Download Europe and the Muslim World

Europe and the
Muslim World
The Crusades and their effects

Attempts to “win back” the Holy Land from the Muslims
began with a speech by Pope Urban II in 1095; the
Crusades ended in 1291.

Some of the Crusades were temporarily successful, but
there was no permanent success.

Ironically, western Christian Crusaders sacked and looted
Constantinople.

The Crusades weakened the Pope and nobles.

The Crusades strengthened monarchs, increasing their
power as papal prestige declined and nobles lost land
and wealth when going on crusades.

Religious intolerance increased, leaving a legacy of
bitterness among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

Trade throughout the Mediterranean area and the
Middle East was stimulated, and trade by Italian cities
expanded.

Desire for Asian goods, particularly spices, increased.
Fall of Constantinople

In 1453, Muhammad II (Mehmet II),
an Ottoman Turk, besieged
Constantinople and defeated the
Byzantine Empire.

Constantinople, renamed Istanbul,
became the capital of the
Ottoman Empire.

The Hagia Sofia was changed from
a Christian cathedral to an Islamic
mosque.
Preservation and transfer of Greek,
Roman, and Arabic cultures

Increased trade and awareness of the Middle East
occurred after the Crusades.

Muslim and Byzantine scholars preserved Greek, Roman,
and Arabic texts, including writings on philosophy,
medicine, science, government, and law.

Roman Church scholars working in monasteries
translated documents from Greek and Arabic to Latin,
thereby further preserving and transferring Greek,
Roman, and Arabic culture to Western Europe. This
activity laid the foundations for the rise of universities in
Europe and ensured that Renaissance thinkers would
have access to this scholarship.

The Church began to accept the idea of using reason as
the guide to truth and morality (scholasticism), an idea
that stemmed from Aristotle.
Exit Ticket
NAME
DATE
CLASS
1.
What was the major goal of the Crusades?
2.
Who called for the First Crusade?
3.
True or False: All of the Crusades were successful.
4.
True or False: The Crusades increased bitterness between
Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
5.
What Byzantine capital fell to the Ottomans in 1453?
6.
True or False: Trade decreased as a result of the Crusades.
7.
What did the Church begin to use as a guide to truth and
morality?