Crusades Essays (Examples)

The attle of Hattin, as it has come to be known, was a very decisive event in the history of the Crusades.
After destroying the Christian army, Saladin and his Muslim brothers quickly conquered almost every Frankish city and on October 2, 1187, the Holy City of Jerusalem fell which signaled the beginning of the Third Crusade, "a reaction to the fall of the Holy City of Jerusalem to the Muslim forces under Saladin" (Spielvogel, 277).

When Western Christians learned of the fall of Jerusalem into Muslim control, the entire European continent reacted with shock and utter dismay. Almost immediately, the Pope declared a brand-new Crusade, led by the kings of France and England, being Phillip II and Richard I; however, they did not reach the Holy Land soon enough, for by 1191, Saladin had managed to lay siege to the town of Acre, yet on July 12, the Crusaders…

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…

Crusades
The First Crusade took place from 1096 -- 1099. The First Crusade was a great surprise to both the Christians and the Muslims, the two opposing parties of the Crusades. The victory of the First Crusade went to the Christians. The Crusades were a series of nine wars waged during the Middle Ages between Christians and Muslims. The wars were waged between the 11th and 13th centuries specifically.

In 1071, the Muslim Turkish armies thoroughly defeated the Christine Byzantine military forces at the Battle of Manzikert. (Madden, 2002) The Christians were defending their territories in Asia Minor. Asia Minor had been swiftly invaded and conquered by outsiders and the Byzantine emperor at the time sought assistance from the west. A council was called and a decision was made:

At the Council of Clermont in 1095, Pope Urban II called on the knights of western Christendom to right this wrong…

Crusades
An overview of the book, specifically its focus on the bloody aftermath of the Fourth Crusade to take Jerusalem, as chronicled and assembled by Regine Pernoud in pages 201-216 of his text

The text The Crusades by Regine Pernoud presents, in its overview of the events, two contemporary chronicled versions of the pivotal events that took place in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade to take Jerusalem by the Christian world. The first such a chronicle is by Geoffrey Villehardouin. The second is by one Robert of Clari. Villehardouin's chronicle is perhaps the most famous contemporary, observed account of this long and bloody Fourth Crusade. Ultimately, the crusade ended in such terrible pillage of the siege of Jerusalem that even the Pope himself condemned its aftermath. Villehardouin went as a Christian, but also as a historian. Robert of Clary is mentioned by Villehardouin as one of the participants involved…

He successfully asked the Christian countrymen to volunteer as penance. (4) in a period of flux the faith of the church became a unifying force, where one was greatly needed and men of arms swore allegence to the church and followed many calls for piece within France and other nations, especially freedom from violence against the poor and the faithful. (5)
Riley-Smith also makes clear that the conditions of Islam at the time of at least the first crusade offered ripe pickings for crusaders, as it was in political turmoil with long standing warfare over the two main rival types of Islamic faith and their various leaders. (26) the transition of the crusade period to one of internal defenses rather than eastern defenses is also discussed at length and allows the reader to see the various stages and crusades inside the context of each successive movement, rather than as an…

Kilij Arslan, having seen saw how easily his army had defeated the Frank invaders at minimal cost, grossly underestimated at his great cost the much more disciplined and formidable European crusading armies that followed. (McFall 5, "Ill-Fated Crusade....")
The Second ave

The 'second wave' of crusaders -- elite contingents of effective military force led by local leaders and knights from different parts of Europe took a little longer to organize and depart for the East in the summer of 1096. The major contingents of the second wave were led by Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, numerically the largest group; Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lorraine, and his brother, Baldwin of Boulogne; Duke Robert of Normandy, and Bohemond of Taranto. (Lloyd 36) hen these formidable groups of crusaders began to appear at the gate of Constantinople in early 1097, the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, was taken by surprise. He had…

Crusades
Motivating Factors

Of the several theories about motivating factors for the Crusades, the most interesting one is that the late eleventh-century people were in the West suffered from anxiety "verging on alarm" related to their salvation.[footnoteef:1] In fact, the prevailing theory along this line is that Pope Urban II successfully co-opted the collective apprehension of the faithful in his 1095 clarion call.[footnoteef:2] Urban convinced the people that they could win remission of all their sins by participating in the liberation of Jerusalem from the Muslims.[footnoteef:3] The basis for this perspective is that the first Crusade was a Euro-Centric initiative driven primarily by deeply seated Catholic identity, devotion, and anxiety.[footnoteef:4] In Western Europe, a degree of religious fervor focused on sacred places and sacred things, such as the ability of saints to mediate on behalf of believers through their relics.[footnoteef:5] There was an accompanying and powerful notion that holy things…

Instead, they next went to yzantium and inflicted a damaging blow on Constantinople -- our Christian brethren divided from us in schism, but united to us in the Faith. What a devastating blow this was to our goal of holy war. These Crusaders, rather than fighting the infidel, fought only with other Christians! Why should Christ bless such a fight?
The Latins proved themselves untrustworthy and the fact that these Crusaders never even made it to the Holy Land shows exactly how our faithful can use a holy purpose to set about achieving their own aim. I was forced to excommunicate these violators of sanctuaries and thieves of holy things. The securing of money and profits, political favors and patronage, were their sole aim. I wonder whether they ever had any intention of confronting Islam in the Holy Land. It breaks my heart to think that the answer might be…

Crusades Impact on the Economy of England
Impact of Crusade on the economy of England

The crusade era was also termed as the era of commercial revolution in England, since it changed the economy from being a traditional economy to a market economy. During the crusade period economies were self sufficient and traditional, the Englishmen grew crops and manufactured goods in a manor system, however this is also the period when they discovered better ways such as the horse power, three field systems and the iron plow to produce food and be more efficient; all of this lead to a surplus in food production and the growth of economy.

This research is based on the wars fought by the Englishmen to recover and acquire land that would make England rich and powerful, more specifically it aims at exploring how this crusade impacted the country's economy. In a bid to address…

"[footnoteef:6] At the time of The Crusades the relations between the West and Byzantium is reported to have been characterized "as a clash of cultures." [footnoteef:7] The Greeks are reported to have seen themselves as "civilized superiors to the barbaric and violent westerners." [footnoteef:8] However, it is reported that the Western Christians did not have a monopoly on brutality, as "the Byzantines were capable of extraordinary unpleasantness. he death of Emperor Andronicus I Comnenus in 1185 bears witness to this. With one eye gouged out, his teeth pulled out and his right hand severed, he was paraded through the streets of Constantinople, pelted with excrement before being hung upside down, having his genitals hacked off and finally killed by sword thrusts into his mouth and between his buttocks."[footnoteef:9] The Fourth Crusade resulted in the crusaders contracting the Venetians to supply a fleet and in 1202 in the Fall of the…

.. Popular understanding of the crusades nowadays tends to think in terms of a great contest between faiths fuelled by religious fanaticism. This perception is bound up with modern sensibilities about religious discrimination, and... It is a perspective which, at least as far as the First Crusade is concerned, needs to be rejected.
Bull, 1999, p. 16/17)

The Crusades

The first crusade was initiated when Alexis I, the leader of the Byzantine Empire asked Pope Urban II for help in defending his territory against the Seljuk Turks. The religious aspect of this request was that Alexis claimed that the Eastern Christians were suffering as a result of Islamic rule. Another aspect was the danger that Christians pilgrims faced. In this regard it should be remembered that places such as the tomb of the apostle Saint James were sacred and important for pilgrims. Of course, Jerusalem and Palestine were favored pilgrimage…

Smith goes on to claim that on in Italy is there any "indisputable influence" (471) of the Crusades. Trade increased dramatically. Charanis agrees with the notion that the Crusades left behind more damage than they did anything good. He does admit the "crusading, as a historical phenomenon, was a significant movement" (Charanis 1952, 131). Along with these critics, John Mansbridge concurs that the Crusades did not end positively. hile the goal was to save Christianity from Muslim influence, after the Crusades ended this was not the case.
In addition, the Crusades did not establish a way of life in Europe "that had not already begun or that would not have been brought about without these protracted and wasteful wars' (Mansbridge 1973, 109). Mansbridge adds that one social change was probably "hastened" (110) by the Crusades and this was the weakening feudal power of kings. hat many come to realize by…

Crusades were seen by many in the West as a religious act, caring the banner of Christianity against the non-Christian Muslim world. There was also a strong political component. There were in fact several Crusades keeping this fighting going for two centuries. The Muslims were at first defeated and then managed to eject the Crusaders and start to rebuild the Muslim world. While some in the West might use the term "crusade" in a non-religious manner today, to Muslims the word continues to conjure images of an invasion by the West specifically as an expression of bigotry against Islam.
The Western powers fought the Crusades against the Muslims for several reasons, and the religious element was only one of those reasons. The Muslim world at the time was divided into factions, and Muslim Spain had started to go its own way in the eighth century. Much of the Muslim world…

In the 900s, engaging in pilgrimages to churches and other holy sites in Europe became popular, probably due to a Christian desire to rid themselves of their sins and afflictions through sacrifice. In the year 1000, Stephen I became the first Christian ruler of Hungary, which reduced the length of time a Christian pilgrim would spend in hostile lands. Over the next century thousands of European Christians would travel each year to Jerusalem, the center of their world. Christian philosophers of the time were also murmuring about the impending apocalypse at the turn of the millennium and how Jerusalem would figure prominently in that event.
In 1065 a group of German pilgrims were attacked by a marauding Turkish Army unit, but with the help of the walls of an abandoned town and the Egyptian Army they lived to tell their tale of a near-Apocalyptic event back home (ubenstein, 2011, p.…

As Zimbardo explains in his Stanford Prison study, the behavior of the guards just got worse and worse over time because there was no supervision or accountability (2013). "Dehumanization also occurred because the prisoners often had no prison clothes available, or were forced to be naked as a humiliation tactic by the military police and higher ups. There were too many of them; in a few months the number soared from 400 to over a thousand. They didn't have regular showers, did not speak English, and they stank. Under these conditions it's easy for guards to come to think of the prisoners as animals, and dehumanization processes set in" (Zimbardo, 2013).
Thus, all of these factors worked together to create a barrel of evil and the Christians who were part of the Crusades were not immune to it. As Zimbardo explains, virtually any good person who is put into such…

crusades advanced the cause of Christ and what were the motivating factors for each of the crusades and if they were carried out with approval of the rest of the Christian world. Crusades involved a series of religious and political wars that were fought between 1096 and 1291 so as to gain control of the Holy land. Crusades were military campaigns that were sanctioned by the oman Catholic Church during the middle ages. In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the first Crusade which was aimed at helping Christian Byzantine Empire that was being attacked by Muslim Seljuk Turks. Muslims unified agonist Christians invading and occupying force and these two groups ended up battling in wars for the control of the Holy Land. As a result of this crusade Europeans ended up capturing and restoration of Christianaccess to holy place in Jerusalem or near the place.
These crusading usually attracted men…

King Richard I (reigned 1189-99) has always been a ruler who inspired strong feelings, in his contemporaries and near-contemporaries and among subsequent historians.
He has been seen as the model of ideal kingship, a truly Christian ruler, a wise monarch and a great warrior-king, particularly in contrast to his successor King John; and as neglectful of his true responsibilities, violent and bigoted, a bad ruler who neglected his realm and his people. King Richard's role in the Crusades has always been seen as central to his significance, and indeed there are few rulers who are so entirely identified with a particular cause as Richard is with the Crusades. He organized and commanded the Third Crusade (1189-92). Writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw his crusading achievements as the proof of his greatness as a king; later historians have tended to see them as distractions from his true responsibilities of…

As can be seen, all three of the above discussed authors contribute an essential point-of-view and approach to the question of the modern day fundamentalism and today's holy wars and crusades. Although each author takes a unique approach to the subject, it is impossible to say that one is right and another wrong. Instead, each author's approach adds to or supplements the other authors' theories and approaches. For example, whereas as Armstrong provides an in depth theoretical explanation for the problem, she does little in terms of backing her theory up with first person documentation from the present day situation. Instead, much of her theory is based on references to past events and circumstances. However, her theory is given more credibility by the interviews conducted by Juergensmeyer.

Since the issue of modern day fundamentalism is to broad and obscure for any one scholar to tackle in its entirety, understanding must…

Islam's View Of The Crusades
Saladin could quite easily be the single most important Muslim figure chronicled in Paul Cobb's The Race for Paradise (an Islamic History of the Crusades). His significance is both historical and contemporary; in the case of the latter, it is quite clear that his actions still reverberate today. From a historical perspective, it is evident what the most major accomplishment Saladin achieved was: he was able to reclaim the city of Jerusalem from the invading Franks in 1187. This fact has immense importance, largely attributed to the eminence surrounding this particular city in both Muslim and Christian cultures. Historically, then, Saladin is regarded as one of the greatest leaders in the history of medieval Islam due to the fact that he was able to do what scant few other Muslim leaders could do: defeat the Franks in battle and actually send them scurrying away. As…

crusades on the west?
Effects of Crusades on the West

For centuries, the Muslims had been attacking and usurping Christian lands. With no real boundaries differentiating territories, it was impossible to fathom any measure of cordiality to exist between the two

The wars that then raged, The Crusades, as the western world sought to exact revenge have altered the present and the future so much that the effects are being felt even today. According to Edward Gibbon

, a chronicler belonging to the Enlightenment era, the effort would have been better utilized to seek and forge better and peaceful relations with the Muslims. This, according to him and others of his ilk, was highly improbable, because the warmongers would have instead indulged in infighting, instead. According to the eminent historians of the Enlightenment age, the crusaders were instigated by vested interests and were a rather gullible misdirected lot that were…

Fourth Crusade by Donald Queller and Thomas F. Madden is valuable in its reasoned, articulate description of a confusing and tumultuous time in human history. The author's clearly follow the entire period from Pope Innocent III's initial call for a holy war in 1198 to the sacking of Constantinople in 1204. Queller and Madden outline how crucial the overestimating the number of crusaders was in the misdirection of the Fourth crusade.
The book is clearly written, organized, and well researched, and ultimately valuable in providing an in-depth understanding of the complexities and realities of the often confusing events of the Fourth Crusade.

Queller and Madden's book covers the periods before, during and after the Fourth Crusade, and is valuable as a thorough description of the events of the Fourth Crusade. The Fourth Crusade, which took place from 1202-1204, was originally intended to conquer Egypt, but ultimately resulted in the conquering…

Invisible Hands: The Businessman's crusade against the new deal, then follow outline to write the essay as
Kim Phillips-Fein. Invisible Hands: The Businessman's Crusade Against the New Deal. New York .. Norton, 2009. $16.95 (pap.) ISBN: 978-0-393-33766-2.

The author of Invisible Hands, Phillips-Fein, is a professor at New York University's Gallatin School. This particular school enables students to select course loads from different departments and schools to effectively create their own majors. In addition to the aforementioned manuscript, she has written a number of articles that are intrinsically related to history, economics, and social issues (New York University). A number of her works are either critiquing the conservative right, or providing profiles of the leftist liberals -- such as former New York City mayor and Democrat David Dinkins. As such, it would not be inaccurate to state that she is something of a liberal herself (Strauss), and that this political…

Rhineland Massacre: Holy War or Papal Politics?
The Rhineland Massacre of 1096 was one of the first large-scale slaughters of the Jews in the Middle Ages, and was followed by a series of mass genocides in Europe, in which Jews were targeted. Although often discussed within the context of the First Crusade, the Rhineland Massacre was actually part of the Popular Crusade, a prelude to the First Crusade. These crusades, or Holy Wars, were a response by the Christian people of Europe to an appeal for help, given by Pope Urban II on behalf of the yzantine Emperor, Alexius I Comnenus.

The original appeal was for soldiers to go East to the Holy Land in an effort to take the land from the Arabs and Turks that were claiming it as their own, and claim the land on behalf of the Latin Christendom. However, this appeal for help involved much…

Pope Urban II and the First Crusade
Pope Urban II and his influence in developing and promoting the First Crusade in the 11th century

Christianity during the Middle Ages has been characterized by numerous conflicts that focus on the struggle for religious and political dominance, particularly in Europe and other Western societies. Of particular interest in the study of the history of the Christian religion are the events that surround European civilization between the 8th- 11th centuries. During these periods, Christianity experienced several movements that changed the social, political, and economic landscape of the European society and the Christian community in general.

One individual that played a significant role in propelling the Christian community into the socio-political movements of Europe during these periods is Pope Urban II, the religious leader of the Christians during the 11th century. He became known for his active role in inciting to his fellow Christians…

Did the Crusades advance the cause of Christ?

According to a digitized volume originally published in 1864 by Partridge and Company, the Crusades were instigated chiefly by "the most superstitious and fanatical notions"; and these "soldiers of Jesus…carried destruction to those who knew him not. Is this the spirit of Christ or of his holy gospel? Is it not rather the spirit of Mahomet…" whose propaganda was always 'the sword or the Koran" (Meliora, p. 15). Simon de Montfort, the Duke of Burgundy, executed his task "…with relentless cruelty, ravaged the country, burned the houses, massacred all the people, whether Romanists on not" and inflicted the "most revolting indignities…upon the weak and helpless" (Meliora, 15).

Answering the question for this portion of the paper, Meliora states, "To Christianity as a religion the Crusades did much evil" because the Christian Church "…sank more deeply into superstition; the clergy into ignorance; and…

Justo L.Gonzalez, The Story Christianity, 1 volume (preferably 2010 edition) ii.
The Crusades -- interpretation and history

There is much controversy regarding Crusades, their purpose, and the general effect that they left on society. Largely accepted as conflicts that started with the purpose of protecting the Byzantine Empire and Christianity as a whole, Crusades have taken place over the course of several centuries and have had a strong influence on religious ideologies in the Middle East. Although there were many individuals who actually fought in the name of what they perceived as being divinity, a large number of people took advantage of these conflicts by exploiting believers and by gathering wealth that was being brought from the East. In spite of the fact that they were religious in character, the Crusades were also meant to strengthen political and economic conditions in Europe by securing its place and influence in the…

high degree of misinformation I had received from traditional teachings about the church and the beginning of Christianity. Moreover, I was struck by the notion that most other people in the Western world receive this same degree of intentional misinformation, so much so that I have even heard people defend the idea that knowledge of the historical church is irrelevant to modern Christianity. Reading through the class material, I was struck by how critical this historical information was to the understanding of the actual church. One critical piece of information is the idea of Jesus as the head of the church, despite him not establishing Christianity as a separate religion. Another critical idea was that prophets could play a continuing role in Christianity, when my traditional understanding had suggested that after Jesus there would be no more Jewish prophets. I also found myself wondering about the very obvious and significant…

Islam and Christianity have a lot of history to share dating back to some years before the birth of Jesus. Although the members did not interact freely, the current 'animosity' characterizing the two religions was unheard of. In fact, they appeared to be focused much in solving their individual problems which unique but almost similar. This study shows that the two religions were affected by problems related to political succession leading to the cooperation instead of conflict.
How did the problem of political succession affect Islamic and Christian societies in the Middle Ages?

The problems of political succession affected Islamic and Christian societies in a number of ways. First, political succession affected Islamic societies by causing an expansion of Islam from the Middle East in other parts of the world. In this regard, a series of events that took place in the Middle East affected the spread of Islam. This…

In the same way, anyone that took it upon them to forsake the goods of this world, in order to crusade in the Holy Land would be able to inherit eternal life. Pope Urban reportedly also promised a complete remission of their sins to whoever promised to undertake and take part in the First Crusade to liberate the East from libels and heathens. He said, "...advance boldly, as knights of Christ, and rush as quickly as you can to the defense of the Eastern Church. For she it is from whom the joys of your whole salvation have come forth, who poured into your mouths the milk of divine wisdom, which set before you the holy teachings of the gospel." The great crowd of people then rushed forward, and proclaimed loudly, "It is the Will of God! It is the Will of God!" Pope urban answered them saying that yes,…

The shifting perceptions of 1096, particularly when seen against the backdrop of the historical
"reality, have much to teach us."

The development of the Rhineland Massacres, often looked at in history as a linear first example of official Jewish mass persecution by the Christians, wavers in importance to the modern scholar, as well as the modern Jew and Christian. Was it a warm up for mass persecution, or a warm up for crusade actions against the Muslims? Historically it is safe to say that it is all of these things, an important period in Jewish and Christian history. One that would have served as a good lesson for detractors of reinvigoration of anti-Semitism that pervaded not only the Nazi mentality but that of much of western thought, notorious anti-Semites existed all over the world during the rise of the Nazi regime. In fact the WWII genocide could be seen as…

Crusaders were able to implement feudal states throughout their travels during this period of warfare, many of which have been termed Crusader states and which were erected throughout the Holy Land and in parts of Asia Minor as well as Greece. The most famous of these, of course, was the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which took place in 1099 and reigned until its fall in 1291.

Kingdom of Jerusalem

It should be remembered that for the vast duration of the reign of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, European settlers were widely outnumbered by Franks and Muslims, and only comprised approximately 15 to 25% of the entire population (Kedar 148). The Europeans lived in areas which were both rural as well as urban, and despite attempts to integrate with the surrounding foreigners, they did not infiltrate areas which were predominantly Muslim and which had never had many Christian dwellers (Ellenblu…

The Crusader states that were set up in the aftermath of the First Crusade represent the achievement of these aims, and the expansion of the estern feudal system into the East. Military orders such as the Knights Hospitallers early combined the idea of religious objectives with the acquisition of landed estates. The Order was already acquiring extensive lands in Europe itself by the early Twelfth Century.
The creation of Crusader states in the Holy Land also amounted to the direct physical expansion of Latin Christendom. The rulers of these states were directly tied to the ruling houses of the est. Resident in their new domains they acquired a taste for the more luxuriant lifestyle of Islamic lands. High-quality metal goods, fine glass, enamels, and even simple souvenirs of the East, were in increasing demand in the est.

The Crusades stimulated a materialism that was not the intent of the Pope's…

civilizations have often resulted in dramatic changes to both sides. Peaceful encounters bring transfers to new goods, new technologies and new ideas, while encounters built on conflict can change outlooks, governments and ways of life. A violent culture clash occurred with the Crusades, while a more peaceful meeting of the cultures occurred with traders from Europe (especially Venetians) heading eastward to Asia. These two encounters between civilizations would lead to much of what we see in the geopolitical world today. We have conflict in the Middle East between the Arab world and the Western world. We also see global trade as a major driving force in the world. This trade also would eventually lead to the age of exploration and mass colonization.
The rise of Islam and the response of Christian Europe during the Crusades not only characterized its era, being one of the most important events of the time,…

Islam and Byzantine
The interaction of the Byzantine empire with the Islamic world from the time of the later Iconoclast Emperors to the Crusades is largely characterized by a struggle for power and dominance. Prior to the later Iconoclast Emperors, Byzantine had gained a great deal of power from the Islamic world through the actions of Leo III. In the ninth century the weakening of centralized Islamic government saw the growth of the Byzantine Empire in Asia minor. This influence was short lived, as the Seljuk Turks began to regain Asia minor in the late 1000s. Ironically, it was the Christian Crusades, which were ostensibly aimed at the destruction of the Muslim empire that ultimately led to the destruction of the Byzantine empire.

The Islamic civilization arose largely out of the teachings of the prophet Mohammed (Emayzine). By the time of the later Iconoclast emperors, the Islamic world was a…

Islam in the 14th-16th Centuries
With the rapid rise of the Ottoman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, European attitudes toward Islam would change vastly. We can see this illustrated in the differing attitudes toward Islam which are expressed by William of Adam, in his strange early-fourteenth century strategy pamphlet emphasizing the total European defeat of the Saracens, and Martin Luther, in his sixteenth century publications offering policy recommendations toward the Islamic power to the southeast. William of Adam wrote at the time when the Ottoman Empire was barely yet a phenomenon -- with his tract How To Defeat The Saracens dating to approximately 1317, this was a point in time when the Ottomans had barely yet made inroads against the Byzantine Empire that was still standing. By the time of Luther's central pamphlet on Muslim policy, the 1529 publication On the War Against the Turk, the Ottoman Empire…

Treasure of Montsegur
The novel The Treasure of Montsegur by Sophy Burnam (Harper/San Francisco, 2003), set in France in the year 1252, uses as its setting and historical backdrop the atmosphere of southern France during the 13th Roman Catholic Crusade led by Pope Innocent III, against a Christian sect of southern France, the Cathars. A Cathar woman, Jeanne of Beziers, is the main character. Historically speaking, Catharism:

was a religious movement with Gnostic elements that originated around the middle of the 10th century, branded by the contemporary Roman Catholic

Church as heretical. It existed throughout much of estern Europe, but its home was in Languedoc and surrounding areas in southern France.

("Cathar")

According to ikipedia, not much is known about daily lives of the medieval Catharists, or about their specific religious or moral practices. However, "hat is certain is that they formed an anti-sacerdotal party in opposition to the Catholic…

Kingdom of Heaven
The great irony of Ridley Scott's 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven" is that its central argument is calculated to seem inoffensive to contemporary audiences, but does so by being historically inaccurate. I take the central message of the film to be what Liam Neeson says approximately 22 into the film, as the ailing Crusader Godfrey of Ibelin (a somewhat fictionalized depiction of Godfrey of Bouillon) tells his son why he will be journeying from rural France to the Holy Land. The son, played by Orlando Bloom, asks his Crusader dad what the Crusader King of Jerusalem could possibly ask him to accomplish. Neeson, as the ailing Crusader, responds with the speech that gives the film its title:

"A better world than has ever been seen. A kingdom of conscience, a kingdom of heaven. There is peace between Christian and Muslim, we live together. Or, between Saladin and…

Nearly all of the attempts of Catholic Church to unite Orthodox Christians failed and what they achieved are religious hatred and distrust to Catholic Church.

Nowadays Catholicism has more than a billion followers all over the world. Their spiritual leader Pope John Paul II does a great work to make a dialogue between different confessions and does a lot to reconcile the representatives of different confessions. Bartholomew I, who is the Archbishop of Constantinople, is the leader of nearly 300 million Orthodox Christians (who mostly live in eastern and Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa). More over Patriarch of Constantinople is simply "the first among equals" and does not have any supreme power over other patriarchs. John Paul II looks for the ways to keep the dialogue with Orthodox Church and looks for the ways for reconciliation, but Orthodox Church is not really enthusiastic in this process. ussian patriarch…

The bottom line was that it was mandatory for people to put aside their miserable goals with the purpose of choosing a greater goal. Not only did the pope tries to influence people by appealing to their dedication to the Church, but he also used stories relating to Constantinople and Jerusalem with the purpose of emphasizing the fact that these lands were filled with riches.
It is very likely that people were influenced to such a degree by the pope's speech that they came to ignore the risks involved and the fact that they were actually dealing with war. Motivational speeches are very important in persuading the masses to do exactly as the ones in charge want them to. In spite of the fact that there were a series of reasons for which the pope was interested in sending European crusaders to the Middle East, some of the most important…

Knights Templar
ho were the Knights of Templar? They were the earliest founders and followers of military orders, and protectors of pilgrims, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. But they were much more than that, as this paper will point out. They began as very humble warriors, they continued with surprisingly strong growth period but their ending was tragic. This paper reviews the origins, the purposes, the actions and the endings that are attributed to the Knights of Templar.

The Knights of Templar was a Christian organization that was founded during the First Crusade, originally asked to provide military protection for pilgrims that were traveling to visit the Holy land following the conquering of the Holy Land by the Crusades. Most importantly in terms of the Crusades' goals, the holy city of Jerusalem had been taken back from Islam, but the Knights of Templar had a duty to protect believers who…

As was the nature of the Cold ar, the United States responded by quashing new governments that were likely to lead to communism, even where this constituted an undemocratic or even brutal instituted government (Kort 80).
Democratically elected officials from Brazil, Guyana, and Uruguay were overthrown by internal revolutionaries who were funded and trained by American forces (Parenti 44). These and other leaders and governments in Latin America were targeted by American forced as having communist leanings. Foreign policy followed, with more than two decades of the Cold ar focusing not only on the major publicized events of Korea and the Soviet Union, but on many small, third world countries. These small nations were poised to become players in the larger Cold ar struggle depending on where their allegiance and governments ended up after declaring their independence. ith the Soviet Union attempting to exert force and pressure on the United…

organized religion today has become an issue of controversy. Human intelligence and technology have developed to the point where it is difficult to find a spiritual foothold. This is perhaps why materialism has dominated the earlier part of the 20th century in the Western world. It is however interesting that there seems to be a return to spirituality during the first part of the 21st century. People have taken spiritual refuge in everything from the strangest new-age religions to the most traditional forms of Christianity. When considering the question of how Christianity particularly has changed then, there are many similarities and also differences between Christianity today and its earlier counterpart.
Firstly, the question of current and earlier Christianity is multi-faceted. Christianity as a religion, as I see it, has experienced several stages. The first stage occurred right after the death and resurrection of Christ. There was an extreme rise in…

Everyman and the Song of Roland focuses on the leading characters of the plays, namely, Everyman and Roland. This paper gives an in depth analysis of Everyman and the ingredients necessary for any man to abode paradise. This paper also reviews the character of Roland and how he earned great praise and respect not only among his mortal friends but also among angels and saints in heaven. By comparing both characters, this paper emphasizes on life after death according to Christian ideals.
Compare And Contrast Everyman And The Song Of Roland

Everyman is a medieval morality play, written anonymously between 1509-1519. This play may have been inspired by an anterior Dutch morality play, Elckerlijk. The play Everyman is an allegory of Death and the destiny of the soul. Everyman calls for Fellowship, Goods and Strength when he is summoned by death but sadly they betray him due to their true…

1. The terroism eras before and after 9/11 are quite different with respect to the role that the Israel/Palestine conflict plays. Since 9/11, the majority of terrorist incidents in the United States are committed by domestic, right-wing terrorists (Neiwert, et al, 2017), and the majority of "jihadist" terrorists are domestic, not imported, there remains a threat from the Middle East. Within the segment of homegrown jihadist-inspired terrorists, there were some 20 attacks carried out by about 178 people since September 11th (Jenkins, 2017). Among foreign-born terrorists who committed or plotted attacks in the US, the largest number were from Pakistan, at 20, and the remainder were from 39 other different countries, mostly Muslim-majority (Jenkins, 2017). A study of documented jihadist ideology, featuring jihadists from around the world, highlighted three common features: idealistic commitment to a righteous cause, individualism in interpreting religion, and a conviction that Muslims today are engaged in…

New scholarship suggests that Byzantine Empire was as successful as was ome in shaping modern Europe (Angelov, 2001).
Islamic Golden Age

The Islamic Golden Age (also called the Caliphate of Islam or the Islamic enaissance) was a center of government and political, cultural and religious traditions that arose in the early 6th century AD from the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and reached its height between the 8th to 13th centuries (Kraemer, 1992). The Golden Age was centered around the Saudi Arabian peninsula. Its first capital was Media; at its greatest extent, the Caliphate controlled all of the present day Middle East, northern Africa and parts of Spain, and extending to the Indus Valley. It was thus one of the few empires that rules over three continents (Kennedy, 2001).

After the end of the classical empires of the Middle East (such as Egypt and Assyria) the region was politically and…

Aristotelian influence predominated together with the wisdom and learning of other ancient writers, while the former was often used as a framework for intellectual debates which readily expanded both philosophy and other areas of knowledge (Grant 127-131). The European university system was established alongside monasteries as centres for the propagation of knowledge. Scholars like Robert Grosseteste, Albertus Magnus, and Roger Bacon wrote about natural science to a growing audience. While Christianity did not recede as a dogmatic cultural system, it was not entirely determinative. Scholars could explore natural phenomena with an openness to past views, although often the learning acquired was purely rational rather than experimental, and was fused with a biblical worldview. In other words, the renaissance of the twelfth century played an integral part in transmitting scientific methodology within a predominantly religious environment that required thinkers to harmonise science with religion.
Other significant achievements took place in less…

Saladin and the Christian Crusaders
Saladin, or Salah al-Din, or Selahedin, was a twelfth century Kurdish Muslim general and warrior from Tikrit, in what is currently northern Iraq. Saladin founded the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt. The Muslim leader was renowned in both the Muslim and Christian worlds because of his leadership and his military prowess. He was also seen as a chivalrous figure who showed mercy during his war against the Christian Crusaders. The image of Saladin developed in his lifetime and persisted long after so that he has remained a heroic figure much revered in both the Islamic world and the Christian world, the latter in spite of the fact that he opposed Western expansion into Islam and fought agasint the West in the Crusades. Still, he is idolized in literaure and art and is often the subject for Western writers as for Islamic writers, though the two groups…

66). St. Justinus' was influenced by St. Caster at Coblenz and churches Michaelstadt and Seligenstadt (Fegusson & Spiers p. 220). The columns and roofs are of cultural interest and the massive Gothic choir and its original seating still exist.
3.4. Significances

St. Justinus' has undergone changes over the years. In 1298 the relics of St. Justinus' were transferred to the mother church St. Margaret who in turn dedicated the church. In 1419 the Antoniter order made numerous altercations to the church including the building of the gothic chancel. In the early 18th century the church added an organ that is mostly intact today (The American Organist). In the 1930s and the 1980s St. Justinus' underwent restoration; today the church belongs to the parish of St. Josef in the Frankfurt district of Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg (aedekers Frankfurt).

Crusades:

4. Krak des Chevaliers, Syria (AD 1144 -- 1250) -- 950…

relationship exists between difference of religion and the occurrence of civil wars within societies. The relationship between religious groups to society can be defined against the backdrop of war. Powerful emotions surround both conflict and military conflict (Yinger, 1946). A direct relationship has been recognized for several year regarding religion and violence. Students of organized religion "have frequently pointed out the ease with which most church leaders shift, at the outbreak of war, from an explicit antiwar position to a vigorous pro-war policy" (Yinger, p. 176). However, despite the seemingly strong tie between religion and war, it is critical to also acknowledge that while religion seems a backdrop for many wars, many other factors have contributed as well. Political aspirations and agendas have had as much to do with war as religion. The complex intermingling of these many different factors will be explored in greater detail below.
ecent research suggests…

Staircase ramps which are comprised of steep and narrow steps that lead up one face of the pyramid were more in use at that time with evidence found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob, and Lisht pyramids respectively (Heizer).
A third ramp variation was the spiral ramp, found in use during the nineteenth dynasty and was, as its name suggests, comprised of a ramp covering all faces of the pyramids leading towards the top. Reversing ramps zigzag up one face of a pyramid at a time and would not be used in the construction of step pyramids, while lastly interior ramps that have been found within the pyramids of Sahura, Nyuserra, Neferifijata, Abusir, and Pepi II (Heizer, Shaw).

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek architecture exists mainly in surviving temples that survive in large numbers even today and is tied into Roman and Hellenistic periods which borrowed heavily from the Greeks.…

Architecture through the Ages
Mesopotamia

Construction in ancient times is second only to agriculture-it reaches back as far as the Stone Age and possibly further (Jackson 4). Before the existence of master builders in design and construction the Code of Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.) referred to design and construction as a simple process (Beard, Loulakis and undrum (13). Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylon, the world's first metropolis and he codified his code of laws (Beard 13). This is the earliest example of a ruler introducing his laws publicly. The code regulated the organization of society including the extreme punishments for violating the law. The builder's work is addressed in the code, however faulty design and improper construction were viewed as one (13). Six specific laws address the builder. These laws are;

228. If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house…

The goods from Asia were shipped to Venice and Genoa from where they were carried over the Alps to France and Germany, or through the strait of Gibraltar to Britain and the Scandinavian countries. The Black Sea port of Caffa, controlled by the Genoese during the 14th century, was an important terminal point on the silk route. Apart from the fur and slaves that it normally imported, Caffa is also reputed to have introduced the dreaded "Black Death" epidemic to Europe through fleas on rats that traveled on Genoese ships to Constantinople. (Ibid)
Genoese Trade with the Ottomans

Until the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century, the Genoese had prospered in trading through their relations with the Byzantines, the Christian principalities of the East, and even their sworn enemies -- the Arabs, while fighting for domination of trade with Venice. Thereafter, most of their trading activities depended…

Religion and Violence
Religion is for many a tool to remove negativity from someone's life and then make it possible for the respective individual to start a moral type of living. Even with this, religion has been used as a means to encourage violence in a series of cases throughout time. A great deal of individuals claiming to be religious can actually be considered a paradox, considering that they promote peaceful behaviors while also performing acts of violence. Religion can thus be exploited depending on what a person wants, with numerous people throughout history using it with the purpose to achieve their goals rather than for actually wanting to be religious. Christianity in particular is intriguing when discussing it in the context of violence.

From the beginning of time people have been predisposed to engaging in violent acts for a series of reasons. The simple idea of difference encouraged individuals…

Specifically, Caesar masterfully showed how through building alliances one may achieve power and rise to the top of the leadership tier even in a group or society as vast as the Ancient Roman Empire (Abbott, 1901, p.385).
The Roman Empire also provides an example of organizational systems within the public domain through the Republican system. In the Roman Republican system of government, one man did not have the power to make law. Instead, power was balanced amongst three different branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial ("The Roman Empire"). In fact, this form of government introduced the concept of a senatorial body to the public. In Rome, the Senate was designed as a separate body of government from that of the Emperor so as to avoid the tyranny of one leader. Through the advent of the Senate, the Romans laid the groundwork for leadership structure of Britain…

The study of physics, optics and biology of the eye contributed to the development of the quadrant and sextant. The Islamic world also created the concept of a library.
The Crusades of the eleventh century brought the learning of the Islamic world to Europe unfortunately this information was acquired by the act of war. The Crusades also increased the flow of trade, bringing new spices, gemstones and foods to Europe. The Crusades marked the beginning of religion as the basis for society. The Pope and the Catholic Church emerged as the leaders of society and religion as the unifying morality.

Rather than a change in politics, a mini-renaissance occurred during Romanesque period. The study of art, science and culture brought about a change in architectural styling and building materials; increased use of rounded arches and barrel vaults emerged at the same time as the use of metal, enamel, ivory, bronze,…

"The body of a bloodied Christ is divinely displaced from its sepulcher" and transferred to the est, where it must regain its rightful place, symbolically making Christianity's ownership of Jerusalem rightful and just."
orks Cited

Allen, Charlotte. "The real grail tale," Belief Net, December 16, 2009.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/The-Da-Vinci-Code/The-Real-Grail-Tale.aspx

Hughes, Linda K. "Reinventing King Arthur: The Arthurian Legends in Victorian

Culture." Victorian Studies, 48. 3 (April 1, 2006): 559-560. http://www.proquest.com / (accessed December 16, 2009).

Miesel, Sandra. "The real Holy Grail," Crisis Magazine, 2004. Accessed December 16, 2009

from Inside Catholic at http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6747&Itemid=48

hitman, J. "Transfers of Empire, Movements of Mind: Holy Sepulchre and Holy Grail." MLN,

123. 4 (September 1, 2008): 895-923,978. http://www.proquest.com / (accessed

December 16, 2009).

Charlotte Allen, "The real grail tale," Belief Net, December 16, 2009, p.2. http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/The-Da-Vinci-Code/The-Real-Grail-Tale.aspx

Sandra Miesel, "The real Holy Grail," Crisis Magazine, 2004, Accessed December 16, 2009 from Inside Catholic at http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6747&Itemid=48

Allen, p.2…

The advantages in efficiency were evident, as are the ways of apprenticing younger members slowly into the family trade.
The more probable model is that the skilled labour was taken from the guilds, whose power was on the rise throughout Europe after AD 1100. Artistic and trade guilds selected their members. Such pooled labour provided training, experience, a career trajectory, and security for the craftsman, who could eventually work through the stage of journeyman to master craftsman. This system allowed for the concentration of skilled labour and guaranteed quality controls. Non-members were excluded from building projects. It was an early form of labour union. At times these guilds had a monopoly on trade labour. Out of some system like this it is likely that the labour came to work on buildings like Pisa Cathedral. The master builders themselves would have been influenced by knowledge generated in the intellectual revival at…

So, the rightness of the claim that the CIA needed more money cannot be supported by the fruition of terrorist attacks.
Hannity moves on into a discussion regarding immigration and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service -- or INS. Essentially, Hannity feels that the Immigration Act of 1965 makes it entirely too easy for illegal immigrants to exploit loopholes in the present legislation. In particular, he mentions how illegal immigrants are able to overstay their visits here in the United States and to obtain legal certifications like drivers' licenses in the process. Hannity believes that the INS is altogether too soft on illegal immigration and that this softness, created by the Clinton administration, has resulted in numerous social problems and contributed to the terrorist threat. He states:

This system that absolutely must be fixed before terrorists use such loopholes to strike us again. Illegal aliens must be incarcerated, not allowed…

The first five books were separated from the whole about 400 B.C. As the Pentateuch. Jean Astruc in the eighteenth century noted that the Pentateuch is based on even earlier sources. The two chief sources have since been identified in Genesis on the basis of their respective uses of Yahweh or Elohim in referring to the deity. They are called J. For the Jehovistic or Yahwistic source and E. For the Elohistic source, and P. For the Priestly source was later separated from the E. source (Miller and Miller 698-699).
Consider just the complexities involved in the construction of the first book of the bible, Genesis, in its present form. It is believed that at an early time in human history, perhaps as early as the eleventh or tenth century B.C., someone put together the stories of God's dealing with the fathers from oral forms then in circulation. Such a…

Greek Classical Era on Christian Art
The fifth century B.C.E. initiated a new philosophy in Greek art. hile before this era, Greek representations of the human form tended to be static and relatively stylized (much like Egyptian art), the Classical era exhibited a notable break with previous artistic images. Representations of the human form became much more realistic. Knowledge of anatomy combined with an ideology that celebrated and idealized the human form (while still keeping it recognizably human) characterized the style of this era, as can be seen in one of the wonders of the ancient world, the Tomb of Mausolus (Asia Minor, 359-351 B.C.E.). One famous relief on the Tomb depicts Greek warriors and Amazon women in combat. Both the soldiers and the women are intricately detailed in terms of the folds of their clothing and musculature. Both sides are also perfectly proportioned and while all look recognizably human,…