Europe and the Mediterranean in the 13th centuryWars and battles

Albigensian Crusade

A war proclaimed by Pope Innocent III, in which knights from northern France fought the Cathars (“Albigensians”) and the counts of Toulouse who protected them; it ended with the subjection of Languedoc to the French crown.

Date: 1209–1229year known · duration: ≈ 20 years
Place: Languedocapproximate locationtoday: Occitania, France · Western and Central Europe
Participants: Pope Innocent III, Simon IV de Montfort, Kingdom of France
Threads: Europe and the Mediterranean in the 13th century
Also known as: Крестовый поход против катаров

The pretext was the murder of the papal legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208. In 1209 the crusaders took Béziers and Carcassonne; Simon de Montfort became the military leader of the crusade and was killed in 1218 while besieging Toulouse. From 1226 the war was waged by the French king himself, and under the Treaty of Paris of 1229 the Count of Toulouse ceded most of his domains to the crown. Soon afterwards the Inquisition was set up to root out the heresy.

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Related events

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa16 July 1212 · Western and Central EuropeKing Peter II of Aragon, who fought at Las Navas, was killed a year later at Muret fighting Simon de Montfort’s crusaders
Fourth Council of the Lateran11–30 November 1215 · Western and Central EuropeThe council condemned the Cathars and handed the lands of the Count of Toulouse to Simon de Montfort