THE CRUSADES Pt2

Why did Christians go to Jerusalem during the Middle Ages? The city of Jerusalem was considered to be a holy city by Jews, Christians, and Muslims

Arab Muslims took control of Jerusalem in the 600s, but tolerated Jews and Christians in the city, so there were no problems

This changed in 1095, when Seljuk Turks (who were also Muslims) took control of Jerusalem and banned religious practices of Jews and Christians in the city

The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I, leader of the Eastern Church, asked the Pope, leader of the Western Church, for help against the Muslims in opening up the “Holy Land” The Byzantine emperor also had more personal reasons: the Muslims were invading his empire, and he needed help

Pope Urban II issued a call to Christians everywhere for a Crusade (a holy war) against the Muslims to regain control of the Holy Land in Jerusalem The Pope promised that anyone who fought in the Crusade would have all of his sins forgiven

Over the next 300 years, Christians fought Muslim armies in a total of nine different Crusades

Why did Christians go on the Crusades? Others who participated in the Crusades were younger sons who, unlike eldest sons, did not stand to inherit their father’s property. They were looking for land and a position in society, or for adventure. In the later Crusades, merchants profited by making cash loans to finance the journey. They also leased their ships for a hefty fee to transport armies over the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the merchants of Pisa, Genoa, and Venice hoped to win control of key trade routes to India, Southeast Asia, and China from Muslim traders.

There were other less-than-holy reasons for the Crusades Pope Urban II not only wanted to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims, he wanted to unite the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians under his leadership

There were other less-than-holy reasons for the Crusades Knights wanted to support the Church, but also saw the Crusades as opportunities to gain land, wealth, and power for themselves

There were other less-than-holy reasons for the Crusades Merchants, traders, and businessmen of Europe wanted control of trade routes into Asia, which were controlled by the Muslims To sum it up, there were many reasons for the Crusades: a mix of purely spiritual reasons as well as selfish desires for land, power, and wealth on the part of peasants, knights, popes, and merchants

Christian soldiers took back Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade

The Christian armies set up several Crusader kingdoms in former Muslim territories, protected by military organizations such as the Templar Knights

The Muslims took back Jerusalem, then kept it during the Second and Third Crusades

The Muslim sultan known as Saladin fought back against the Christian invaders Saladin annihilated the Christian armies in a battle in 1187, but allowed no massacres of prisoners or civilians

He was a Muslim hero and was regarded by Europeans as an honorable foe Although Saladin could not permanently rid the Holy Land of the Crusaders, he paved the way for future Muslim leaders to do it

Both sides committed terrible atrocities on the other over the course of the Crusades One knight, Godfrey of Bouillon, was the first ruler of Jerusalem after the First Crusade Godfrey ordered the brutal slaughter of every Jewish and Muslim man, woman, and child to “purify” the Holy Land

An eyewitness wrote: “Our feet were colored to the ankles with the blood of the slain.”

The Fourth Crusade never even made it to the Holy Land Motivated by greed, the Crusaders attacked their fellow Christians and looted Constantinople, the Byzantine capital city

The last Europeans left Muslim territory in the 1290s More Crusades were fought (nine overall), but the Christians never could permanently regain the “Holy Land” The last Europeans left Muslim territory in the 1290s The Crusades created bitterness and hatred between Christians and Muslims that remains today

Effects of the Crusades The Crusades brought cultural diffusion and introduced new ideas into Western Europe They increased desires for luxury goods like silk, cotton, sugar, and spices They introduced technologies like compass, astrolabe, ship designs, and gunpowder They introduced ideas like Arabic numbers, chemistry, algebra, and telescopes

During the Middle Ages, only priests could read and write Greek ideas During the Middle Ages, only priests could read and write After the Crusades, learning in Europe increased and more people were educated Ideas about the Bible Chinese ideas Roman ideas Islamic ideas

High Middle Ages—Crusades Medieval fairs brought products like iron and salt to the feudal manors

After the Crusades, people wanted more luxury goods (especially from Asia) and began to trade

Trade led to the growth of cities

Effects of the Crusades The failures of the Crusades decreased the power of the Church and Pope Kings increased their power and formed nations Lords and knights lost power as they sold lands to raise money to fight the Crusades

Conclusions The role of religion in the Middle Ages: The Roman Catholic Church played an important role in the lives of Europeans both before and after the Middle Ages The Crusades failed to secure Jerusalem from the Islamic Empire, but these holy wars increased cultural diffusion and helped bring an end to the Middle Ages