The Crusades

1st Crusade 1095-1102 CE Began because Seljuk Turks took control of the Holy Land- Prior to the Turks, Christians were allowed to pilgrimage/visit Jerusalem Pope Urban II (Roman Catholic) asked Byzantine Emperor Alixios I Komnenos (Orthodox Christian) for help Pope Urban II hoped to reunify the Church under his reign Pope told crusaders their sins would be forgotten for fighting for Christendom

1st Crusade Pope Urban’s crusaders left Europe for Jerusalem to met with the “People’s Crusade” leaving from France They were ambushed and wiped out by the Seljuks Urban’s army reached Jerusalem as the same time a timber shipment did They broke through the city wall and were able to take back the city Pope Urban II died July 29, 1099- never knowing his victory

3rd Crusade 1187-1192 Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, recaptured the city of Jerusalem from the Christians A third Crusade was launched led by Emperor Barbarossa of Germany, King Philip Augustus of France, and King Richard the Lionheart of England. Richard the Lionheart fought Saladin for several years In the end he could not conquer Jerusalem, but he did win the right for pilgrims to visit the holy city once again.

4th Crusade 1202-1204 CE Called by Pope Innocent III to retake Jerusalem- currently Muslim territory Planned to leave from Venice to Egypt Venetians wanted their ships paid for Crusaders agreed to recapture Zara for them in return for use of the ships Pope excommunicated the Crusaders and the Venetians Historians debate why Crusaders turned to Constantinople on their way to Jerusalem Put a new king on the throne Help the Pope gain the territory Running out of money They overestimated the Byzantines

4th Crusade Byzantines put up a hard fight, but eventually the Crusaders broke through They pillage, raped, and destroyed the Byzantines One group of crusaders did make it to Jerusalem to fulfill original purpose in April of 1203 Too few knights to truly fight, they helped some Latin states throw off the Muslim domination of their region

Bubonic Plague Black Death

1 in 3 Europeans died Caused economic chaos Workforce was dying or would not come to work- ones that did come to work wanted to be compensated greatly Crusades caused the plague to spread drastically

Ring around the Rosie Pockets full of Posey Ashes to Ashes We all fall down