المتغيرات الاقتصادية لسواحل بلاد الشام ابان الحروب الصليبية

Rp- The Economic Changes of Levant Land Coasts during the Crusade wars .pdf

Levant Land Coasts enjoys a significant strategies location that made it aspiration for the invasion states which search for money and fortune. Due to its overlooking on the Mediterranean Sea, it was considered as a linking point between the East and West, as well its lands enjoy with richness and fertility. Crusaders realized this significance through their wars with Muslims.
Therefore, they could, through many campaigns in cooperation with the Italian cities (Genoa, Venice, and Pisa) take it from them and added to their kingdom. After their settlement in it, they succeeded in exploiting it and making great changes in it where the economic one was the most important one, especially that Aka city became the political and economic capital of Crusaders kingdom after Hattin battle in 583 instead of Al Quds.
Thus, they annexed on the coastal ports, the trade roads were paved for them, trade movement was changed, and headed towards the east, agriculture was bad exploited, and it was directed to their greediness; so, the interest with production used in industry as sugar cane, olive, cotton, and grapes increased where its money went to the princes’ and feudals’ pockets.
These changes in the Levant coast have many influences particularly on the cultural level especially settlement structure change of this part in Levant Land which was followed by creating commercial cities as the European cities. They have also a great impact on wars cease with Muslims and establishment of sound relation with them. Though those relations served the Crusaders regime and made it control over money sources, they played a great role in weakening and destroying the Crusaders regime by competition among Italian commercial cities.