The Crusades
What is a crusade?
A crusade was a “Holy War”
between European Christians
and the Muslim Turks.
What were they fighting over?
• Three major religious groups all claimed
Jerusalem in the land of Palestine as their holy
city.
– To Christians, it was the place where Jesus was crucified
and ascended to heaven
– To Muslims, it was the place where Muhammad ascended
to heaven
– To Jews, it was the site of the ancient temple built by
Solomon
Jerusalem from 600 CE to1093
• In 600 CE, Arabs entered the city and took
control.
• The Arabs allowed Christian and Jewish
pilgrims to visit Jerusalem. In fact, Jews and
Christians could live in Palestine as long as
they paid their taxes like everyone else.
But…
• The Problem: Around 1095, a new group of
Arabs took control of Jerusalem. They closed
the city to Jewish and Christian pilgrims.
And…
• Began trying to invade the Byzantine empire
The Invaders
• In 1093, Byzantine Emperor
named Alexius Comnenus ask for
help against invaders
– THE INVADERS: The Muslim
Turks aka Ottoman Turks
• The Muslim Turks were trying to
take over the Byzantine capital of
CONSTANTINOPLE
Pope Urban II Responds
• Pope Urban II read the letter asking for help and
called for a “holy war” or CRUSADE
• He said those who fought and died in the
Crusades would be promised a spot in Heaven
with all sins forgiven
• And about 30,000 men took up his offer and left
western Europe to fight in Jerusalem
Why did they fight?
• For knights, this was a
chance to use their
fighting skills,
something they enjoyed
and did well. They were
delighted to have such a
worthy battle to fight.
Why did they fight?
• For peasants, this was a
chance to escape from their
dreary life in the feudal
system. The pope promised
that if they died while
fighting a holy crusade, they
would automatically be
welcomed into heaven.
Why did they fight?
For others, it was a chance
to have an adventure, and
perhaps even to get rich.
The Symbol
The Red Cross: Each crusader had a
huge red cross, made out of fabric,
stitched onto their shirts or armor. It
made all crusaders, irrespective of rank
or background, appear to be a unified
army. It reminded the crusaders that they
were fighting a holy cause. The red
cross was added to flags and banners
First Crusade 1093-1095
Unprepared troops
No strategy
Captured Jerusalem
Carved in up into 4
Crusader states
Second Crusade 1147-1149
• Muslim leader Saladin
takes control of Jerusalem
• Muslim Turks re-conquer
the city
• Saladin is described to be
honest and brave
Third Crusade
• Richard the Lion
Hearted = English King
and two other leaders
fail to recapture
Jerusalem
• He and Saladin
respected each other
Fourth Crusade 1202-1204
• Crusades attack Constantinople instead
• Stole statues, money, paintings and jewelry
• Burned libraries, destroyed churches
• Said they needed money to defend Constantinople
from the same fate as Jerusalem and to rescue
Jerusalem from Muslims
• People of Constantinople hated the west for sacking
their city
Children’s Crusade 1212
• Thousands of French and German
children try to reach Jerusalem
• Believed God would help them
because they were children
• Many died of hunger, some froze
to death
• When they reached the
Mediterranean sea, expected they
waters to part for them…. They
didn’t
• Forced to return home
In the End
• The Christians are
finally pushed out of
Jerusalem
• Muslim Turks are the
victors and take over
the Byzantine in
1453
Effects of the Crusades
• Negatives:
– Weakened the Byzantine Empire, the Pope
and nobles
– Kings become stronger
– Leaves a legacy of bitterness between the
Christians, Jews and the Muslims
Effects of the Crusades
• Positives:
– Stimulated trade throughout the Mediterranean and
Middle East
• Goods such as spices, cotton, linen, dates, coral, pearls,
porcelain, silk and metal goods
– Europe learns much from the Muslims
• Science and astronomy, “Arabic” numerals, paper
production
– Serfs had used the Crusades to leave their lands and
found new opportunities
