Download The Crusades

The Crusades
Background
• Crusades = military expeditions sent by the pope to
capture the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks.
• The empire of the Turks included Palestine, the land
where Jesus was born.
Causes
• Muslim Turks captured
Jerusalem & neighboring lands from the
Byzantine Empire.
– Before this happened, the Byzantine
emperor allowed pilgrims from Western
Europe to freely visit the Holy Land
– After Jerusalem fell, the Muslim Turks
prevented the Christians from going to the
Holy Land
• Pope Urban II called a meeting
of church men & feudal lords in 1095.
– pope called upon the knights of Europe to
defeat the Turks
– saw the Crusades as a way to get feudal
lords to fight together against a
common enemy, instead of fighting each
other
– thought military expeditions under his
direction would increase the power and
influence of the Catholic Church.
• Feudal lords had several reasons for going to
the Holy Land:
– believed it was their religious duty to support
the wishes of the pope.
– hoped to gain land & wealth by defeating the
Turks.
– Some went for adventure & the chance to
become heroes.
• Merchants, especially
those from the Italian
port cities of Venice &
Genoa, backed the plan of the Crusaders:
– provided ships for crossing the Mediterranean
Sea
– believed expeditions to the Near East would
lead to an increase in trade with that part
of the world
Major Events
• First Crusade (1096-1099)
– Preachers, such as Peter the Hermit,
traveled through the countryside convincing
thousands of peasants to leave for the Holy
Land
– peasants were eager to go because while on
a Crusade, they were exempt from taxes &
they thought they’d escape their work
hardships
• lacked training & proper military equipment
• Some starved to death, while many others
were killed by the Muslim Turks
• never reached Jerusalem, but a later
expedition of knights reached the Holy
Land & captured Jerusalem
• *NOTE: this is the only Crusade to
attain its goal (created Kingdom of
Jerusalem & other Crusader States,
but conquests wouldn’t last)
• Second Crusade (1147-1149):
– After their victory in the 1st Crusade, most
Christians returned to Europe & the Turks
won back some of their lost territory
– King of France (Louis VII) & the Emperor of
Germany (Conrad III) led armies to the
Near East, but were defeated separately
• Third Crusade (1189-1192)
– Began when Jerusalem once
again
fell into Turkish hands
– Led by Richard the Lion-Hearted, King of
England, the Crusaders convinced the Turks
to let Christian pilgrims freely visit
Jerusalem
• Other Crusades
– Several more expeditions organized
during the 1200s, but each met with
little
success
– Children’s Crusade
• Two armies of children (from France & Germany)
• “soldiers” = boys & girls under the age of 12
• total of 30,000 young Crusaders were led by a boy
named Stephen who believed God guided him
• met disaster as many died of starvation, cold
weather, exhaustion, & drowning
• None of the boys & girls reached the Holy Land,
and few ever returned home safely
Results of the Crusades
• Holy Land remained in Turkish hands
• Europeans learned how to build better ships &
draw better maps (contributed to the success
of New World explorers in the 1500s+)
• Trade increased to the Near East
– Europeans got a taste for fruit, spices, silk,
cotton, perfume, sugar, mirrors, & dyes
– Venice & Genoa grew wealthy by controlling
Mediterranean trade routes to the East
• Power of feudal lords declined after many lords
were killed in battle & others spent all their
money on military supplies & equipment
Causes/Effects of Crusades
Causes
Effects
1. Muslims wouldn’t let
Christians visit Holy Land
2. Pope wanted feudal lords to
fight together
3. Pope wanted more power
for the Church
4. Hoped to increase trade with
Near East
1. Power of feudal lords declined
–
Led to decline of feudalism
2. Europeans learned to build
better ships & maps
–
Led to Exploration
3. Trade increased to Near East
–
Led to Renaissance
4. Power of the Church actually
increased