Download The Crusades

The Crusades
Call to Fight
Byzantine emperor, Alexius I, asked Pope to
help in fighting the Seljuk Turks (Muslim)
 Pope Urban II took opportunity to showcase
papal leadership
 Cause: take back holy lands from Muslims
 Urban II challenged Christians to take up
weapons and join in a holy war
 Pope promised fighters “remission of sins”
 Over next 300 years, a number of such
Crusades were launched.
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Reasons for Joining
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People joined crusading
bands for a variety of
reasons
– Religious fervor, adventure,
chance to fight, gain territory,
riches, possibility of a title
– Pope and kings saw it as an
opportunity to free Europe
from young nobles who
disturbed the peace and
wasted lives and energy
fighting one another
First Crusade
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1096-1099
Attempt to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem
Crusaders wore red crosses on their tunics
– Most Crusaders were French, but Bohemians, Germans, English, Scots,
Italians, and Spaniards came as well.
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Battle cry—”God wills it!”
– Pope assured those who died would have a place in Heaven
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Crusaders were ill-prepared
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Couldn’t agree on a leader
No grand strategy
Knew nothing about climate, geography, or culture of region
Lack of food and water, disease was common, not prepared for heat of
Middle East
Depiction of First Crusade
Second Crusade
1147-1149
 Response to the city
of Edessa being
captured by Muslims
(Christians want to
take the city back)
 This crusade was a
failure (Defeated in
Edessa and Jerusalem
was taken by Muslim
leader Saladin)
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Third Crusade
1189-1192
 Came about when Jerusalem fell to
Muslims in 1187 to Saladin
 3 important rulers agreed to lead forces
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– Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany
– Richard I the Lionhearted of England
– Phillip II Augustus, King of France
Third Crusade
Not successful
 Barbarossa drowned
and his army fell
apart
 Richard and Phillip
had some success
along the coast, but
failed miserably inland
 Phillip goes back
home after arguing
with Richard
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Richard and Saladin
both brilliant warriors.
 Richard manages to
negotiate a
settlement with
Saladin to allow
Christian pilgrims free
access to Jerusalem
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Fourth Crusade
1202-1204
 Saladin died in 1193 and Pope Innocent
initiates another Crusade led by Venetian
leaders
 Suppose to be headed to holy land, but see
opportunity to take Byzantium and eliminate
their trade competition
 Christians crusaders attack the Christian city
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– Loot Constantinople
– Religious spirit of the first Crusade faded and the
search for personal gain grew.
Effect on Europe
Benefited Italian port cities of Venice,
Pisa, and Genoa
 First widespread attacks on Jews
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– Believed Jews were responsible for the
“murder of Christ”
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Lessened power of Pope and nobles
Other Crusades
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Children’s Crusades of 1212
– 12 year old Stephen of France leads 30,000 kids under the
age of 18
 Armed with only belief that God would give them Jerusalem.
 On march south to Mediterranean, many died from cold and
starvation
 Rest drowned at sea or sold into slavery.
– Nicholas of Germany leads 20,000 kids and young adults.
 Began marching to Rome – thousands died in cold and treacherous
Alps
 Those who did survive the trip to Italy met the Pope but were told to
go home and wait until they were older.
 About 2,000 survived the return trip back to Germany.
Other Crusades
Reconquista
 Christians fight to drive Muslims (Moors)
out of Spain from 1100 to 1492
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Long effort by the Spanish to drive
Muslims out of Spain
Other Crusades
Spain had INQUISITION
 Unifying agent – country under Christianity
 Increase power of Christian leaders Isabella and
Ferdinand in Spain
 Inquisition was a court held by the Church to suppress
heresy – expel non-Christians
– Different religious beliefs
 Heretics –people whose religious beliefs differed from the teachings
of the Church
– Forced conversion
 If did convert, inquisitors still suspected them of heresy
– Torture used
 A person suspected might be questioned for weeks or event tortured, once
confess, often burned at the stake.
Funny Takes on the Spanish
Inquisition
Monty Python
 Mel Brooks
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Effects of Crusades
Power of Church
 Increased status of Women
 Expanded trade between Europe and
Southwest Asia
 Failures of later Crusades weakens Pope
and nobles – increases king’s power
 Lasting bitterness between Christians and
Muslims
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