The Crusades

The Crusades

Crusaders Invade the Holy Land

• The Crusades were a series of wars between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia, fought over Palestine.
• Palestine, known to Europeans as the Holy Land, was significant as the region where Jesus lived, preached, and died.

Causes of the Crusades

• The Holy Land had been under Muslim rule for many years.
• In the late 1000s, the Seljuk Turks gained control.
• Christian pilgrims reported attacks by the Seljuk Turks, hindering pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
• The Seljuk Turks also raided the Byzantine Empire.
• The Byzantine emperor requested assistance from Pope Urban II of the Roman Catholic Church for protection against potential attacks on Constantinople.
• Pope Urban II agreed to call on Christians to fight the Turks, despite the Byzantines being Orthodox Christians rather than Catholic.

The First Crusade

• In 1096, peasants were among the first to respond to Pope Urban II’s call to arms, initiating what became known as the People’s Crusade.
• Approximately 5,000 peasants traveled on foot, and they attacked Jews along the way.
• The untrained and poorly equipped peasant crusaders were defeated by Turkish troops before reaching the Holy Land.
• The more formally organized crusaders consisting of nobles and knights reached Jerusalem in 1099 and captured the city.
• Following the capture of Jerusalem, the Europeans established four small kingdoms in the Holy Land.
• The rulers of these kingdoms implemented lord and vassal systems, and engaged in trade with Europe.

Later Crusades Fail

• The kingdoms established by the crusaders were short-lived. Muslims began reclaiming land within 50 years.
• In 1147, French and German kings launched the Second Crusade to retake land from the Muslims.
• Due to poor planning and significant losses during the journey, the Second Crusade resulted in a total defeat for the Christians.
• The Third Crusade was initiated after the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem in 1189.
• The rulers of England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire led their armies to fight for Jerusalem; however, the German king died, and the French king departed.
• King Richard I of England was the only king to remain in the Holy Land.
• King Richard’s main opponent in the Third Crusade was Saladin, the leader of the Muslim forces.
• Saladin was respected by crusaders for his kindness and bravery, and King Richard was regarded as an honorable opponent by the Muslim forces.
• Richard captured some towns and secured protection for Christian pilgrims, but ultimately returned home with Jerusalem still under Muslim control.
• In 1201, French knights arrived in Venice, ready to sail to the Holy Land for the Fourth Crusade.
• Lacking funds to pay for the voyage, the knights agreed to conquer Zara, a rival trade city, for the Venetians.
• The knights later attacked and caused destruction to Constantinople, the Christian city the crusades had originally been launched to protect.
• Other minor crusades followed, but they were unsuccessful, and by 1291, Muslim armies had regained control of all of the Holy Land.