Crusades Refers to a Series

Crusades refers to a series of wars led by Western European Christians to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims (Origin pp). Beginning in the Eleventh Century, the Crusades lasted through three centuries, ending in the Fourteenth Century (Origins pp). Although it originally referred only to the European efforts against the Muslims for the city of Jerusalem, the term Crusades became to be used to refer to any European military effort against non-Christians (Origins pp). The Crusades resulted in European expansion and colonialism (Origins pp). The Crusades were basically the militant expression and expansion of Western Christendom as Europeans combined religion with secular and military enterprises (Origins pp).

During the Seventh Century, the caliph Umar overtook Jerusalem and by the early part of the Eleventh Century Christians began to be persecuted by the Fatimid caliph Hakim and although it somewhat abated after his death in 1021, relations were strained and increased in 1071 when Jerusalem passed from the Egyptians to the Seljuk Turks (Crusades pp). Threatened by the Seljuk Turks during the latter part of the Eleventh Century, Byzantine Emperor Alexius I appealed to the West for aid (Crusades pp). Although this was not the first appeal, it does help to establish the time and route of the First Crusade, 1095-1099 (Crusades pp). There were officially eight crusades fought in the name of Western Christendom (Crusades 2 pp).

In 1095 Pope Urban II spoke before the Council of Clermont exhorting Christendom to go to war for the Sepulcher and "promising that the journey would count as full penance and that the homes of the absent ones would be protected by a truce" (Crusades pp). The pope said that the Christian battle cry should be "Deus volt," God wills it, and distributed crosses at the meeting, thus from this, the Crusaders took their name as count Raymond IV of Toulouse became the first of the leaders to take the cross (Crusades pp). With the help of wandering preachers such as Peter the Hermit, word of the movement spread throughout Europe and even into Scandinavia (Crusades pp). The main contributing factors to the enthusiasm were the increase in the population and prosperity of Western Europe; the high point that religious devotion had reached;

the prospect of territorial expansion and riches for the nobles, and of more freedom for the lower classes; the colonial projects of the Normans (directed against the Byzantine

Empire as much as against the Muslim world);

the desire, particularly of the Italian cities, to expand trade with the East; and a general awakening to the lure of travel and adventure

Crusades pp).

European resources could not support new enterprises and traders now desired greater control of goods, routes and profits, thus, these worldly interests "coincided with religious feeling about the Holy Land and the pope's newfound ability to mobilize and focus a great enterprise" (Origins pp). The Crusaders reclaimed Jerusalem and established several Latin kingdoms, and although many Christians were killed by accident, especially when the peasants tended to kill everything in their path, this is considered the most successful Crusade (Crusades I pp).

The Second Crusade, 1147-1149, was led by Louis 7th of France and the Holy Roman Emperor and proved to be a failure (Crusades 1 pp). The purpose of the Third Crusade, 1189-1192, was to reclaim Jerusalem, which had been lost in 1187 to Saladin, the Islamic army's greatest general (Crusades 1 pp). This effort was undermined by the personal rivalry between Philip II of France and Richard I of England (Crusades I pp). Initially, the Fourth Crusade was against Egypt, an Islamic domain, however, "it was diverted by the Venetian merchants (who owned the ships the Crusaders were traveling on) to attack Christian Constantinople, a commercial rival of theirs," permanently weakening the Byzantine Empire (Crusades I pp). During the Fifth Crusade, 1218-1221, the Crusaders captured Egypt, then lost it (Crusades I pp). Then, led by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, the Sixth Crusade, 1228-1229, recaptured Jerusalem through negotiations with the sultan of Egypt, however the city was lost again in 1244 (Crusades I pp). The Seventh Crusade, 1249-1254, and the Eighth Crusade, 1270-1291, were both led by Louis 9th of France who claimed to have been inspired by religious visions (Crusades I pp). Both of these last crusades were disasters, however, Louis was later canonized (Crusades I pp).

Although the Crusades in the Holy Land failed, they did serve as a vehicle of Western influence "by bringing the West into closer contact with new modes of living and thinking, by stimulating commerce, by giving fresh impetus to literature and invention, and by increasing geographical knowledge" (Crusades pp). This period of history increased the development of national monarchies in Europe, due to the fact that secular leaders deprived the pope of the decision power in what was intended to have been the highest Christian enterprise (Crusades pp).