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