Controlling Outremer...

[Brutal DLX]

I often have a crusader state, usually I take Antioch, Jerusalem and Acre.. maybe Damascus too, depends. If you are not at war with everybody in europe, I found a full stack in every crusader city is enough (and economically affordable) to keep them from rebelling, you will need it anyway as you will probably get besieged every 3 or 4 turns. The only way these cities rebel on me is when the enemy is successful in sending a couple of spies in who stay for more than just one round.
As France I had an additional all cav crusader army composed of mainly Knights Templar and horse archers that patrolled my borders and served as a quick response force. Was especially handy for ambushes on various Mongol and Timurid stacks: attack and then retreat and retrain in your castle.

[RickooClan]

I just take this city and gave it to the papal at the same turn!

[sapi]

Take city.

Sack.

Raze every building to the ground.

Give it to the papacy as a 'gift'.

Wait for it to revolt, rinse and repeat a few turns later.

[Cheetah]

Your options IMO:

1) Pull out everything, let them revolt, take back the city, exterminate.

2) Gift it to the Pope.

3) Be ready to sit out. Build everything especially walls. It will take some 20 turns though.

[RickooClan]

But after i gave it to the pope i still need to take a while to get my general back to my homeland [France]. Usually i will send my fleets to escort him back, since i always send my faction heir on crusade to gain chivalry and cant take the risk of losing him on the sea.

[Durallan]

In my denmark campaign my capital is either Frankfurt or Nuremburg depending on which one I like better or the time, because I own all the cities except one along the Baltic Sea its my prime money earner (Stockholm gives 9 k a turn :) )

Putting my capital here has enabled trade to flourish and I don't get a too heavy penalty on the middle eastern states I own. Although right now I can't really tell because I have full stack armies in Antioch Damascus and Baghdad because of the Timurids. However the Timurds recently seemed to decide that losing 4 full army stacks against Antioch was more than enough. thank goodness I can build war clerics just about anywhere, also have fortresses in acre and gaza. I tell you if the battles that happened at anticoch happened in RL, it would be an archaeologists paradise, and a landowners nightmare Also even though you may love your original capital city it is extremely wise to move it in the later years....

Even the POPE in my game has moved the capital from Rome to Florence! Rome has become 'just another big city' I've noticed alot of the AI's have changed their capitals, some of their own accord ( Pope never lost rome , in fact hes got a very powerful empire and is just about to wipe out the last of the Holy Roman Empire who foolishly attacked him. ) and some forced. But the economic benefits outwiegh the nostalgia of keeping London or any of the starting cities as the capital in your growing empire.

[Furious Mental]

Exterminate when you establish a Crusader state- always.

[Grifman]

But after i gave it to the pope i still need to take a while to get my general back to my homeland [France]. Usually i will send my fleets to escort him back, since i always send my faction heir on crusade to gain chivalry and cant take the risk of losing him on the sea.

Geez, if you're not going to keep the city, and don't want to take the time to get your general back, then the solution is simple - don't go on a crusade! You can't have everything in this world. Make your choices and then quit complaining about the results. Geez . . .

[Von Nanega]

I went on a crusade to the Holy Land. Got there, but the french had taken Antioch. I then marched my faction hier all the way back to England. Only rode a boat around Constantinople. That was one of the most enjoyable adventures I have ever had with a general. Bandit ambushes. Enemies attacking just cause I was marching through their lands. Couple of seiges just to sack for cash to pay for the mercenary army he had. He did not win a crusade but he became Prince Paul the Merciless all on the trip home. I will take that kind of game any day.

[Memnoch]

Your options IMO:

1) Pull out everything, let them revolt, take back the city, exterminate.

2) Gift it to the Pope.

3) Be ready to sit out. Build everything especially walls. It will take some 20 turns though.

If you do this, do you need to have a military access treaty with the pope as you will then be "sitting" on his lands?

Either that or have a fleet of ships and put your army there for the duration?