The precarious situation of the Crusaders in Asia Minor spurred the Pope to organise a second expedition in 1345. In November, under the command of
Humbert II of Viennois Humbert II de la Tour-du-Pin (1312 – 4 May 1355) was the Dauphin of the Viennois from 1333 to 16 July 1349. Humbert was the last dauphin before the title went to the French crown, to be bestowed on the heir apparent. Character Humbert was a ...
, the second Smyrniote crusade set out from Venice. In February 1346, it won a victory over the Turks at
Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...
but Humbert did little more at Smyrna than sortie against the Turks and refortify the Christian section of the city. The next five years were occupied by Clement VI with attempts to negotiate a truce with the Turks, who kept Smyrna in a constant state of siege by land and direct financial and military aid to the city. Although Clement's concern with the Crusade ended abruptly in September 1351, the city of Smyrna remained in Christian hands until the
Siege of Smyrna The siege of Smyrna (December 1402) was fought between the Knights of Rhodes, who held the harbour and sea-castle of Smyrna (now İzmir) in western Anatolia, and the army of the Turco-Mongol emir Timur. The Turco-Mongols blockaded the harbour ...
by the
Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...
in 1402.


References


Sources

* Carr, Mike. 2014. "Humbert of Viennois and the Crusade of Smyrna: A Reconsideration". ''Crusades'' 13 (1): 237–51. * * Gay, Jules. 1904. ''Le pape Clément VI et les affaires d'Orient''. PhD thesis. * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Medieval Smyrna 14th century in Asia Aydınids Wars involving the Papal States Wars involving the Republic of Venice Wars involving the Kingdom of Cyprus Wars involving the Knights Hospitaller 1340s conflicts Military history of İzmir