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Causes and consequences of crusades
Pope urban ii responsibility for crusades
Causes and consequences of crusades
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Many people can agree that looking back on the Crusades today, it was a Crime against humanity. The Crusades were a series of eight Christian military expeditions fought against Muslims for the Holy Lands between the years of 1096 and 1270 C.E. A new group of Muslims called Seljuk Turks took control of the Holy Lands, including Jerusalem, and did not allow christians any access to it. People’s motivation for fighting in the crusades included religious convictions, the church agreed to pay their taxes, and they had the opportunity to gain personal wealth by claiming riches in the Holy Land. However, although these sound like valid reasons to fight in the Crusades, the short term gains are outweighed by the negative outcomes and effects that came from this war. “The Crusades - the most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation.” ― David Hume. Hume’s quote explains that the crusades were one of the worst decision’s that a society has made in history. They were unsuccessful because of these three reasons, impact it had on catholic church, Constantinople destroyed, and bloodshed of many. …show more content…
People even sold their estates to the church at low costs and this allowed the Church to gain more land. The Catholic Church was a major part of the crusaders everyday lives. People wanted to conquer the “holy land” because of their religious purposes. A negative effect that the crusades had on the church was the cost of having people readily available to help soldiers in need. Since the church was so involved with the Crusades people came to them for help. The long term effects out weigh the short term gain. The Papacy’s relationship with the kings and nobles was damaged which caused the churches physical power to
The First Crusade was a widely appealing armed pilgrimage, and mobilized a vast conquering force at a time when the Christian Church was moving towards centralization and greater political influence in Europe. The Church gained a wider audience more accepting of its leadership, benefitted economically, and developed its own militarily force. These outcomes, along with the Church’s documented ambition to expand and its reversal of prior teachings, support the idea that the First Crusade was a deliberate political maneuver, intended to to expand and consolidate the authority of the
The crusades for the most part, are largely misunderstood. The Crusaders were not gullible, or stupid to travel so far, but rather, patriots for Christ. Although Europe was left in poor hands, they were still cheered on. The crusades were, in fact, triggered by Muslim aggression.
The Crusades were one of the most prominent events in Western European history; they were not discrete and unimportant pilgrimages, but a continuous stream of marching Western armies (Crusaders) into the Muslim world, terminating in the creation and eventually the fall of the Islamic Kingdoms. The Crusades were a Holy War of Roman Christianity against Islam, but was it really a “holy war” or was it Western Europe fighting for more land and power? Through Pope Urban II and the Roman Catholic Church’s actions, their proposed motivations seem unclear, and even unchristian. Prior to the Crusades, Urban encouraged that Western Europe fight for their religion but throughout the crusades the real motivations shone though; the Crusaders were power hungry, land coveting people who fought with non Christian ideals and Morales.
From the eleventh century throughout the thirteenth century there were six wars throughout that time line between the christians and the muslims. These specific wars were known as the crusades caused by the crusaders also known as the christians and muslims. The crusades legacy wasn't a very kind one you see it was kind of bitter legacy they left behind them. Here's two examples why the crusades were all about negative actions. In document 4 it states that the crusades caused severe damage to the the byzantine empire that unit never recovered from that destruction that the crusaders caused. A second reason that caught my eye was in document 6 that they did not care about an other it was kill or be killed that this city was savagely taken and
The Crusades were holy wars with the goal of securing Jerusalem for Christian control, rather than Muslim control. After Pope Urban II gave a legendary speech in 1095, Christendom was galvanized into retaking the holy land, Jerusalem. People were so excited to conquest, that a large force, consisting mostly of peasants, could not wait to assist the main force that Pope Urban II was organizing. This impoverished, poorly prepared force attempted to march to Jerusalem. This group would lead what was to be called the People’s Crusade (Murray). This movement was an unadulterated disaster of epic proportions. These peasants pillaged towns of their own and towns of their allied countries, then attacked supporting guards
The most notable motives behind the Crusades include religious zeal, Europe’s large population augmenting, and a staggering number of knights eager to fight in battle. Of these motives, religious zeal was the greatest. The crusaders were already more than willing to fight against the Muslims before Alexius Comnenus asked Pope Urban II to supply him with Norman mercenaries in 1095. Western Europeans loathed Muslims ruling the Holy Land, particularly of the holy places of Palestine. The saying “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” encapsulates the situation Christians in both the east and the west experienced. Both factions realized that without helping one another, they would share the same fate of falling to the Seljuk Turks. In addition to the Christians fighting for God, Europe’s ever-increasing population also needed more land to live off. Europe’s territories had to be expanded. With the shortage of land, the expansion of feudalism, and the urge to fight by influential leaders such as Pope Urban and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the sons of knights and nobles desired to conquer new lands. While there were many outcomes of the Crusades, some stick out more so than others. The biggest of these is the fact that the crusaders from Europe failed to permanently capture Jerusalem or Palestine. The fall of Constantinople was the end for the Byzantine Empire. Overall, the First Crusade was the most successful when compared to all of the other Crusades.
The Crusades are looked upon bleakly in today’s view of history. Anti-Christian “progressives” and the generally historical illiterates attempt to use it as justification of Islamic attacks or why Christianity is an evil or defunct religion. This one-sided popular opinion has caused public condemnation of the Crusades and an entirely subjective version of history taught. The Crusades were morally right, practically right, and worked out for the greater good in the end.
The Crusades were a holy war fighting for the Holy Land. But the big question is,
In conclusion, the Crusaders were ruthless, killing men, women, and children for what started out to be in Christ’s name in vain of the Jews putting Jesus to death on the cross. The Crusaders were motivated by religion at first because of the ungodliness taking place in Jerusalem, but as time went on, the killings of the innocent began to effect the Christians. The Chronicles of the First Crusade state, “Perhaps, however, we were fated to be misled often by our leaders, for what did they do in the end?” (CSC, 89). In the end, the leaders led their armies to murdering innocent people.
...ecline of papal power. The First Crusade was a successful venture for the papacy as it was considered an "armed pilgrimage" (325). To gain the support of the Christian community, Urban II promised an afterlife without purgatory and a direct ascent to heaven for Crusade participation. This "plenary indulgence" (325) made the First Crusade a favorable undertaking. On the other hand, the papal monarchy suffered from the additional Crusades that forced people to question the unity of the Christian Church. Christianity was an effective theme in the Middle Ages because it implemented most people and events of the time period. Socially, Christianity effected people's daily lives because faith offered another consideration for how life progressed. The introduction of new intellect and innovative advancements were growing with religious influenced. Politically, the emperor's were aided and impaired. The support of the papacy was useful in the coronation of emperors and the influence over the common people. On the counter-side, the papal monarchy offered competition for power. Christianity was always present in the Middle Ages, and it changed concepts and faith for all.
FINANCIAL GAIN – War also brought financial gain for Knights, Nobles, Lords and fighters. The benefits of the Crusades could bring them financial gain or even higher status in society. Lots of money wash spent on equipment to be ready for battle, so when they fought battles and plundered and pillaged different lands, they gained personal wealth by taking the riches in the Holy Land. The motivations of the Nobles were different to that of the other people. The did not act with what the Pope had said in his speech, instead they used the crusades as an opportunity to gain land and valuables by killing innocent people along the way to the Holy Land and taking the land and riches from the people they
Were the Crusades Motivated Primarily by Religious Factors? The Crusades were a series of military campaigns and wars between the Christians and the Muslims that lasted almost 200 years. The main motivations of these Crusades was to control the Holy Land in Jerusalem, also by the belief that all of their sins would be forgiven, and others to help the struggling Church in the East. Although there were other driving factors of the Crusades such as political and economic interests, the most important factor was their religious interests and the defense of their Holy Land.
When we take a look back at all of the Crusades that took place in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, we see that the Crusades brought many new ideas and inventions to the rest of the world. Most of the contributions that the Crusades have made have been to warfare, arms and armor. The weapon has evolved over time and began with “the rock and the club proceeded through the sling and boomerang, bow and arrow, sword and axe, to gunpowder weapons of the rifle and machine gun of the late nineteenth century” . Throughout the Crusades we saw the introduction to new ideas such as siege towers, fortifications, pitched battles, ranged weapons, polearms, and blunt hand weapons. The question that I will be focusing on throughout my paper will be, how the warfare of the Middle Ages, specifically the Crusades, impact warfare of the modern day? I will be looking at both the Muslims and the Christians and will be covering the time period from 1000-1300.
The Christian church felt they were in need of more political power over society, and this was the Pope’s main political motive. A huge economic motive to join the Crusades was taking over Constantinople, which would bring more wealth and power to their society. Some just wanted to find a way to become wealthier, and took part in acts of greed for money and for military valor. Farmers and nobles had been fighting over land, but were told that there was very fertile land that they could receive if they took part, this was a large incentive. Since religion was the main focus people had in their lives during the middle ages, everyone wanted eternal salvation without penance, the Pope’s offer of this was appealing to everyone in the Christian society.
Early in history, the Roman papacy consolidated its power. It became one of the most influential organizations in the medieval period. This rise to power resulted from the decline in the Western Empire, the leadership of Roman bishops, and special grants that gave the church land holdings. This rise to power caused some positive ramifications, such as the protection of the church from heresy. However, the absolute power of the pope also caused corruption and abuses, many of which would eventually spark the reformation.