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PART TWO: THE LATE MIDDLE AGES (1050-1450) By the late Middle Ages, the Western Europe that we see now, was taking shape. The political and military system of Feudalism, in place since the Fall of the Roman Empire to help maintain peace and security in a chaotic world, had outlived its purpose. The Church was the unifying force throughout Western Europe, and prosperity and peace had returned to the area. A. Islam and the Crusades Some historians claim that the life and teachings of Muhammad,(c.570-632) the founder of the Islamic religion, was the single most important event of the Middle Ages. Before Muhammad, the Arabs were worshiping many different deities. One night, while in prayer, Muhammad believed he saw the angel Gabriel who told him that God had chosen him to be a prophet. Thus Muhammad believed he had a mission to be God’s prophet to the Arabs who were polytheistic and to the Jews and Christians as well. With this, a new religion ISLAM, was born. Converts to the new religion of Islam grew steadily in the Arab world. Muslims conquered the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, North Africa and Spain. The Turks, a nomadic tribe, began to convert to Islam in the 10th century, and their treatment of European Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem was to become a major cause of the Crusades. The Crusades against the Muslims in the Holy Lands: Christianity unified Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Church was very powerful and nothing demonstrates this power more than the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of Holy wars against the SARACENS (Arabs, Turks a.k.a Muslims). Eight major expeditions took place between A.D. 1096 and 1270.Since the 2nd century Christians from Europe had been making pilgrimages to the Holy Lands, specifically Jerusalem and other areas where Jesus taught. However, this area, called Palestine had been conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century. The Muslims allowed the Christian pilgrimages to continue, but in the year 1071 a group of hard-line Muslims-the Turks-closed off Palestine to the Christians and even threatened to invade the Christian Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Emperor appealed to the Pope for help. Even though the Byzantine Church and the Catholic Churches had split earlier in 1054 over some details in doctrine, Pope Urban II called upon the West to prepare for a Holy War. Urban held a meeting of church leaders in Clermont, France. At this Council of Clermont, Urban called for a crusade. He gave a stirring sermon. The crowd enthusiastically responded with shouts of "God wills it!" An intense desire to fight for Christianity gripped Western Europe, and thousands of people joined the cause. The soldiers were called Crusaders and their uniforms were emblazoned with large crosses. Christian Soldiers were promised forgiveness of their sins if they fought for the Holy Land. Kings, nobles, and thousands of knights, peasants, and townspeople took part in the Crusades. They had two stated goals: (1) to gain permanent control of the Holy Land and (2) to protect the Byzantine Empire, a Greek Christian empire centered in southeastern Europe, from the Muslims The First Crusade 1096-99: about 34 000 soldiers, most poor peasants were able to capture Jerusalem in 1099. This would be the only victory for the Crusaders. Second Crusade 1147-1149: an attempt to regain previously won land. It failed Third Crusade 1189-1192: launched after Jerusalem was lost again in 1187. This is the best known of the crusades because it involved Richard the Lionheart, the English King who appears in the Robin Hood Legend. Neither side could defeat the other, so they called a truce in 1192 which allowed Christian pilgrims to visit Jerusalem without persecution. Fourth Crusade 1202-1209: The Crusaders didn’t even REACH the Holy Land, instead they marched on and conquered Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. The church had gained prestige from the success of the 1st and 3rd crusades, but was heavily criticized for the misguided 4th Crusade. The Crusades Come to an End Europeans eventually lost interest in the Holy Land. Several weak attempts to organize crusades during the 1300's and 1400's failed. Europe was turning its attention westward to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World. The European countries looked toward America to satisfy their ambitions to expand. They left the Holy Land to the Muslims. Effects of the Crusades: 1. Trade flourishes. The Crusades increased already existing contacts between the West and the East. Eastern luxury goods-spices, perfume, sugar, silk, velvet, and glass mirrors were now brought to the West. These contacts led to additional trade and commerce, an increase in money and the emergence of a wealthy merchant middle class. This will challenge manorialism and the agricultural relationship between Lord and serf, as many will leave the land to make their living in trade. 2. Greed ran rampant. Not all the crusaders joined the expeditions for religious reasons. The French knights wanted more land. Italian merchants hoped to expand trade in Middle Eastern ports. Many priests and monks wanted valuable religious relics. Large numbers of poor people joined the expeditions simply to escape the hardships of their normal lives. 3. The death toll. Because these crusaders often stole what they wanted on their way (food etc), many of them were killed by angry Europeans. The Turks slaughtered most of the rest in Asia Minor. 4. Geographic knowledge. Westerners acquired first hand geographical information about the East. They were able to make more accurate maps during the Crusades. They began to use magnetic compasses to tell directions. 5. Taxation. In order to finance the Crusades, the Church and the State increased taxation, thus becoming accustomed to increased taxing power 6. Criticism of the Church. The greed associated with the Crusades as well as the huge tax burden imposed by the Church created resentment toward the Church.