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The Crusades
The city of Jerusalem was the center of faith for three major world religions.
For the Jews it was their homeland. It had been promised to them by God,
through Abraham giving them the land of Israel. To the Muslims, Jerusalem
was the location where the Prophet Muhammad had ascended into heaven.
After Makkah, and Medinah, Jerusalem was Islam’s third most holy city. To
the Christians, Jerusalem was both the location of Christ’s birth and the
location of his death.
Jerusalem was conquered by Islam in the 600s CE
and would remain in their control for many centuries
to come. While living in Jerusalem, Muslim Turks
crept closer and closer to Constantinople, until they
were living only 100 miles from the great Eastern
Orthodox city. The Emperor, Alexius, had enough of
these Muslims. He wrote a letter to the Pope of the
Holy Roman Empire, asking for his help. Alexius
wanted him to send his best knights to help get rid
of these Muslims. So in 1095, Pope Urban II called
for volunteers to travel to Jerusalem and fight to take it back from the
Muslims. He called their mission a crusade. The word “crusade” comes from
the word Crux, which means “cross” in Latin. Those who volunteered for the
crusade would be called crusaders, meaning that they took the cross of
Jesus upon them. Pope Urban promised that they would receive eternal life if
they died while fighting non-Christians. That’s right, “Kill Jews and Muslims,
and you will get to heaven. Stop fighting amongst yourselves.” Poor
Christians and sinners saw this as a way out of their boring lives, a way to
see the world, a way to gain land and riches, and a way to get to heaven.
As a result, these Christians killed thousands of non-Christians, including
Jews and Muslims, as they traveled to Jerusalem. In some cases they
slaughtered entire Jewish communities.
People were so enthusiastic that several
groups set off for Jerusalem. While the
nobles were planning their crusade, the
peasants grew restless and organized their
own crusade. Thousands of peasants from
France
and
Germany
set
out
for
Constantinople.
They believed that God
would just knock down the walls of
Jerusalem anyway as soon as they got
there, so there was no need for fighting or
weapons. Some of them didn't even take
any money. Most of these groups found that traveling and fighting were harder
than they had imagined, and most of them died on the way. One group decided
it was too hard to get to Jerusalem to fight the Muslims, and instead stopped in
Germany to fight the Jews. Thousands of Jews were robbed and killed by these
Crusaders, just because they were not Christians.
Finally, in the fall of 1096, the Peasant’s Crusade left for Jerusalem. They went
by different routes, some by land and some by sea, to Constantinople. By the
time the Peasant’s Crusade reached Constantinople, they lost one third of
their members. Here the Emperor Alexius was quite surprised to see them and
not very happy. He expected trained soldiers/knights, not peasants. The
emperor gave them supplies and sent them to Asia Minor to fight the Turks.
The peasant army was almost completely wiped out by Turkish bowmen.
By 1097, the nobles finally set out on their crusade. Approximately, 30,000
crusaders arrived in Asia Minor and defeated the Turks. After two years of
traveling in the desert, this “Nobles Crusade” reached Jerusalem in 1098.
They laid siege upon the city, surrounding it for two months. Finally the city
fell and the crusaders entered, killing almost all of the non-Christians who
inhabited the city, including men, women and children. The Crusaders
managed to take Jerusalem, as well as some other important cities along the
Mediterranean coast. They settled down there as the kings of Jerusalem, in their
own new country. They were surprised to see all the civilized things in the city
of Jerusalem - mosques, and hot baths, and advanced medicine. So the First
Crusade was a big success for the Europeans, and a setback for the Muslims.
Eight more crusades would follow, in an effort to
keep control of the city in the hands of the Holy
Roman Empire. Eventually the Muslims will
regain control of Jerusalem. The fall of the Holy
Land sent a wave of fury throughout Europe.
Pope Gregory VIII declared a third crusade – The
Crusade of Kings. Although they often fought
each other and did not get along, the kings of
Europe joined together to take revenge. Many
European kings took part including Richard the Lion-heart from England,
Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Philip II of France. Philip and Richard
really disliked each other. While on crusade, Frederick Barbarossa drown.
Now that only two were left, Philip left and went back to France. He
attacked Richard’s homeland while Richard continued on to Jerusalem. All
he achieved was the capture of the city of Acre, which was only conquered
after a siege of two years and the death of about one million and twenty
thousand crusaders. Epic battles between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin
took place during this crusade.
Other crusades include the Children's Crusade that took
place in 1212 CE. A French boy lead several thousands of
his young followers. The young crusaders expected the
help from God in their journey to Jerusalem, however,
most of the crusaders were sold to slave dealers by
merchants. This crusade was a great embarrassment to
the Church.
Another crusade, the Fourth Crusade (also known as the
Sack of Constantinople) took place in 1204 CE and was a
total failure. Instead of fighting the Muslims to get
Jerusalem, they ended up fighting Constantinople. They
sacked the city and did a great amount of looting in it.
The history of the crusades is filled with the mercilessness of the crusaders
and the kind-heartedness of the Muslims. The Muslims were massacred
everywhere the crusaders arrived, while the Christians (for the most part)
were treated kindly by the Muslims. The crusaders achieved the main
purpose of the crusades and kept Jerusalem for a while. Later all of the cities
taken by the Christians were to be taken back by the Muslims. In short, the
crusades acquired what they wanted for a short while, but then lost all of it
to the Muslims and instead made one another an enemy.
The crusades had a lasting effect on the whole of Europe. Crusaders
brought back knowledge; medical, surgical, books, etc. They wanted items
that they found only in the Middle East, such as silks, soaps, and spices.
This led to trade, travel, and tourism between Europe and the Middle East.
In all, the Crusades helped lead Western Europe out of the Dark Ages, but to
what expense??
The Crusades
Websites to Use
Kidipedia - The First Crusade
Kid’s Past – The Crusades
Mr. Donn – The Crusades
The Children’s Crusade
Horrible Histories