Contact between Europe and the Islamic world in medieval times

Contact Between Europe and the Islamic World in Medieval Times

At the fall of the colossal Roman Empire, Europe and the Middle East had little of the distinct characteristics and identifications they have today. In fact, many of the Islamic countries today were at that time predominately Christian lands. However, the spread of Islam in the Middle East sharply divided the two areas and such relations began to loose strength. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, contact was renewed between Europe and the Islamic world, but which many negative ramifications. This new found contact witnessed the renewed Christian interests in the region, sparked the Crusades resulted in a temporary Christian state in Israel, and also began a deep misunderstanding of the two separate cultures.

The fall of the Arab empire that had controlled the area now known as the Middle East brought forth new European interests in the region. The Arab empire had held a strong power hold since their defeat of the Christian Byzantine Empire. They then maintained a strong presence in the area until the eleventh century. After the Arabs fell from power, new European interests emerged within the Christian government of the Holy Roman Empire, (Lewis, 123). This led many in Europe to look into land in the Middle East. Many Europeans also had religious interests in the now then dominant Islamic region. The Catholic Holy Roman Empire wanted to preserve the Christian religion within the Holy Land as a tribute to the origins of the dominant religion. However, that same area held native people who by then had been converted to Islam. By re-capturing the Holy Land, the Holy Roman Empire believed it was saving its sacred lands from infidels. Then, in 1099 Pope Urban II influenced Europe's royalty to embark in the long series of battles which are now known as the crusades, (Lewis, 117). These battles raged on back and forth for hundreds of years and led the region to be thrown into turmoil. Power was juggled in different areas based on victories and loses of the two competing empires.

After the initial wave of crusaders, Europe had regained the area formerly known as the Christian Byzantine Empire, including Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. After fighting off the Islamic nations who held the area, Christianity ruled over Jerusalem until the late eleventh century. This formed a new Christian state within an Islamic context, but only heightened tensions between the two regions. Then in 1187, the Turkish Kingdom ruled by Saladin who ruled over Egypt and Syria, (Lewis, 134). For the next century, several other unsuccessful crusades were launched to once again recapture the Holy Land.