Latins and Georgians and the Crusader Kingdom

Abstract

Partly because the First Crusade had weakened the Seljuk Sultanate in 1097–1099, David III of Georgia was able to extend his power over much of the Caucasus. The rulers of the Crusader States who stood in need of Eastern Christian allies sought to co-operate with him. Yet although some Western knights served in his army, the practical difficulties of co-ordinating joint action against the Islamic powers of north Syria and Anatolia in the twelfth century proved insuperable. In the thirteenth century the Georgian crown offered an alliance to the leaders of the Fifth Crusade: their forces would attack the northern provinces of the Ayyūbid Empire while the crusaders were invading Egypt. This strategy was sound, but the rise of the Mongol Empire prevented it from being implemented. Nevertheless, the desire for military collaboration between Georgia and the Western powers persisted until the mid-fifteenth century.