The Crusades

Background Crusades = military expeditions sent by the pope to capture the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. The empire of the Turks included Palestine, the land where Jesus was born.

Causes Muslim Turks captured Jerusalem & neighboring lands from the Byzantine Empire. –Before this happened, the Byzantine emperor allowed pilgrims from Western Europe to freely visit the Holy Land –After Jerusalem fell, the Muslim Turks prevented the Christians from going to the Holy Land

Pope Urban II called a meeting of church men & feudal lords in –pope called upon the knights of Europe to defeat the Turks –saw the Crusades as a way to get feudal lords to fight together against a common enemy, instead of fighting each other –thought military expeditions under his direction would increase the power and influence of the Catholic Church.

Feudal lords had several reasons for going to the Holy Land: –believed it was their religious duty to support the wishes of the pope. –hoped to gain land & wealth by defeating the Turks. –Some went for adventure & the chance to become heroes.

Merchants, especially those from the Italian port cities of Venice & Genoa, backed the plan of the Crusaders: –provided ships for crossing the Mediterranean Sea –believed expeditions to the Near East would lead to an increase in trade with that part of the world

Major Events First Crusade ( ) –Preachers, such as Peter the Hermit, traveled through the countryside convincing thousands of peasants to leave for the Holy Land –peasants were eager to go because while on a Crusade, they were exempt from taxes & they thought they’d escape their work hardships

lacked training & proper military equipment Some starved to death, while many others were killed by the Muslim Turks never reached Jerusalem, but a later expedition of knights reached the Holy Land & captured Jerusalem *NOTE: this is the only Crusade to attain its goal (created Kingdom of Jerusalem & other Crusader States, but conquests wouldn’t last)

Second Crusade ( ): –After their victory in the 1 st Crusade, most Christians returned to Europe & the Turks won back some of their lost territory –King of France (Louis VII) & the Emperor of Germany (Conrad III) led armies to the Near East, but were defeated separately

Third Crusade ( ) –Began when Jerusalem once again fell into Turkish hands –Led by Richard the Lion-Hearted, King of England, the Crusaders convinced the Turks to let Christian pilgrims freely visit Jerusalem

Other Crusades –Several more expeditions organized during the 1200s, but each met with little success –Children’s Crusade Two armies of children (from France & Germany) “soldiers” = boys & girls under the age of 12 total of 30,000 young Crusaders were led by a boy named Stephen who believed God guided him met disaster as many died of starvation, cold weather, exhaustion, & drowning None of the boys & girls reached the Holy Land, and few ever returned home safely

Results of the Crusades Holy Land remained in Turkish hands Europeans learned how to build better ships & draw better maps (contributed to the success of New World explorers in the 1500s+) Trade increased to the Near East –Europeans got a taste for fruit, spices, silk, cotton, perfume, sugar, mirrors, & dyes –Venice & Genoa grew wealthy by controlling Mediterranean trade routes to the East Power of feudal lords declined after many lords were killed in battle & others spent all their money on military supplies & equipment