THE CRUSADES Mr. Blais European Middle Ages What is a Crusade? How many Crusades were there? What were the Crusades fought over? Why did they start?

Causes of the Crusades Around 1050 A.D. the Seljuk Turks invaded the Byzantine Empire. The Turks had converted to Islam and had taken almost all Byzantine lands in Asia Minor as well as the Holy Land (Jerusalem). This would force the emperor of the Byzantine Empire to ask the Pope in Rome for military assistance

Goals of the Crusades Religious Goal: Recapture the holy land Military Goal: Stop Muslim attacks on the Byzantine Empire Political Goal: Kings and the Church saw the Crusades as a way for the knights of Europe to fight together instead of against one another. Personal Goal: Young men saw the Crusades as a way to gain wealth and a better position in society.

The First Crusade In early 1097 an army of 50, ,000 knights and people of all classes gathered outside Constantinople. The Crusaders were ill prepared and knew very little if anything about the climate, geography, or culture of the holy land. After over 2 years and thousands of miles the Crusader army of only 12,000 besieged Jerusalem for a month and captured it on July 15, 1099.

The Feeble Second Crusade By 1144 the city of Edessa was taken by the Turks and the Second Crusade was launched to retake the city. This Crusade was led by the King of France and the King of Germany and both of their armies were separately defeated by the Turks. The Crusade was an utter disaster.

The Third Crusade In 1187 (only 88 years after its capture) Jerusalem fell to Muslim forces led by a skilled military commander named Saladin (Salah al- Din). Richard the Lion-Hearted (King of England) was also a skilled warrior and led the Christian forces on the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem. After many battles the two commanders settled on a truce in The Muslims kept control of Jerusalem but would allow unarmed Christians to pilgrimage to the city.

Richard and Saladin Richard was noted for his courage, charm, grace, and his utter ruthlessness. After his capture of the city Acre he slaughtered some 3,000 men, women, and children. Saladin was, and still is, one of the most famous Muslim leaders. He was a devout, honest, and brave man. His most renowned act was sparing the lives of all Christians in Jerusalem once he captured it.

Effects of the Crusades Trade: Merchants who lived in the Early Crusader states expanded trade as far as southeast Asia benefitting all in Europe. Society: For those who remained home, especially women, the Crusades gave them the opportunity to manage affairs on the estate or operate shops and inns on their own. The Church: With the failure of almost all the Crusades the Church’s power in Europe began to decline. Politics: With Church Power declining and many powerful nobles now dead or displaced Kings and Monarchs began to consolidate power and began to create more centralized governments. Religion: The intolerance between Christian and Muslims that began during the Crusades created long lasting bitterness and hatred between the two religions. Exploration: This new knowledge of a world beyond Europe would drive later Europeans to trade with far away regions like China.

The Reconquista This was a long draw out effort by the European Christians to drive the Muslim forces out of Spain and Portugal. By 1400, Muslims only held onto the Kingdom of Granada. Then when the two powerful monarchs of Spain (Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile) married they were able to force the Muslims out for good in

The Spanish Inquisition In order to increase the power of Christianity in Spain, Queen Isabella and the Church established the Inquisition in order to suppress and eliminate any heretics in Spain. Heretics were people who had any beliefs that differed from the Church. People suspected of heresy could be questioned and tortured for weeks and then once they confessed they were burned at the stake. Hundreds of thousands were burnt at the stake and at least 150,000 left the country.