Download The Crusades

The Crusades
Islam
• A Muslim is a follower
of Islam.
• Islam was founded in
622 CE by
Muhammad the
Prophet. He lived
from about 570 to 632
CE).
Prelude to the Crusades
• Islam spread from its
origin in today’s Saudi
Arabia.
• By 1095CE Muslim
territory included the land
where Jesus lived.
• Christian warriors
believed they should
control this area.
• They considered this to
be holy land.
The Crusades
• The crusades were a series of
eight wars initiated by the
Christians to win back their
holy lands ( Jerusalem and
other sites) from the Muslims.
• Around this time the kingdoms
of Europe had one thing in
common – Christianity.
• Muslims and Arabs had
controlled the Holy Land since
the 7th century, but tolerated
Christian pilgrims.
The 1st Crusade (1096-1099)
• Pope Urban II called
for a “war of the
cross”, or Crusade,
to take back the holy
lands.
• He persuaded 34,000
knights and peasants
to join in the
expedition.
• The war offered knights a
chance for glory and
wealth.
• Urban suggested that the
knights fight Muslims
instead of continuing to
fight one another.
• It was a success. In 1099
the crusaders captured
the holy land.
• It was then recaptured by
the Muslims.
The Second Crusade (1147-1149)
• Led by the king of France and the Holy
Roman Emperor, this Crusade was a
disaster.
• They utterly failed in their mission.
The 3rd Crusade (1187-1192)
• Three kings led by
Richard I of England
mounted to recapture
Jerusalem which was
under the control of
Saladin, the Islamic
forces greatest general.
• A truce was called in
1192, allowing Christian
pilgrims to visit
Jerusalem.
The 4th Crusade (1202)
The 4th Crusade
• Led by Venetian
merchants (who owned
the ships that the
crusaders traveled on)
crusaders sacked
Christian Constantinople,
a commercial rival of
theirs.
• The crusaders sacked the
city and killed untold of its
citizens.
• The attack permanently
weakened the Eastern
Roman Empire.
• This Crusade was viewed
as an embarrassment to
the church.
Results of the Crusades
• The Crusaders were unable in the long run
to reclaim their holy lands, but the wars
had other lasting effects:
• Western Europeans left their homes to fight in
distant wars. The stories of returning Crusaders
opened the eyes of people at home to the
broader world.
• Exotic goods like spices and clothes that Crusaders
were exposed to created new desires, and encouraged
long distance trade.
• The Crusades helped reintroduce books of philosophy,
etc. from Classical Greece and Rome, which had been
preserved and translated by the Muslims.
• This helped lead to a revival of Classical learning in the
Renaissance.
• The need to transfer large sums of money for
troops and supplies led to the development of
banking and accounting techniques.
• Islamic science, medicine, and architecture were
transferred to the west.
• For example, European castles became massive stone
structures rather than smaller wooden ones.