Crusades · 1099-1291

Knights of the cross: crusader states and military orders

After 1099 four small crusader states cling to the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, defended by monk-knights such as the Templars and Hospitallers. Students locate the states and their castles, and follow the orders after the last crusader city fell in 1291.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1200 to AD 1300
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

After 1099 four small crusader states cling to the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, defended by monk-knights such as the Templars and Hospitallers. Students locate the states and their castles, and follow the orders after the last crusader city fell in 1291.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the four crusader states and explain why they lay along the coast.
  • Describe what military orders were and name three of them.
  • Explain what happened to the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights after 1291.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1200

A thin strip of coast

Open the map in 1200 on the eastern Mediterranean. Turn on Historical Events and find the sieges of Antioch, Jerusalem and Acre. Why did the crusader states hug the coast?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1200

Castle country

Zoom in on the hills between Tripoli and Homs, where Krak des Chevaliers stands. Why build a huge castle on a hill, guarding a gap between the mountains?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1300

Where the knights went

Move to 1300 and zoom out. Find Cyprus, the island of Rhodes and the land of the Teutonic Knights on the Baltic. Why did the orders end up so far apart?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The military orders asked men to be both monks and knights. Why might that be a powerful combination?
  2. The Hospitallers began by caring for sick pilgrims. Why did they become fighters too?
  3. In the crusader states a small group of Western Christians ruled many Muslims, Eastern Christians and Jews. What problems would that create?
  4. Many crusader castles were later taken over and rebuilt by Muslim rulers. What does that tell us about castles as evidence?
  5. King Philip IV of France destroyed the Templars after 1307. Why might a king fear a rich order that crossed borders?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Rule History as Saladin, who fought the crusader states and their military orders. Afterwards, discuss: why were the Templars and Hospitallers the crusader states' most dangerous defenders?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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