The Smyrniote crusades (1343–1351) were two

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

sent by

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens 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 Bla ...

against the

Emirate of Aydin The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty (Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', ota, آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی), also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one of the Anatolia ...

under Umur Bey which had as their principal target the coastal city of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. The first Smyrniote crusade was the brainchild of

Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens 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 Bla ...

. The threat of Turkish piracy in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

had induced Clement's predecessors,

John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. 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 ...

and

Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...

, to maintain a fleet of four

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

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 Henry of Asti (', also seen as '; died 17 January 1345) was the titular Latin Catholic patriarch of Constantinople from 1339 and bishop of Negroponte in Frankish Greece. His fame rests on his leadership of the first Smyrniote crusade (1342–45), ...

, the Catholic

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

, 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

Order of the Hospital The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

joined and on 2 November 1342, the Pope sent letters to engage the men and ships of Venice. The Papal bull 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. The first Smyrniote crusade began with the naval victory of 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, and ...

and ended with an assault on Smyrna, capturing the harbour and the citadel but not the acropolis, on 28 October 1344. In a gesture of over-confidence, on 17 January 1345 Henry of Asti attempted to celebrate mass in an abandoned structure which he believed had been the cathedral of the metropolitan. 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 Pietro Zeno (died 1427), was lord of Andros from 1384 until his death in 1427, and a distinguished diplomat in the service of the Republic of Venice. Life Pietro Zeno was the son of the Venetian ''bailo'' at Negroponte, also named Pietro Zeno. ...

. The precarious situation of the Crusaders in Asia 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 so ...

, the second Smyrniote crusade set out from Venice. In February 1346 it won a victory over the Turks at

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the 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 ...

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 and ...

by the Timurids in 1402.

References

Further reading