CRUSADES

CRUSADES

• Series of Religious wars • Christians launched the crusades between

1096 and 1291• The purpose was to gain control of Palestine• The spiritual heart of Palestine was the city of

Jerusalem

City of Jerusalem

• Jerusalem was sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims

• To Christians, it was the place where Jesus was crucified and ascended to heaven

• To Muslims, it was the place where Muhammad ascended to heaven

• To Jews, it was the site of the ancient temple built by Solomon

Events leading to the crusades

• The European Christians began the religious wars

• They were threatened by the Seljuks • In 1095 the Seljuks had advanced within 100

miles of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople• The emperor appealed to Pope Urban II for

help!!

The First Crusade 1096-1099

• Four European nobles led the first crusade.

• 30,000 crusaders fought their way through Anatolia and headed for Palestine

• Crusaders took over Antioch in Syria

• Crusaders established kingdoms in Palestine, Syria, and modern day Lebanon, and Turkey

Second Crusade 1146-1148

• Muslims joined together and were able to fight back

• In 1144 they captured Edessa, the capital of the northernmost Crusader Kingdom

• Christians started the second Crusade

• The Second Crusade ended in failure

• The Muslims beat the crusaders

Third Crusade 1189-1192

• It was led by Richard I, King of England

• He was also called the lionheart

• In 1180, Saladdin had formed the largest Muslim empire since the Seljuks

• Saladdin took back most of Palestine

• The loss of Jerusalem shocked the Europeans and sparked the third Crusade

• Richard’s Army kept control of the chain of cities along the coast of Palestine

• Muslims agreed to let the Christian Pilgrims enter Jerusalem

Later Crusades

• Continued for another 100 years

• Some Crusades were popular movements of poor people

• 1212 thousands of peasant children from France and Germany marched in the children’s Crusades

• Some of them returned home, some disappeared without a trace, some were sold as slaves, and very few made it to the holy land

• None of the Crusaders captured Jerusalem

• In 1291 Muslims took Acre, the last of the Crusader city, ending 200 years of Christian Kingdom in the holy lands

Reconquista

• Means “ reconquest” in Spanish

• Christians launched these series of wars to retake the “ Iberian Peninsula” from muslims

• It includes Spain and Portugal

• Muslims gave up more and more territory

• 1039, Portugal became an independdent Christian Kingdom

• 1248 only Granada in Spain remained in Muslim hands

Inquisition

• Roman Catholic Court• Established against

Muslims and Jews who claimed to have converted to Christianity

• Queen Isabelle and King Ferdinand wanted to unite Spain as a Catholic Country by using the Inquisition

• The Spanish Inquisition was harsh

• Judges used torture to find out if people who converted to Christianity still practiced their old religions

In the year 1492…..

• Jews were ordered to become Catholics or leave the country.

• Over 170,000 Jews left their homes forever

• Some took refuge in Muslim lands including Constantinople (Present day Istanbul)

Impact of Crusades on Christians• Positive• Economic Changes: increases

use of money as Crusaders need to pay for supplies

• Knights perform banking by giving loans

• Monarchs started taxes• Christians learn about food

and goods and returned home with: Melons, Apricots, Sesame Seeds, Spices

• They make profit by trading them

• Negative• Monarchs become

powerful as nobles and knights have gone to fight

• Some Crusaders were fighting for personal gain, wealth, glory

• Some were looting• People suffered under

heavy taxes

Impact of Crusades on Muslims

• Positive• Exposure to weapons

and military ideas• Merchants made profit• This money funded

projects like building mosques and schools

• Negative• Many lost lives in

battles and conquests• Crusaders destroyed

property• Muslims were advanced

and did not learn much from the Crusaders

Impact of Crusades on Jews

• Negative• Some were forced to convert

to Christianity• Anti-Semitism or hostility

towards Jews spread amongst non crusaders as well

• 1290 England Expelled all Jews

• Segregation spread throughout Europe in 14th and 15th centuries

• Negative• Jews suffered during

the Crusades• During First Crusade

suffered Persecutuions-they were murdered

• Holy books and synagogues were destroyed

Mongols

• 1n 1200 Muslims were threatened by the Mongols from China

• Under their leader Genghis Khan their empire spread across Asia

• They started converting people to Islam

• After the decline of the Mongols, Islam continued to spread

• The Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453

• The Mughal Empire Spreads in Indi in 1526