History of the Crusades

The Crusades was a series of wars by Western European Christians to recapture the Holy
Land from the Muslims. The Crusades started in 1096 and ended in the late 13th century. The
term Crusade was originally applied solely to European efforts to retake from the Muslims the city
of Jerusalem, which was sacred to Christians as the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Europeans later used it to designate any military effort against non-Christians.

According to Thomas Madden “the crusades were a series of brutal wars of intolerance in which
the cynical, voracious, superstitious, and gullible wages insensible war against a peaceful,
sophisticated Muslim world, crushing the opulent Byzantine Empire in the bargain.

1st Crusade
The First Crusade started when Pope Urban II had a speech at Clermont in France in November
1095 wherein he called for a great Christian journey to free Jerusalem from Seljuk Turks, a
Muslim power that aggressively harassed peaceful Christian pilgrims going to Jerusalem.

The First Crusade that began in 1096 was successful in its goal of freeing Jerusalem from Seljuk
Turks.

2nd Crusade
The crusade was called by Pope Eugenius III in 1145.
The threat to the other crusader states brought about the Second Crusade.
The Second Crusade was preached by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in France and, with interpreters,
even in Germany.
The Second Crusade provided high hopes but its collapse caused disappointment for the
Christians and it provided confidence for the Muslims .

3rd Crusade
The defeat of Jerusalem led to the Third Crusade.
European leaders who supported the Third Crusade includes German emperor Frederick I (called
Barbarossa), King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) of England, and King Philip II (Augustus) of
France.
The Third Crusade was not able to fulfill its main goal: to regain Jerusalem.
The best achievement of the Third Crusade was Richard's capture of Cyprus.

4th Crusade
The Fourth Crusade took place at the beginning of the 1200's.
The failure of the third crusade to regain Jerusalem brought about the fourth crusade.
The Fourth Crusade was a total disaster.
Because of this crusade the difference between the Eastern and Western churches grew. And the
Greek refused any kind of reunion with the West.
The Byzantine Empire served as protection against invasion from the East but it was damaged
beyond repair.