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.