In the current news, the religious tensions between Christians and Muslim extremists are a recurring topic that sparks conversations between many people. The history behind this religious conflict goes back into the early 7th and 8th centuries during the times of the Byzantine and West European Empires. Although the conflicts between the two religions may have not been profound in the past, they were solidified due to the Crusades. Lasting from 1096 to 1204 CE, the Crusades were a prominent event in history and they had a significant impact on both the Byzantine and Western European Empires. These four expeditions involved the long distance travel across Europe, the loss of many innocent lives and the destruction of cities and important artifacts.The …show more content…
Crusades are viewed in different lights due to the complexity of the battles and people today believe that the Crusades are based only on religion. Although religious fervor was a significant cause and outcome of the Crusades, the study of these wars reveal additional important themes. Political desire, economic gain, intellectual modifications and artistic changes also contributed to the Crusades and had a significant impact on European and Middle Eastern civilizations. In the early 7th and 8th centuries, the Islamic faith started to spread throughout Europe and Asia. Regions such as Palestine fell under Islamic control in 683 AD. Although Jerusalem was under Muslim control during this time, many Christians made pilgrimages to the holy land. The relationship between the Muslims and Christians was mutual. The Muslims were fair to the Christians in regards to worship; they governed with the idea of the freedom of worship and they even allowed the use of religious shrines. Although a sense of harmony between the Christians and Muslims was established, it was threatened by al Hakim, an Egyptian Caliph. During the early 11th century, Al Hakim persecuted Christians around the area of present day Egypt. This sparked conflict between the Christians and Muslims, and this was one of the starting causes for the Crusades. When many Christians were making pilgrimages to Jerusalem, a group of Turks known as the Seljuk Turks were interfering with the pilgrimages. The interference with the Seljuk Turks brought anger to the Christians. But, it also ignited motivation among many as well; they were determined to bring Jerusalem back under Christian control. Many Christians believed that the Crusades would provide an opportunity for them to show “their knightly skills in the name of god”(Froehlich). As interest for the wars started to grow among the Christians, Pope Urban II also grew interested in the idea of the Crusades. “The Pope thought that the Crusades would allow the Papacy to grow with immense stature and power and grasp the moral leadership of Europe"(Froehlich). At the same time, the Pope saw the Crusades as a solution to private warfare between Christians. He believed that the Crusades made all Christians unified under one cause. After Pope Urban II’s declaration of the First Crusade in 1095, 50,000-60,000 knights with red crosses volunteered to take part in the Crusades. The Pope persuaded people to join by saying that “if the knights died during the Crusade, they were assured of a place in heaven"(Beck 343). These religious causes gave a strong backing in starting the Crusades. Fighting in the name of god, religious tensions and the recapture of the Holy Land laid the foundation for starting the Crusades and for building the legacy of the wars. Religion was a huge contributor to the Crusades and the main purpose of these wars were in regards to religion. While religion did play a large role for starting the Crusades, political and economic desire helped to propel the wars forward. The Seljuk Turks were known for causing chaos and pandemonium for many Christians on their journeys to Jerusalem. However, they were also known for their many battles against the Byzantine Empire. At the end of these many battles, the Seljuk Turks were successful. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexius, worried that his empire would crumble without the military strength and help from Western Europe. So, he went to Pope Urban II and to the Western Prince for help. He asked them for help in war against the Muslim Turks under the idea of Christendom. He tried to persuade the Pope to help him take over Constantinople and other cities. Alexius said “Come, then, with all your people and give battle with all your strength, so that all this treasure shall not fall into the hands of the Turks and the Pechenegs... Therefore act while there is still time lest the kingdom of the Christians shall vanish from your sight and, what is more important, the Holy Sepulcher shall vanish. And in your coming you will find your reward in heaven”(Rice 10). At this point, the Pope decided that action must be taken. While the Pope was making his decision, the people of Western Europe were also eyeing the opportunity of traveling to Eastern Europe. Many Western Europeans were enticed by the fortune and wealth found within Eastern Europe. Young men and women wanted to explore the riches and the leave Western Europe. Also, leaving Western European Empire would mean that the people would leave a feudal society. All of these political and economic contributions held promising outcomes for both the rich and the poor in regards to economic desire and political advancements. Desire for fortune, prosperity and overall stability helped the Western European and Byzantine Empires make their decision on initiating the first Crusade. Without these important causes to drive the wars, the Crusades may have not been started. After the Crusades, the Byzantine and Western European Empires experienced significant changes. There were various changes among many different categories, but religious, political and economic changes all made an impact on Europe and the Middle East. In regards to religion, the Crusades raised doubts among the Christians about god and the role of the papacy. At the same time, skepticism in regards to religion started to grow. However, contact with the Muslim world “started to replace ignorance about other cultures and religions with a certain respect for them”(Froehlich). After the Crusades, the Catholic Church lost its high position due to the failed attempts of the Crusades. The main effect in regards to religion is the strengthened tensions between the Muslims and Christians This is one of the most significant impacts that is still present in current day society. While religious effects were various, the political and economic outcomes of the Crusades were just as diverse. For the Western European Empire, the feudal government vanished. After this change, there was a rise in a money economy system. The Crusades helped to establish a better money economy system, methods of taxation, and new methods for banking. However, the high costs of the war drained money from the aristocracy. In regards to the people of Western Europe, the population of the empire was significantly lowered after the many murders in the Crusades. The Crusader states that formed in the Latin Empire of Constantinople were temporary and they only lasted for a short period of time. These various outcomes were all constructive and destructive in their own ways. Some of these outcomes helped to build off on history and other outcomes helped to bring a sense of stability to the empires. Some of these outcomes may have made direct effects on the past empires, but some of them, such as the religious impacts, continue to make an impact today. Similarly, intellectual modifications and artistic changes had a significant part in regards to the effects of the Crusades.
After the Crusades, trade, architecture, and urban culture started to flourish. Islamic achievements in medicine, science, mathematics, and philosophy helped to make a large impact on Western Europe. All of this came from contact with the Muslims during the Crusades. Contact with the Muslims also helped to establish port city connections between Palestine and other European countries. This establishment helped to increase trade with Eastern Countries. Also, an advancement in navigation and ship-building led to better built navigation pathways and maritime transportation. For the Byzantine Empire and other parts of Eastern Europe, trade across the Mediterranean Ocean brought Muslim merchants and Italian merchants together. The different merchants exchanged goods and this helped to spread culture and religion to new locations. This type of trade helped spread knowledge, culture and solidify ties between different cities and different people. While the Crusades did establish new connections, the battles also led to the destruction of important intellectual and artistic artifacts. In Constantinople, the last Crusade ended with a fire which consumed the city. This fire burnt libraries full of ancient manuscripts and the fire also led to the destruction of ancient art pieces, precious altars and jewelry. The loss of these important objects and the …show more content…
intellectual achievements may not be as important as the previous outcomes, but they still made notable effects on the past and present. The intellectual advancements that were made have contributed to the foundation of various subjects that we now study today. Without these important endeavors, many of the present day discoveries could not have been accomplished. If special artifacts were not destroyed in the great fire of Constantinople, historians would have been able to unearth the secrets of the city and other past historical civilizations. The presence of these objects could have added to the knowledge of the past and could have contributed to what people know about history. The Crusades were initiated due to religious tensions and promising political and economic improvement.
However, the legacy of the Crusades impacted civilizations in many other ways. The commercial, political, religious, intellectual and artistic themes all contributed to past and present society in different ways. In fact, the legacy of the Crusades is present in today's society. Extreme terrorists group such as ISIS still show the religious tensions between Christians and extreme Muslims. The Crusades are not the only reason for political and religious tensions today, but it was a contributor to the current global state. The principles and influences behind the Crusades may not be of importance to a person, but these wars are partially responsible for the current life we live in. The Crusades impacted past societies, and these wars continue to make a significant impression on current
life.
The Crusades took place in the Middle East between 1095 and 1291. They were used to gain a leg up on trading, have more land to show hegemony, and to please the gods. Based upon the documents, the Crusades between 1095 and 1291 were caused primarily by religious devotion rather than by the desire for economic and political gain.
In 1095 Pope Urban II called all Christians to take part in what would become the world’s greatest Holy War in all of history. Urban’s called on Christians to take up arms and help fight to take the Holy Land of Jerusalem back from the accursed Muslims. During this time of war, the whole world changed. Land boundaries shifted, men gained and lost and gained power again, and bonds were forged and broken. The Crusades had a great impact on the world that will last forever.
Maalouf’s main thesis in The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is that the crusades are a major part of history and have truly influenced every one of our lives. The second pa...
The Crusades were a bloody time period. They were a military campaign by the pope and the Roman Catholic Church to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims. They lasted from the 11th- 13th century. They were catastrophic and left Europe in ruins. Although the Crusades were such a violent period of time, they had a positive impact in history because of their role in the renaissance and exposing the Western world to the Eastern.
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
God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark, will cause readers to question much of what they know about the Crusades, the Crusaders themselves, and the formidable Muslim forces they encountered along the way in liberation of the Holy Land. Stark gives compelling reasons for the Crusades, and argues that readers should not be too quick in following the lead of historians who cast the Crusaders in less than positive light. Stark makes his case supported by evidence that vindicates the valiant struggles of the Crusaders who accomplished the task of keeping Christianity alive through troubled times.
Now that we’re back in Europe, we can share the new ideas and goods that we picked up while we were in the Middle East.” Crusader 1 statement shows that he learned about geography and he’s sharing the ideas and goods he brought from the Middle East to Western Europe; which is an example of cultural diffusion. This is how crusaders were affected socially after the crusades.
Historians used to think that the crusaders that came back to Europe presented other people, like westerners, to eastern goods and ways of life which influenced Western life. As a product of the crusade, The westerners and people who crusaded argued. Europeans were introduced to goods like: sugar, silk, velvet, and glass mirrors But, Historians now take back those arguments and point to the large amount of exchange between Muslims, Byzantines, and Europeans a long time before Crusades even started. Western Europeans also learned how to build superior ships and make more accurate maps after the Crusades. They also learned to use magnetic compasses in order to tell which direction they were going. In addition, the Crusades indicated and affected religious trends. Some people were devoted to St. George in the early Middle Ages. The intensity of this devotion increased in Europe after he intervened astoundingly at the Battle of Antioch in 1098, so the Crusades had a highly negative effect on
The Crusades were a turning point in history that affected the Middle East and Europe. The Crusades did transform the economy of the Middle East, but many of the changes were bad for Middle Eastern countries, but beneficial for the European countries. Even while the Crusades benefited the Middle East by making European nations weak to invasion, the Muslim nations were more hurt by the Crusades because: the Europeans gained new intelligence, making the European nations just as developed as the Muslim nations; created a distrust between Muslims and Christians, making trade and interaction between the groups harder; and encouraged an age of European expansion, lessening the role of Middle Eastern nations in trade. Even though the European nations failed in the crusades, cultural diffusion took place over the many years they inhabited Muslim countries, and in turn the Europeans took these ideas so they became as developed as Muslim nations. The Crusades increased contact between the Christians and the Muslims because the first Crusaders would live in Muslim cities in-between.
In 1095, Jerusalem was a flourishing city that was the main powerhouse for three religions; all three religions wanted complete control over the holy land. These three religions were Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and all three religions were known to use Jerusalem as a place of religious reasons. But in turn, the best part about Jerusalem was the political power it held. Pope Urban’s demand for power and Jewish Israel’s desire to control Palestinians are the factors in the political conflict over the holy land.
The Crusades brought many great things that ultimately impacted history in the middle ages because of its religious expansion, military conquest and trying to overthrow the muslims, and finally resorted to looting and stealing throughout their conquest. Through the nine Crusades ideas were spread, but also blood was shed over the Holy Land which both sides believed that it was rightfully theirs. The Crusades ended with no clear victor which leaves much room for historians to debate today, but the fact is that the true victory was that ideas and new ways of life were spread from continent to continent during a time of war and conquest.
In 1095, the conflict between the Christians and the Muslims started a crusade (a military campaign in defense of Christianity) for the battle of Jerusalem. This crusade involved people of other religions besides Christianity such as the Jews but they did not play a major role during this time. The Crusades lasted almost two decades and consisted of eight different crusades. With all of the events and actions that took during the Crusades, it led too many effects throughout years. There were short term effects and long term effects from the crusades that effected people of all different cultures. Two places which have had many effects from the Crusades are Europe and Islam. The Crusades has had short term and long term effects on power, economic and classical knowledge throughout Europe and Islam.
In the Eastern World, the Crusades had major impacts on the cultural and economical aspect of
There are multiple causes of the Crusades. One is that the Christian people were being murdered and the Christendom people wanted to fight. Another Crusade was because the Turks were constantly making threats and even went after Constantine. The effects of the Crusades are that the kings increased the taxes in the kingdoms and increased their authority. The Crusades also led to land expansion and in some ways “militarized” churches.
The crusades proved the importance of Christianity during the Middle Ages. We saw people willing to fight for their Christian beliefs and how much of a powerhouse the church had over most parts of Europe at the time. Christians wanted to recapture Jerusalem, the Holy Land, from the Muslims. I believe because of all the fighting in Europe, the Middle Ages had deep foundations in war and violence. We later hear about the 100 years war with France and Great Britain, or the battle of Hastings, and you can start to see the answer to everything back then was to go to battle. Going to battle under, and for the Christian church was the reason so many people joined the crusades, besides all of the promises the pope gave as well. Because of the crusades, we can also see the Middle Ages heavily involving trade and commerce with other traders. Crusade and Muslim fighters bought things and new ideas and goods were shared through the years. There were more advanced empires who had products Crusaders wanted and traded for, so the Middle Ages started to find trade as a new norm.