CH 5-1

Crusades
 The 3 Major Western
Religions

Judaism Christianity Islam

Torah Bible Koran
Moses Jesus Muhammad
Jerusalem Jerusalem Mecca
 Holy Land
All three religions think of
Palestine as a Holy Land
 Seljuq Turks (Islamic) took
Palestine in 1071 and
threatened Byzantine
Byzantine Emperor asked
Pope Urban II for help
 The Beginnings
 Pope Urban called for a military
expedition (crusade) to rescue the
Holy Land from the Muslims
 “Undertake this journey for the
forgiveness of your sins with the
assurance of everlasting glory in the
kingdom of Heaven” – Pope
 TODAY Bush use of Crusade and evil doers, terrorist bombers 12 virgins
 Pope Quotes
 Jerusalem is the center of the earth;
the land is fruitful above all others,
like another paradise of delights”
 “Let those who have been accustomed
unjustly to wage private warfare
against the faithful now go against the
infidels and end with victory this war
which should have been begun long
ago.”
 From Jerusalem, a horrible tale has gone forth-
namely, that a race from the kingdom of
Persians has invaded the lands of those
Christians and has depopulated them by the
sword, pillage and fire….It has either entirely
destroyed the churches of God or appropriated
them for the rites of its own religion
 Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher (tomb
of Christ); wrest that land from the wicked
race…. Let this be your war cry in combat….
When an armed attack is made upon the enemy,
let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of
God. It is the will of God! The will of God!
 Pope’s Goals

 Reunite the two branches of

Christianity
 Increase the prestige of the Church
 Reduce feudal warfare.
– Fight in Holy Land instead of each
other
 The Crusaders
 Captured Jerusalem and brought much
of the Holy Land under European
control
 Believed they were doing God’s work.
 Monk rode through France preaching
the necessity of the Crusades
 Support swelled
 How does the belief that they are doing God’s work affect the crusaders?
 The Slaughter
 Knights killed Jewish and Muslim
man, women, and children.
 “Men rode in blood up to their
knees.” – a knight
 Justification – God’s work and
they are not Christians.
 Second Crusade
1145-1149
When Edessa fell to the
Turks, a French Monk
Bernard of Clairvaux called
for a crusade.
It failed to recapture Edessa
 Third Crusade
 1189-1192
 Muslims recaptured Jerusalem
 King Richard led crusade which won
back some land but not Jerusalem.
 Truce guaranteed protections for
Christians
 Fourth Crusade
Venetian merchants convinced
crusaders to attack it’s rival
Constantinople – a Christian city.
Constantinople remained under
western European control for 60
years.
Weakened Byzantine Empire which
was a buffer.
 More Crusades
 1212 20,000 children attempted to
go to Holy Land
 Many more minor crusades
 Muslims slowly regained lost lands
 1291 Muslims had regained
control of Holy Land
 Results
 Originally Church gained strength
 Used it to attack Muslims in Spain
and heretics in Europe.
 By 4th crusade image of the Church
was tarnished.
 It increased travel, trade and
understanding of other cultures
 Results
Trade made money important
Lending money for interest
(usury) was banned by the
Catholic Church.
 Impact on Jews
Christians accused Jews of
atrocities.
Mobs attacked Jewish
communities
Laws were passed against Jews.
Jews were forced out of most jobs.
 Impact on Jews
Jews increasingly become money-
lenders (legal in their religion)
This leads to resentment against
Jews forcing them to be expelled
from many areas of Western
Europe
Live in small Jewish communities