In 1095, Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim rule.^[141] This crusade, beginning in the same year, led to the successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099 and the conquest of other key locations like Beit She'an and Tiberias. The Crusaders also captured several coastal cities with the aid of Italian fleets, establishing crucial strongholds in the region.^[142]

The First Crusade resulted in the formation of Crusader states in the Levant, with the Kingdom of Jerusalem being the most prominent. These states were mainly populated by Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Samaritans, with the Crusaders as a minority reliant on the local population for agriculture. Despite building many castles and fortresses, the Crusaders failed to establish permanent European settlements.^[142]

Conflict escalated around 1180 when Raynald of Châtillon, ruler of Transjordan, provoked the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin. This led to the Crusaders' defeat at the 1187 Battle of Hattin, and Saladin's subsequent peaceful capture of Jerusalem and most of the former Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Third Crusade in 1190, a response to the loss of Jerusalem, ended with the 1192 Treaty of Jaffa. Richard the Lionheart and Saladin agreed to allow Christians to pilgrimage to holy sites, while Jerusalem remained under Muslim control.^[143] In 1229, during the Sixth Crusade, Jerusalem was peacefully handed over to Christian control through a treaty between Frederick II and Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil.^[144] However, in 1244, Jerusalem was devastated by the Khwarezmian Tatars, who significantly harmed the city's Christian and Jewish populations.^[145] The Khwarezmians were expelled by the Ayyubids in 1247.