Crusades Dbq

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In the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, Europeans embarked to recover the holy city of Jerusalem from the Muslims. These expeditions, Crusades, were a form of war in defense of Christianity that was justified by the papacy. Popes and church officials would promise spiritual benefits and indulgences to those who would fight. With the start of the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of Western Christians of all classes joined the cause and chose to fight against the infidels in order to regain the holy city of Jerusalem. Between 1096 and 1291, when the last of the Crusader states were overtaken, there were numerous expeditions and hundreds of thousands soldiers and civilians were killed. Upon reviewing the two sources, we can see that there are many views in regards to the crusades and their success.
Source one starts by giving the definition of a crusader as a man signed with the cross. A man who has received the approval of his local priest or authoritative cleric to swear a vow to fight the enemies of the church. In return for taking this vow, he became immune from various secular liabilities and full remission of confessed sins. Source one questions whether every individual who took this vow …show more content…

It is noted that in both medieval and current times, people will fight for issues they hold dear to them. This source also offers some rebuttal to the thought that the crusades were unsuccessful. It speaks to two goals of the crusades; attaining control of Jerusalem and defending the Christian East. In supporting this, it is mentioned that Jerusalem was to remain in crusader hands for eighty years and the crusader kingdom lasted in Palestine for 192 years. Crusader states were able to destabilize the Muslim power and prevent a single Islamic

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