Catharism spread from the Byzantine empire into southern France and northern Italy.
"The idea of two Gods, one being good and the other evil, was central to Cathar beliefs. The good God was the God of the New Testiment and the creator of the spiritual realm, contrasted with the evil Old Testiment God—the creator of the physical world whom many Cathars, and particularly their persecutors, identified as Satan. From the beginning of his reign, Pope Innocent III attempted to end Catharism by sending missionaries and by persuading the local authorities to act against them. However, in 1208 Innocent's papal representative was murdered while returning to Rome after excommunicating Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, who, in his view, was too lenient with the Cathars. Pope Innocent III then abandoned the option of sending Catholic missionaries and launched the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathers."
Between this crusade and the later Inquisition, the Cathars were systematically murdered, burned at the stake, and Catharism destroyed. Below are the remains of their mountain strongholds and fortresses.
Roquefixade
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