The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

Although Friedman did not explicitly say so, she seemed to have concentrated in her
book on the period of the first kingdom of Jerusalem. This is perhaps why she did not pay more
attention to Innocent's most important action with regard to captives, in the form of a crusade.
Indeed, it can be argued that Innocent's ideas about captivity and ransom had more important and
direct consequences than portrayed by Friedman. It was not merely an attempt to spread a new
notion or to change the image of captivity. It was not even just an effort to encourage the ransom
of captives as an act of charity; Innocent III sent the people of Europe on a crusade because of
that issue. The captivity and servitude of Christians were a central reason behind the embarkation
of the Fifth Crusade.
The evidence of Innocent's approach is found in numerous documents. As early as the
beginning of 1212 there is evidence of communication between Innocent and the Melkite
patriarch of Alexandria, through whom Innocent also managed to establish direct correspondence
with the captives in Alexandria. On 19 January 1212 Innocent wrote a letter which he addressed
to `universes captivis in Alexandria et Babilonia. ' The letter begins with an acknowledgment of
the reception of letters from the patriarch and the captives about their `doloribus plenas et
miseriis cumulatas. ' Innocent's letter is the first sign of direct communication between the papacy
and the captives. From the pope's reply, it was made clear that the captives' only hope at the
beginning of 1212 was to gain their freedom through exchange with Muslim captives. The pope
assured the captives that he instructed the Christian leaders in the east, including the Templars
and the Hospitallers, to work for the goal of their liberation and not to hesitate to utilise for that
purpose the Muslims they held in captivity277
On 26 April 1213, Innocent wrote to the Sultan al-'Adil Sayf ad-Din Abü Bakr. Ile
presented his demands in a forthright manner:
... ne propter violentam detentionen: praefatae terrae plus adhuc effundatur humani
sanguinis quam hactenus est effusum, saniori utens consilio restituas earn nobis, de cujus
detentione, praeter inanem gloriam, forte plus tibi difficultatis quam utilitatis accrescit;
ipsaque reddita, et dimissis utrinque captivis, quiescamus a mutuis impugnationum
offensis; ita quod apud to non sit deterior conditio geniis nostrae quam apud nos esi
conditio genus tuae (my emphasis). 78
The letter makes it clear that the liberation of the Holy Land and the Christian captives
were for Innocent a casus belli. He preached this idea in western Europe and threatened the
enemy in the east. Two issues spring to mind when reading these letters. The first issue concerns
the captives themselves: How serious was the problem: how many Christians were in the
Egyptian prisons? In other words, did this problem justify a call for a crusade? The other issue
that requires some clarification is the relationship between east and west. Indeed such
277
PL 216, no. 148, p. 509. Cipollone, lbid, appendix 42, pp. 533-534.
278
PL, 216, no. 37, p. 832A
86