xGabriel Duque Mr. Mezzo English 10, Period 7 12 April 2024. The Truth of The Crusades While often remembered for its bloody battles and the religious fervor, underneath it all the crusades left a legacy of unexpected benefits throughout Europe and the Middle East. The crusades were a series of holy wars fought during the Middle Ages, from 1095-1291 in which Christians fought to retake a variety of lands stolen by Muslims, including the holy land, Jerusalem. The start of the crusades in 1095 began shortly after a speech from Pope Urban II igniting a flame in the crusaders hearts to win back their land. There are many arguments about who was responsible for the crusades and while some may argue the crusades were immoral on the Christians’ part, …show more content…
First and foremost was the religious aspect – the defense of Christians and the faith” (Cartwright 2). Consequently, the knights reacted in a manner to destroy those who dishonored their faith and religion; they did not do this unprovoked, but because of the disrespect and further threats of the Seljuk Turks. The crusades led to an expansion in the authority of the papacy and Western leaders, ultimately resulting in the unification of Western states. Before the start of the crusades there were many private wars and conflicts between different nobles and leaders, with the start of the crusades these smaller wars were put to the side and the people were unified under the cross. As said in Epochs of History by EDWARD E. MORRIS, “Hermit Peter lay in the conviction, deep even to fanaticism, that the wearers of the Cross had before them an enterprise in which failure, disaster, and death were not less blessed, not less objects of envy and longing, than the most brilliant conquests and the most splendid triumphs.”(Edward E. Morris 2 Peter the Hermit was so indulged in the idea of fighting for God and taking back the holy land that he spread his thoughts among others all over asserting that they would stop Peter's incredibly strong dedication to the idea brought many people from all over Europe together to start the People's Crusade; a movement with
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 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.
The emperor of the Byzantine Emperor was upset with Turks encroaching on his empire. He went to the Pope Urban II and complained. He made up atrocities about the Turks. In 1096, The Pope Urban II promoted the Crusade to reclaim the Holy Land from the barbaric Turks. These crusades lasted till the 13th century. In the process, Jews were persecuted and lots of looting took place. Many countries took interest in the Crusades because they were ready for travel and adventure. They wanted to expand trade with the Middle and Far East and so the Crusades gave them a chance to open up trade routes with those countries. They used Christianity to justify the Crusades. In reality, they wanted to expand trade and gain more territorial land.
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
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.
The emphasis of the Catholic religion during the Crusades resulted in the spreading of Christianity across many regions in Europe, and also resulted in an increase in trade. The Crusades were fought in order to take back the land of Jerusalem from the Muslims, and also to protect the Catholic Church. The Crusades began when Pope Urban II stated that “.an accursed race utterly alienated from God. has invaded the lands of the Christians and depopulated them by the sword, plundering, and fire. Tear that land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves,” in which he blames the Muslims for the loss of their holy land.
Among some of the largest conflicts in the world stand the Crusades; a brutal conflict that lasted over 200 years and was debatably one of the largest armed religious conflicts in the history of humankind. Since this is so clearly an event of importance, historians have searched vigorously for the true answer as to why the crusades began. Ultimately, because of accusatory views on both the sides of the Christians and of the Muslims, the two groups grew in such hatred of each other that they began to act in deep discrimination of each other. Moreover, Christian motives seemed to be driven mostly by the capture of Jerusalem, the dark ages of Europe and the common-folks desperation for land, wealth, and a spot in heaven. What seems to be continually
How could the Christian church, which bases itself off kindness and peace, allow the Crusades to happen? The religion known to be loving of all was the cause of the most catastrophic occurrence in the late eleventh and late thirteenth centuries because of misconceptions and avarice of the pope. Of all of the religious wars fought, this was the one with the highest level of ridiculousness. Members of the church fought for all of the wrong reasons and the outcome was poor because of it. Even though the Crusades were justified by the false philosophies of both parties, they were overall beneficial economically. Before one can analyze the thoughts of the people, he or she must know what came about to make them think like this.
In 1095, Pope Urban II called the first crusade. Happening between 1096 and 1099, the first crusade was both a military expedition and a mass movement of people with the simple goal of reclaiming the Holy Lands taken by the Muslims in their conquests of the Levant. The crusade ended with the capture of Jerusalem in July 1099. However, there has been much debate about whether the First Crusade can be considered an ‘armed pilgrimage’ or whether it has to be considered as a holy war. This view is complicated due to the ways in which the Crusade was presented and how the penitential nature of it changed throughout the course of the Crusade.
A major turning point in Medieval history were the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of wars fought between the Christian Europeans and the Muslim Turks, which occurred between the years of 1096 to 1272. In this Holy War the Christians goal was to obtain the Holy Land from the Turks, in which they did not succeed. Although the Christians did not meet their goal, many positives did come out of their attempt. Due to the reason that they did not meet their goal, yet numerous positives came out of their effort, many refer to this as a successful failure.
The First Crusade was called by Pope Urban II in November 1095. Urban made a simple proposal to his people: “Whoever for devotion alone, but not to gain honor or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.” This proposal sounded very appealing to many. There were several motivations behind the Church calling for the Crusades. Some of these motivations helped persuade the knights to take up arms and help reclaim the Holy Land. Urban figured that it was a win win situation. The violent knights could become “good” again. They would be forgiven for all their sins and they would be saved. They could cease their violent lives and instead do something productive, such as help recover the holy
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.
The Crusades were the type of person who demanded many things, if not everything. They used their power and the backing of the Catholic Church to advance their movements and take control of cities. Many may believe the Crusades were mean, dangerous people who did not care about others and only wanted control. This, however, was only one view and many do not see how the Crusades benefited the church, help unite its members, and enabled the church to evolve in certain areas.
If you ask someone if they ever heard of the Crusades the answer will most likely be yes. Does that mean that they know what the Crusades are? No. Many Jewish people who don’t know much about the Crusades assume it was merely targeted against the Jews and it resulted in the death of countless Jews. Other than that they are oblivious to the true facts. So what were the Crusades?