What the Crusades Accomplished—And What TheyDidn't
The crowned heads of Europe were too disunited and distracted with
challenges at home to take up the Mongols' offer; perhaps they were also
Susp icio usof a non-Chri stia n king who want ed to wage war to libe rate
theChristian Holy Land. They may have feared that once theyhelped the
wolf devour the Muslims, the wolf would turn on them., But in any case, it
was an opportunity missed. Dissatisfied withthe resultsof Rabban
Sawma’sjourney, Arghun sent another emissary, Buscarel of Gisolf, to
Europe in 12.89. He asked PhilipIV and Edward I for help, offering to
take Jerusalemjointlywith soldiers sent by the Christian kings; he would
then handthe city over to the Crusaders. Edward's answer, which is the
only one that survives. was polite but non-committal. Dismayed,
Arghuntried again in 1291., but by then Outremerhadfallen. By the
time theemissariesreturned. Arghun himself was dead.'
Ce rt ai nl y, if th e po pe and th e Chr is ti an ki ngs ha d co ncl ude d an
al li anc e wit h Arg hun , the Cru sad ers mig ht hav e bee n abl e to
ret ake Je rus alemand reestab lish a signifi cant presenc e in the Holy
Land. This would probably have postponed, at the very least, the
Muslim march into Eastern Europe that commenced with a fury in the
century following the final destruction of Outremer. But the leadersof
Europe were distracted and shorts ighted, so preocc upied with
relati vely insigni ficant squabbl es at home that they did not realize
just how much was at stake. Had theyrecognizedthe ultimate goals of
the jihad warriors, they almost certainly would havebeen more open to
an alliance with Arghun.
But there was conside rable eviden ce that they had no real
unders tandin g of thosegoals at all.
Makingdeals with the Muslims
The Jihadwas nowaseven-hundred-year-old project that advanced with
Muslimstr engt h and gre w qui esc ent withMus lim wea knes s, but was
neve rabandoned or repudiated by any Muslim leader or sect, But that