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The Crusades took place in Europe around the end of the Eleventh century. The Byzantine Empire
controlled by Emperor Alexius I was losing territory from invading Turkish peoples. In the year 1095
Alexius asked Pope Urban II for troops to help him defend his territory and recapture the “Holy Land”
from Muslim control. This brought on a tremendous amount of people determined to fight for the Christian
cause. From this beginning, six extensively tragic Crusades were started.
The First Crusade ranged from the year 1096 through 1099. Four armies were formed from Western
European regions and were set to depart for Byzantium. These armies left havoc in their wake, slaughtering
Jewish, murdering innocent families, and destroying towns and villages. The first few sections of these
armies were crushed pathetically by Turkish armies. After regrouping and swearing their alliances wholly
to Alexius, the Crusaders captured the cities of Anatolia, Antioch, and finally Jerusalem. The Crusaders
slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children along their victorious entrance to the Holy City. The
Second Crusade began when the Muslims created their own holy war against the Christians (known as
Jihad). In the year 1147 the Crusade was led by King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany.
An army of 50,000 Crusaders was defeated in Damascus by combined Muslim forces, decisively ending the
Second Crusade.
The Third Crusade ranged from the years 1189 to 1192. The city of Cairo, Egypt was captured by Muslim
forces and eventually went on to reclaim the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Christian forces retaliated,
and ultimately a peace treaty was signed between leaders to reestablish the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which
ended the Third Crusade. The Fourth through the Sixth Crusade can be summed up easily. These conflicts
lasted from the years 1198 through 1229. Power Struggles between Europe and the Byzantine Empire
created havoc and ended up sacking Emperor Alexius in favor of, Alexius IV (his nephew). The new
emperor attempted to convert religious affiliations with the Church of Rome, and was as a result strangled
to death and had his palace looted, ending the Fourth Crusade. The remainder of the 13th century saw the
rest of the Crusades aimed not so much against Muslim forces in the Holy Land, but focusing instead on
combating any and all enemies (everyone who was not a Christian) of the Christian Faith.
Essentially the Crusades were just a big long drawn out fight for Jerusalem and the “Holy Land”. Mainly,
the fights were between the Muslim faith and the Christian faith, and were inspired by petty differences
between leaders and belief systems. Countless numbers of people were inspired to become Crusaders and
fight for their beliefs, some achieved victories, while others humiliating defeat, and in all instances was a
large loss of life. Major outcomes from this time in history were the formation of new states and territories,
the destruction and re-forming of priceless palaces and artifacts, and the major separations and prejudices
between the Muslim and Christian faiths which we still see in our present day society.
Key Terms:
Serfs -agricultural workers
that belong to the manor
Manors -self-sufficient
farming estates
Piety- dutifulness in
religion
Holy Land- the area of
Palestine held spiritually important to Christians, Muslims, and
Jews
Hierarchy- a ruling body of
clergy organized into ranks
Crusades- a series of
holy wars to drive the Muslims out of Palestine
Sacrament- one of the church's
ceremonies in which you obtain grace from God
Saladin- most famous Muslim
leader of the 1100's, who defeated the armies of the 2nd
crusades
Richard the Lion hearted- the King of England
who left to join the crusade, leaving others to rule in his
place
Reconquista-beginning in the
11th Century, a military campaign to drive the Muslims out of
Spain
Byzantine Empire-Eastern Roman empire that began when Constantine moved the capital out of Rome to
Byzantium (Constantinople)
Holy Roman Empire- a loose federation
of mostly German states and principalities headed by the emperor, lasting from
962-1806
Lesson Plan Resources
· http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/images/middleages.pdf
· http://dnet01.ode.state.oh.us/ims.itemdetails/lessondetail.aspx?id=0907f84c805313db
· http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6257990
· http://www.lessonplanet.com/article/history/the-crusades
· http://sheg.stanford.edu/first-crusade
Technology Resources
· http://www.history.com/topics/crusades
· http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the_crusades.htm
· http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm
· http://history-world.org/crusades.htm
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/crusades.stm