Download The Crusades

The Crusades
 The many kingdoms of Europe were struggling to
form their own political identities, but remained united
in their Christian faith
 The Crusades were holy wars fought against the
Saracens- non Christian Arabs, and Turks that were
mainly practicing Muslims
 The Saracens referred to all Europeans as Franks
 Crusade comes from French and Spanish words for
cross
 European Christians had been making pilgrimages to
the Holy Land (Jerusalem) since the second century
 By the seventh century Arabs and Muslims gained
control of the Holy Land then called (Palestine), but in
general accepted the Christian pilgrims
 In 1071the Seljuk Turks gained control of Palestine,
and as a result they closed off the area to the
Christians
In 1054 the Roman Catholic church and the
Byzantine church had split
Pope Urban II requested all kingdoms in
Europe to prepare for a holy war
Urban II believed Europe had to gain control
of the Holy Land for all Christians
He also wanted to reunite the two churches,
and stop the constant wars in Europe
Christian soldiers were referred to as Crusaders
and were promised the following for fighting in
the Holy Land
Forgiveness for their sins
A share in the spoils of war
Release from their debts and punishments
The First Crusade
Began in 1096
Nearly 34,000 soldiers took part
Many were trained knights, but most were poor
peasants
The Crusaders gained control of the Holy Land
in 1099
The first crusade was their only victory
The Second Crusade
In 1147 the Muslims gained control of the
Christian States (eastern Mediterranean shore)
 The Crusaders failed to gain control of these
areas
The Third Crusade
Occurred in 1187 and is the best known of the
crusades
Three European kings including Richard the
Lionheart were involved
In 1192 each side called a truce, which allowed
the Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy Land
without persecution
The Fourth Crusade
This war was not fought in the Holy Land
As a result of the crusades the many European
Kings became more powerful, because many
lords and knights that would have opposed their
power were killed
Europeans were introduced to the cultures of
the East during the crusades
Do you think the European Christians were
justified in launching a holy war against the
Muslims?
You may choose to use your textbook to help you
answer the above question pages 274-276
When you have completed answering the
question hand it in to be marked.