THE CRUSADES

Keywords

•Crusade - a war fought for a religious cause; also called a Holy War or War of the Cross.•Holy Land - modern day Jerusalem

Why is Jerusalem so important?Why is Jerusalem so important?

• There has been conflict and violence in the Holy Land for a long time.

• It is an important religious place for three different religions; Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

• Islam – Jerusalem is the home of a very important mosque (a Muslim place of worship). It is where the founder of the faith, the Prophet Muhammad stayed. Muslims believe in the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad and read the Koran.

• Christianity – The hill of Calvary in Jerusalem was the place where Jesus Christ died. From the fourth century, Christian pilgrims from all over the world came to visit Jerusalem. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and read the bible.

• Judaism – In AD 70, the Romans destroyed the most important temple of the Jewish faith that had been built by King David. But Jerusalem is still one of the holiest cities for Jewish people. Jewish people believe in one God and read the Tenakh.

WHAT WERE THE CRUSADES?

THE CRUSADES WERE MILITARY EXPEDITIONS, ORGANISED BY THE POPE AND EUROPEAN KINGS, TO TAKE THE HOLY LAND FROM THE MUSLIMS

HOWEVER, THERE WERE ALSO ECONOMIC REASONS BECAUSE EUROPEAN KINGS WANTED TO CONTROL THE TRADE ROUTES OF THE ORIENT. SO CRUSADES WERE NOT ONLY A RELIGIOUS WAR, BUT ALSO AN ECONOMIC WAR

THERE WERE EIGHT OFFICIAL CRUSADES TO TAKE THE HOLY LAND FROM 1096 TO 1396.

REASONS FOR THE CHRISTIAN WARRIORS

To obey the Pope's call.

To be forgiven for past sins

To steal and kill. Kings encouraged violent knights to go on Crusade because it got them out of the country

To see the world, have an adventure and prove their bravery

To get land overseas. This was tempting for a younger son who would not inherit his father's lands

Serfs joined the Crusades because the Pope promised them their freedom if they went.

When the Byzantine emperor Alexius called for help to defend his empire against the Turks in 1095, Pope Urban II asked all Christians to join a war against the Turks.

The Pope told the Christians that fighting the war would repay God for their sins. Besides, if they died on a crusade they would go straight to heaven

Armies from France and Germany marched to Jerusalem, attacking several cities on their way. In 1099 they won the battle for Jerusalem and killed many Turks

As a result of the First Crusade, several small Christian kingdoms were created in Holy Land. One was named the Kingdom of Jerusalem

FIRST CRUSADE (1096-1099)

SECOND CRUSADE (1147-1149)

King Louis VII of France invaded the Holy Land with the help of German warriors and the Byzantine Empire. However, Christians were defeated at Damascus.

THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1191)

In 1187, the Muslim ruler Saladin had recaptured Jerusalem.Richard I of England, Phillip II of France and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany made a deal with the pope in order to retake the city.First, they captured the port of Acre. Then, they wanted to capture Jerusalem but they failed.

FOURTH CRUSADE (1202-1204)

The Pope wanted to unite western and eastern Christians under his authority. At the beginning, the Pope said that it was a new crusade to retake Jerusalem, but he wanted to unite western and eastern Christians under his authority. With the help of Venice and France, the Pope captured Constantinople in 1204. Christians fought Christians and Jerusalem remained as Muslim.The Crusader kingdom of Constantinople only survived 50 years. Then, Byzantines retake their capital.

THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE (1212)

It was not an official crusade.An army of young people set off on Crusade from Marseille, but they were kidnapped and sold as slaves

THE FIFTH, THE SIXTH AND THE SEVENTH CRUSADES (1217-1250)

All those crusades failed. Christians could retake Jerusalem for a short period of time during the Fifth Crusade, but after that the city was not Christian anymore

THE LAST CRUSADE (1396)

French and Hungarians, almost 150 years after the Seventh Crusade, wanted to conquer the city of Jerusalem again. However, they were massacred in battle of Nicopolis. Christians left all their possessions in the Holy Land

More Crusades• Over the next 70 years, there were several other

crusade attempts, but they were motivated more by personal gain than by religious purpose.

• None succeeded. • By 1291, 200 years after the first crusade, European

leaders lost interest. • Christian Crusaders never admitted defeat. They just

simply stopped asking for new soldiers to go fight.

The Crusades to take back Europe?

• Instead of sending more Crusaders to the Holy Land, the Christians decided to clean up Europe.

• In Spain, the Moors (Muslims from North Africa) who had controlled much of the country were driven out during the Reconquista. A long effort to take back the country of Spain.

The Spanish Inquisition

• The Spanish also instituted the Inquisition, which was a court held by the Church to suppress heretics.

• Heretics are people’s who beliefs differ from the Church’s teachings.

• Heretics would be questioned for weeks and even put through painful torture.

• Once the person confessed, they were often burned at the stake.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRUSADES1. Western Europeans learnt new military techniques (better castles and gunpowder) and many things about the Muslim science and culture.

2. They brought from the Holy Land new products such as sugar, silk, lemons, cotton...

3. The trade routes with the Far East were closed for the Western Europeans. As a result, they had to think about new routes and the Castilians could discover America in 1492

4. Without the support of the Crusaders, the Byzantine Empire declined and it fell in 1453

RESULTS OF CRUSADE• 1. Stimulated Trade • a. Towns grew on size and importance

b. New products plus greater mobility• 2. Strengthened the Kings or Centralized Power • a. While kings and their knights were away fighting their

territory was confiscated or conquered by a few left behind consolidating the territory under a few kings instead of many.

• 3. Weakened Serfdom • a. Serfs gained their freedom on the crusades and while their

masters were away or killed moved into the manor or to the new towns b. New town laws changed the base of power from the nobles to the leaders of the town

• 4. Encouraged learning.

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