Maarifa ya sasa ya kiakiolojia kuhusu Palestina wakati wa kipindi cha Kiislamu yanaonyesha kwamba kwa karne kadhaa nchi hiyo ilistawi na kukua chini ya watawala wake Waislamu. Hili halipaswi kumshangaza mtu yeyote; hali kama hiyo iliyokuwepo Andalusi (Uhispania ya Kiislamu) ni ushahidi wa utajiri mkubwa na ubunifu wa utawala wa Kiislamu. Kwa hakika, wakati Wakristo wa Kifaransa (Wafranki) walipovamia Palestina yenye wengi wa Waislamu mnamo mwaka 1099, walikuta huko kiwango cha kitamaduni na kiteknolojia cha maendeleo ambacho hakikujulikana Ulaya ya wakati huo.

The current archaeological knowledge about Palestine during the Islamic period shows that for several centuries the country prospered and grew under its Muslim rulers. This should surprise no one; the similar situation in the Andalus (Muslim Spain) is evidence for the great opulence and innovation of the Muslim regime. Indeed, when the European (Frankish) Crusaders invaded Muslim-majority Palestine in 1099, they found there a cultural and technical level of development unknown in contemporary Europe.

Kanisa Katoliki, likifikia kilele cha nguvu zake za kisiasa katika Enzi za Kati za Juu, liliita majeshi kutoka kote Ulaya kwa mfululizo wa Vita vya Msalaba dhidi ya Uislamu. Wanajeshi wa Msalaba wa Kilatini waliuteka Palestina mwaka 1099 na kuanzisha mataifa ya Msalaba katika Levant. Baada ya Mgawanyiko Mkuu wa Mashariki–Magharibi wa mwaka 1054 kati ya Kanisa la Othodoksi la Mashariki na Kanisa la Kilatini, na baada ya kuwasili kwa wanajeshi wa kwanza wa Msalaba wa Kilatini huko Palestina, wanajeshi hao wa Msalaba waliteua Patriaki wa Kilatini mjini Jerusalem. Muundo wa kimataifa wa kihierarkia wa Kanisa la Kilatini ulitofautiana sana na mpangilio wa Mashariki, ambao ulikuwa mtandao wa makanisa huru. Wanajeshi wa Msalaba pia waliyapuuza kanuni za kujitawala kwa kanisa (autocephaly) na uhuru wa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Palestina. Matokeo yake, Patriaki wa Othodoksi wa Mashariki alichagua kuhamia Constantinople, akiwa uhamishoni hadi mwaka 1187, na alirudi mjini humo baada ya kukombolewa na Salah al-Din. Zaidi ya hayo, kinyume cha kawaida, katika Ufalme wa Msalaba wa Kilatini wa Jerusalem, mwanzoni mwa karne ya 12 dayosisi ya ‘Caesarea katika Palaestina’ ilipoteza uhuru wake wa kidini na kitamaduni na kuwekwa chini ya udhibiti wa moja kwa moja wa Patriarketi ya Kilatini ya Jerusalem, ambayo ilisimamiwa na watawala na walowezi wa Ulaya wa Ufalme wa Kilatini wa Jerusalem.

The Catholic Church, reaching the peak of its political power in the High Middle Ages, called armies from across Europe to a series of Crusades against Islam. The Latin Crusaders occupied Palestine in 1099 and founded the Crusader states in the Levant. Following the great East–West schism of 1054 between the Eastern Orthodox and Latin churches and after the arrival of the first Latin Crusaders in Palestine, the Crusaders appointed a Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem. The hierarchical international organisational structure of the Latin Church contrasted sharply with the organisation in the East of a network of independent churches. The Crusaders also dismissed the principles of autocephaly and the independence of the Palestine Orthodox Church. As a result, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch chose to relocate to Constantinople, in exile until 1187, and returned to the city only after its liberation by Salah al-Din. Furthermore, paradoxically in the Latin Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, in the early 12th century the diocese of ‘Caesarea in Palaestina’ lost its religious and cultural autonomy and was subjected to the direct control of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem which was overseen by the European rulers and settlers of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Hata hivyo, Wafalme Walatini wa Yerusalemu walitaka kuamsha kumbukumbu za Palestina ya Kibyzantini, na mfumo halisi wa dayosisi wa Kanisa la All Palaestina ulifufuliwa katika Palestina ya Kifaransa. Kwa mfano, 'Askofu Mkuu wa Petra, katika Palaestina' – ambaye katika karne ya 6 alikuwa mji mkuu wa mkoa wa Kibyzantini wa Palaestina Tertia (Salutaris) – alianzishwa wakati fulani wa enzi ya Vita vya Msalaba na alihudumia dayosisi ya Palaestrina III, eneo la Transjordan, na kwa desturi ilijumuisha Monasteri ya St Catharine kwenye Mlima Sinai, ingawa ulinzi wa kijeshi wa Wakristo wa Msalaba mara chache ulifika ndani kabisa ya Sinai. Licha ya idadi ya Wakristo kupungua katika eneo la Petra, uteuzi wa Maaskofu Wakuu wa Petra uliendelea hadi karne ya 20.

However, the Latin Kings of Jerusalem sought to revive memories of Byzantine Palaestina and the actual diocese system of the All Palaestina Church was revived in Frankish Palestine. For instance, the ‘Archbishop of Petra, in Palaestina’ – which in the 6th century was the metropolis of the Byzantine province of Palaestina Tertia (Salutaris) – was established at some stage during the Crusader era and served the diocese of Palaestrina III, the Transjordan area, and traditionally included St Catharine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, although Crusader military protection rarely extended deep into Sinai. Despite the dwindling number of Christians in the Petra region, appointing Archbishops of Petra lingered into the 20th century.

Hierarkia ya Patriarchate ya Kilatini ya Yerusalemu na wapiganaji wa msalaba wa Kifaransa wa tabaka la juu, waliotaka kuunda koloni la Wazungu linalozungumza Kilatini katika Ardhi Takatifu, hawakuweza kuzuia mabadiliko, ndani ya kizazi kimoja hivi, ya mitazamo ya walowezi wengi wa kawaida wa Kilatini huko Palestina. Baadhi ya wapiganaji wa msalaba wa Kilatini waliokuwa wa kidini walikuwa na wasiwasi mkubwa kwamba walowezi wengi wa kawaida wa Ulaya walijiingiza kwa vitendo katika maisha ya wenyeji huko Palestina, wakichukua mitindo ya 'Mashariki' na desturi za huko. Fulcher wa Chartres, padri aliyeshiriki Vita vya Msalaba vya Kwanza (ambavyo baadaye aliandika historia yake), kisha akahudumu Patriarchate ya Kilatini ya Yerusalemu na kufanya kazi kama kasisi wa Baldwin, Mfalme wa Kilatini wa Yerusalemu, hadi mwaka 1118, aliandika mwezi Julai 1124:

The hierarchy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and high-minded elite Frankish crusaders in Palestine, who sought to create a European Latin-speaking colony in the Holy Land, could not prevent the transformation, within a generation or so, of the outlook of many ordinary Latin settlers in Palestine. Some churchy Latin crusaders were deeply concerned that many ordinary European colonists practically went native in Palestine, adopting ‘Oriental’ styles and local customs. Fulcher of Chartres, a priest who participated in the First Crusade (of which he later wrote a chronicle), then served the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and acted as chaplain to Baldwin, the Latin King of Jerusalem, until 1118, wrote in July 1124:

Kwa maana sisi tuliokuwa Wazungu sasa tumegeuzwa kuwa Waarabu wa Mashariki. Yeye aliyekuwa Mroma au Mfaransa sasa ni Mgalilaya, au mkazi wa Palestina. Mtu aliyekuwa raia wa Rheims au wa Chartres sasa amefanywa raia wa Tiro au wa Antiokia. Tumeshasahau mahali pa kuzaliwa kwetu; tayari vimekuwa visivyojulikana kwa wengi wetu, au angalau havitajwi. Baadhi yetu tayari wanamiliki hapa nyumba na watumishi walizozipokea kwa urithi. Baadhi wamechukua wake si tu kutoka watu wao wenyewe, bali Wasiria, au Waarmenia, au hata Wasaracen [Waarabu Waislamu] ambao wamepokea neema ya ubatizo ... Mmoja analima mizabibu, mwingine mashamba. … Lugha tofauti, sasa zimekuwa za pamoja, zinajulikana kwa jamii zote mbili.

For we who were Occidentals now have been made Orientals. He who was a Roman or a Frank is now a Galilean, or an inhabitant of Palestine. One who was a citizen of Rheims or of Chartres now has been made a citizen of Tyre or of Antioch. We have already forgotten the places of our birth; already they have become unknown to many of us, or, at least, are unmentioned. Some already possess here homes and servants which they have received through inheritance. Some have taken wives not merely of their own people, but Syrians, or Armenians, or even Saracens [Muslim Arabs] who have received the grace of baptism ... One cultivates vines, the other the fields. … Different languages, now made common, become known to both races. (Cited in Heng 2015: 359; also Folda 2001)

Mabadiliko haya ya haraka ya Wakristo wa Ulaya wa kawaida kuwa kama Waarabu na kujifananisha na wenyeji hayapaswi kumshangaza mtu yeyote; baada ya yote, kiwango cha maendeleo ya kijamii, kitamaduni na kiteknolojia huko Palestina na Mashariki ya Karibu chini ya utawala wa Uislamu kilikuwa cha juu zaidi kuliko kile cha Ulaya. Hata hivyo, kufikia miaka ya 1120, mji wa Nazareti huko Galilaya, chini ya ushawishi wa walowezi wa Kifaranki waliosoma, ulikuwa umekuwa kituo muhimu cha elimu, na ulitajwa kama ‘jumuiya maarufu ya kidini’ katika hati ya kipapa ya mwaka 1145 (Riley-Smith 2005: 75): Mji huo ulitoa riziki kwa baadhi ya watu wa fasihi, akiwemo Rorgo Fretellus wa Nazareti na Gerard wa Nazareti; maktaba yake, ambayo orodha yake imehifadhiwa, ilikuwa na mfanano na shule za Ulaya. Ingawa walowezi wa Kilatini huko Palestina na Levant bado walitazama Ulaya kwa elimu na utamaduni, leo Palestina na Levant zinachukuliwa kuwa zilikuwa njia ya kupeleka elimu ya Kiarabu Ulaya (Riley-Smith 2005: 75). Katika miaka ya 1130, shemasi mkuu mmoja wa Kifaranki, Rorgo Fretellus wa Nazareti (Fetellus), aliyehamia Palestina, aliandika kitabu cha mwongozo kilichotumiwa na mahujaji na wasomi. Katika maelezo yake ya Palestina ya Kilatini, alizungumzia Provincia Palaestina: ‘Mji wa Yerusalemu upo katika nchi ya milima ya Yudea, katika mkoa wa Palestina’ (Fetellus 1892). Jonathan Riley-Smith ameashiria ‘kuendelea kuwepo kwa utawala wa Kiislamu katika Palestina ya Kilatini’ (1977), na kwa uwezekano mkubwa Fretellus wa Nazareti alikuwa akichanganya jiografia ya Maandiko na mkoa halisi wa Kiarabu wa Kiislamu wa Filastin kabla ya Vita vya Msalaba vya Kilatini.

This rapid ‘Orientalisation’ and ‘indigenisation’ of many ordinary European Crusaders should surprise no one; after all, the levels of social, cultural and technical development in Palestine and the Near East at the time under Islam were superior to those in Europe. However, by the 1120s, Nazareth in Galilee, under the impact of educated Frankish settlers, had become a scholarly centre of some importance and was referred to as a ‘famous religious community’ in a papal document of 1145 (Riley-Smith 2005: 75): The city provided a living to some literary figures including Rorgo Fretellus of Nazareth and Gerard of Nazareth; its library, the catalogue of which survives, had similarities with European schools. Although Latin settlers in Palestine and the Levant still looked towards Europe for learning and culture, today Palestine and the Levant are considered to have been a channel for the transmission of Arabic learning to Europe (Riley- Smith 2005: 75). In the 1130s, a Frankish archdeacon, Rorgo Fretellus of Nazareth (Fetellus), who had moved to Palestine, wrote a guidebook that was used by pilgrims and scholars. He spoke of Provincia Palaestina in his descriptions of Latin Palestine: ‘The city of Jerusalem is situated in the hillcountry of Judea, in the province of Palestine’ (Fetellus 1892). Jonathan Riley-Smit has pointed to the ‘survival in Latin Palestine of the Muslim administration’ (1977), and in all probability Fretellus of Nazareth was conflating scriptural geography with the actual Arab Islamic province of Filastin prior to the Latin Crusades.

Kwa ujumla, baada ya kuanzishwa kwa Ufalme wa Kilatini wa Yerusalemu, nguvu na uhuru wa kidini wa kanisa la Othodoksi la Palestina wenyeji ulipunguzwa kwa kiasi kikubwa, na viti viwili vya Kaisaria Maritima na Yerusalemu vilibadilishwa kuwa askofu mkuu wa Kifaransa, chini ya Patriaki wa Kilatini wa Yerusalemu. Mawaziri wa Vita vya Msalaba pia walinyang'anya mali na kuchukua nyadhifa muhimu za kikanisa ambazo kwa jadi zilishikiliwa na makasisi wa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Kigiriki huko Palestina (Ellenblum 2003: 505). Sera hii ilidhoofisha zaidi nafasi ya makasisi wa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Kigiriki machoni pa Wakristo Waarabu wenye Othodoksi wengi wa Palestina. Mwanzoni mwa karne ya 13, baada ya Wakristo wa Kilatini wa Vita vya Msalaba kushindwa na Waayyubi, mji wa Kiarabu wa Palestina wa Qaysariah (Kaisaria-Palestina)

Overall, following the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem the power and religious independence of the local Palestine Orthodox church were reduced sharply and the two Sees of Caesarea Maritima and Jerusalem were transformed into a Frankish archdiocese, subordinate to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Crusaders also confiscated properties and seized key ecclesiastical positions traditionally held by the Greek Orthodox clergy in Palestine (Ellenblum 2003: 505). This policy undermined further the position of the Greek Orthodox clergy in the eyes of the predominantly Orthodox Arab Christians of Palestine. In the early 13th century, following the defeat of the Latin Crusaders by the Ayyubids, the Palestinian Arab town of Qaysariah (Caesarea-Palaestina)

bado ilielezwa na wanajiografia wa Kiarabu kuwa mji mkuu muhimu katika Filastin (Le Strange 2014: 29). Hata hivyo, katika kipindi baada ya Vita vya Msalaba, Qaysariah pamoja na maaskofu wakuu wake wa mji mkuu na wasomi wake waliokuwa mashuhuri na wenye nguvu awali, hawakurejesha tena nafasi yao yenye ushawishi baada ya kuharibiwa kwa Ufalme wa kwanza wa Kilatini na Salah al-Din (Saladin) mwaka 1187, na hatimaye kuondolewa kwa utawala wa Wafaransa wa miaka 200 huko Palestina na Wamamluk mwishoni mwa karne ya 13. Ingawa leo Askofu Mkuu wa Kaisaria-Palaestina, aliyekuwa na nguvu awali, ni wa kiishara zaidi, kumbukumbu ya kijamii na historia ya kuvutia ya Kaisaria-Palaestina bado inakumbukwa na Wakristo wa Kipalestina, na Metropolitan wa Kaisaria wa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Mashariki anawakilishwa na Exarch wa Palaestina Prima, chini ya mamlaka ya Patriarkia ya Othodoksi ya Mashariki ya Yerusalemu.

was still being described by Arab geographers as a key town in Filastin (Le Strange 2014: 29). In the post-Crusader period, however, Qaysariah and its formerly renowned and powerful metropolitan bishops and scholars never recovered their influential position after the destruction of the first Latin Kingdom by Salah al-Din (Saladin) in 1187 and the eventual elimination of the 200-year Frankish rule from Palestine by the Mamluks in the late 13th century, Although today the formerly powerful Archiepiscopal See of Caesarea-Palaestina is largely symbolic, the social memory and spectacular history of Caesarea-Palaestina are remembered by the Palestinian Christians, and the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Caesarea is represented by an Exarch of Palaestina Prima, under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Mahusiano ya kihistoria kati ya Waarabu Waislamu na Wakristo huko Jerusalem yanaweza kufuatiliwa hadi enzi za Uislamu wa mwanzo. Baada ya Wakristo wa Ulaya, Wanajeshi wa Msalaba wa Kilatini, kuondolewa mjini humo, mila za pamoja za kuishi pamoja kwa amani kati ya Waarabu Waislamu na Wakristo wenyeji wa Jerusalem zilifufuliwa tena. Kwa ishara hiyo, funguo za Kanisa la Kaburi Takatifu zilikabidhiwa kwa familia mbili za kiungwana za Kipalestina za Kiislamu mjini humo, familia ya Nuseibeh na familia ya Judeh al-Ghoudia. Mila hii ya sherehe baada ya enzi za Wanajeshi wa Msalaba, iliyoanzishwa na Salah al-Din muda mfupi kabla ya kifo chake mwaka 1193, iliongeza safu nyingine yenye heshima kubwa ya desturi za kila siku juu ya utakatifu wa zamani wenye tabaka nyingi wa mahali hapo. Leo hii magofu ya maeneo ya Wanajeshi wa Msalaba (makanisa, nyumba za wageni na ngome) yanaonekana kote Palestina ya kihistoria, na michoro iliyoachwa na Wanajeshi wa Msalaba bado inaweza kuonekana katika Kanisa la Kaburi Takatifu huko Jerusalem.

The local Arab Muslim‒Christian bonds in Jerusalem can be traced to early Islam. Following the elimination of the European Latin Crusaders from the city, indigenous Arab Muslim‒Christian shared traditions of convivencia in Jerusalem were re-cultivated; symbolically, the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were entrusted to two aristocratic Palestinian Muslim families in the city, the Nuseibeh and Judeh al-Ghoudia. Created by Salah al-Din shortly before his death in 1193, this post-Crusader ceremonial tradition added another widely respected layer of daily rituals to the multi-layered ancient sacredness of the site. Today the ruins of Crusader sites (churches, hostels and castles) are visible throughout historic Palestine and graffiti left by Crusaders can still be seen in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.