1 Ch. 14 The High Midddle Ages Sec. 1: The Crusades

2 Causes of the Crusades During the late 1000s, the Seljuq Turks, a Muslim people from central Asia, gained control of Palestine Christian pilgrims from Palestine, their “Holy Land”, reported being persecuted

3 The Turks attacked Asia Minor & threatened Constantinople The Byzantine emperor called on Pope Urban II for help

4 Urban called together European feudal lords He asked them to join together to win back the Holy Land Thus began the Crusades, a series of military expeditions by Christians to seize Palestine from the Muslims

5 Some 10,000 Europeans took up the cause They sewed crosses on their clothes & were called crusaders Some crusaders went to save their souls; others, for adventure & wealth

6 The First Crusade (1096 to 1099) In the First Crusade, French & Italian lords led armies from Europe to Palestine After vicious battles, the crusaders captured Jerusalem & slaughtered its Muslim & Jewish residents

7 The crusaders brought much of Palestine under European control introducing European customs & institutions such as feudalism, subdividing the land into fiefs w/ lords & vassals Italian ships set up trade w/ Europe Christians & Muslims who lived together gained more respect for each other

8 The Second Crusade(1147 to 1149) After about a century, the Turks began winning back their land In 1147 the Second Crusade began, led by Louis VII of France & Conrad III of Germany Their combined forces failed to recapture Damascus & they returned to Europe in disgrace

9 The Third Crusade (1189 to 1192) In ll87 the Muslim leader Saladin gained control of Jerusalem

10 Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire, King Philip II of France, & King Richard I of England led the Third Crusade Barbarossa drowned, & his army turned back Philip & Richard quarreled, & Philip took his army home Richard could not capture Jerusalem; he settled for a truce allowing Christians to enter Jerusalem

11 The Fourth Crusade (1202 to 1204) For the Fourth Crusade, Pope Innocent III sent French knights on ships provided by the city-state of Venice Along the way, they attacked Zadar, a trade rival of Venice Then they looted Constantinople & stole many items that were holy to Byzantine Christians The Venetians gained control of Byzantine trade

12 Other Crusades In 1212 in the short-lived Children’s Crusade, young people from across Europe marched on the Holy Land They lacked training, equipment, & supplies, plus they became a hungry, disorganized mob The pope sent some home & others were tricked onto ships that sold them into slavery (thousands were lost)

13 Results of the Crusades The Crusades continued until 1291, when the Muslims captured the last Christian stronghold in Palestine All the Crusades except the first failed in seizing Palestine from the Turks Still, they had important effects on Europe

14 First, the Crusades changed Europe by introducing new methods & weapons of war, such as the deadly crossbow & use of the catapult Second, many lords died or lost lands fighting the Crusades & since there were fewer lords, the kings grew stronger The Christian church also became more powerful, & the popes took on more importance

15 Third, the crusaders returned w/ new ideas to enrich European culture, & trade increased between Europe & S.W. Asia