RISE OF ISLAM & ITS IMPACT ON EUROPE, CRUSADES, THEIR AFTERMATH,

FALL OF CONSTANTINOPOLE

The reign of the first Christian emperor, Constantine marked the beginning of a new
period in the history of the Roman Empire. Christians came to play a more important
and more public role in the life of the empire. The capital was moved from Rome to
Constantinople (Byzantium).

The Byzantine Empire lasted until the city of Constantinople was finally conquered by
Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Byzantium was planned as a Christian capital city - one in which pagan sacrifice, the
central rite of imperial Rome was forbidden. The city was ready by AD 330 for a
ceremony of inauguration. Byzantium acquired two new names - New Rome (Nova
Roma) and Constantinople, the city of Constantine.

Christianity came out of its secret society & was legalized in Constantinople by the
Emperor Constantine. Jesus Christ became the true saviour of Christians. His mosaics
started adorning walls of Churches.

Intrusion of Goths, Vandals and Huns over the next century disturbed and finally
destroyed the Roman empire in the west.

Around same time Theodosius became the eastern emperor in AD 379 & built invincible
walls all around the city to safeguard it.

Justinian who followed in AD 527 reformed the legal and administrative system of his
realm, and commissioned churches and mosaics which emphasized the imperial dignity
of Christianity. In Santa Sophia in Constantinople (completed astonishingly in only five
years) the architects working for Justinian achieved with triumphant skill a new and
difficult feat of technology - that of placing a vast circular dome on top of a square
formed of four arches.

Till 6xth century Byzantine Empire enjoyed superemacy in Europe as well as west Asia,
Syria, Egypt. Unexpected new power - the Arabs rose by end of 6xth century. Also the
Persians devastated the Byzantine cities of the Middle East. They destroyed Antioch,
Damascus & marched towards Jerusalem 613 A.D. Some 60,000 Christians were
massacred and another 35,000 sold into slavery. After sacking Jerusalem, they carried
off to Ctesiphon the most holy relic of Christendom, the True Cross of Christ. By 7th
century desert tribesmen of Arabia formed Muslim armies. Their natural ferocity and
love of warfare, together with the sense of moral rectitude provided by their new
religion, formed an irresistible combination. Though initially they didn’t have
sophisticated weapons like Byzantines & hence couldn’t march till Byzantium which was
well guarded by invincible Theodosian walls.

By 7th century the whole scene changed. When Muhammad (prophet of muslims) died
in 632, the western half of Arabia was Muslim. Two years later the entire peninsula had
been brought to the faith, and the Arab nomads were Muslim in the desert to the east of
Palestine and Syria.

The great Christian cities of Syria and Palestine fell to the Arabs in rapid succession
from AD 635. Damascus, Antioch fell in 636. And 638 brought the greatest prize of all,
in Muslim terms, when Jerusalem was taken after a year's siege.

It was a moment of profound significance for the young religion, for Islam saw itself as
the successor of Judaism and Christianity.

The city of the people of Moses, in which Jesus also preached and died, was a holy
place for Muslims too.

Moses and Jesus were Muhammad's predecessors as prophets.

During the 10th century the fortunes of Byzantium underwent a remarkable revival.
Slavik tribes were brought under control & converted to Christianity. Russians also
converted to the faith. Byzantines recovered Anatolia, Syria & northern Mesopotamia.
But prospects of the Byzantine Empire were darkened again in the next century by new
enemy Seljuk, Turks in the east. Christian pope passionately appealed Christian
soldiers to come forward in the war with Turks. They urged Christians to march east to
recover Jerusalem, the holiest places of Christiandom from the clutches of Turks.

Crusades

Then the crusades began. Crusades were religious conflicts in the High Middle Ages
through to the end of the Late Middle Ages conducted by Catholic Europe against
Muslims, pagans, heretics. The geographic spread included the Near East, Egypt and
Eastern Europe. They are most popularly associated with campaigns in the Holy Land
to establish control of religious sites but also cover other campaigns for different
religious, economic, and political reasons. The adopted emblem was the cross with the
term "crusade" being derived from the French term for taking up the cross.

the first crusade in 1095 with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to the holy
places in and near Jerusalem which led to an intermittent 200-year struggle to reclaim
the Holy Land that ended in failure. Totally there were 8 crusades. Till the 4 th crusade
western & eastern Europe fought together against Muslims. But then they got divided
which benefitted Turks.
Jerusalem had many churches like church of holy Sepulcher amongst many which was
banned for Christian pilgrims. The political scenario became religious with papacy made
common people believe that by retaking Jerusalem they would go straight to heaven
after death. Pope started giving sermon focusing on the offenses of the Muslims and the
re conquest of the Holy Land. They emphasized the sanctity of the Holy Land, which
must be in Christian possession so that prophecies about the end of the world could be
fulfilled. Such a campaign against Turks started who had damaged eastern churches.
Official crusader armies were from France as well as Italy from western Empire as well
as army of Byzantine Empire.

The seizure of Constantinople by the fourth crusade did wider damage than the physical
destruction of the city. The Byzantine empire was fatally weakened by the crusaders
who now grabbed riches of Byzantine Empire In 13th century eventually, the Muslims
began to reunite & began to retake territory from the Christians & thus crusades
continue for 2 centuries killing thousands of people in name of religion.

The Crusades had major political, economic, and social impacts on western Europe. It
resulted in a substantial weakening of the Byzantine Empire, which fell several centuries
later to the Ottoman Empire.

Fall of Constantinopole

Mehemed II, young emperor of Seljuk Turks initiated a tight blockade of the city by both
sea and land. The inhabitants placed their faith in their immensely strong city walls.
Only on the harbour side were these walls vulnerable, and the harbour (the long creek
known as the Golden Horn) was protected by a great chain preventing enemy ships
from entering. During the night Muslim ships were dragged on wheeled carriages, on a
temporary wooden roadway, over a 200-foot hill into the harbour surprising defenders.
By dawn the Turks were in the city. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, died in
the fighting. The capture of Constantinople marked the end of the last remaining pieces
of the Roman Empire.

Mehmed, the sultan went straight to Santa Sophia to proclame from the pulpit - that
there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. The great church, for many
centuries the most magnificent in Christendom, was converted to mosque. At the start
of the attacks, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to conquer the remaining
Byzantine forts outside the city of Constantinople. Many forts and castles were taken
over a period of a few days.

The effect on Christian Europe was incredible after Constantinople was captured and
ended the Byzantine empire after 1100 years. The Turks renamed Constantinople to
Istanbul. Most of the scholars were forced to flee to Italy. There they helped to start the
renaissance. They also increased trade with the east. The Pope wanted to recapture
Istanbul from the Muslims, but unfortunately they did not have an army to make it
happen. For two centuries the crusades had Europe feeling uneasy. Millions of men
died in battle, and in the end the crusaders accomplished nothing they set out to
accomplish.

The fall of Constantinople is considered the end of the Middle Ages and the
beginning of the Renaissance.

Scholars consider the Fall of Constantinople as a key event ending the Middle Ages and
starting the Renaissance because of the end of the old religious order in Europe and the
use of cannon and gunpowder.

The fall of Constantinople and general encroachment of the Turks in that region also
severed the main overland trade link between Europe and Asia, and as a result more
Europeans began to seriously consider the possibility of reaching Asia by sea.

During the Reformation and Counter-Reformation of the 16th centuries, historians saw
the Crusades through the prism of their own religious beliefs. Protestants saw the
crusades as a manifestation of the evils of the papacy, while Catholics viewed the
crusading movement as a force for good. During the Enlightenment, historians tended
to view both the Crusades and the entire Middle Ages as the efforts of barbarian
cultures driven by fanaticism.

Impact of crusades on trade

The need to raise, transport and supply large armies led to a flourishing of trade
throughout Europe. Roads largely unused since the days of Rome saw significant
increases in traffic as local merchants began to expand their horizons. This was not only
because the Crusades prepared Europe for travel, but also because many wanted to
travel after being reacquainted with the products of the Middle East. This also aided in
the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy, as various Italian city-states from the very
beginning had important and profitable trading colonies in the crusader states, both in
the Holy Land and later in captured Byzantine territory. Increased trade brought many
things to Europeans that were once unknown or extremely rare and costly like spices,
ivory, jade, diamonds, improved glass-manufacturing techniques, early forms of
gunpowder, oranges, apples, and other Asian crops, and many other products.

Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire was an Islamic Nation where Jews Lived. Early in the 14th century the
Turkish tribal chieftain Othman (Osman) founded an empire in western Anatolia (Asia
Minor) that was to endure for almost six centuries.
The dynasty that Othman (1258-1326) founded was called Osmanli, meaning "sons of
Osman.“. The name evolved in English into Ottoman. The Ottoman Empire was Islamic
in religion. During the 11th century bands of nomadic Turks emerged from their home in
Central Asia to raid lands to the west. The strongest of the Turkish tribes was the
Seljuks. In time they established themselves in Asia Minor along with other groups of
Turks. Following the defeat of the Seljuks by the Mongols in 1293, Othman emerged as
the leader of local Turks in the fight against the tottering Byzantine Empire.

The final conquest of the Byzantines was not achieved until 1453 with the fall of
Constantinople (now Istanbul), but by that date all the surrounding territory was in
Ottoman hands.

The Ottoman sultans were the spiritual heads of Islam thereby displacing the centuries-
old caliphate of Baghdad.

This gave the Ottomans direct access to the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world.
Leading Muslim intellectuals, artists, artisans, and administrators came to
Constantinople from all parts of the Arab world.

They made the empire much more of a traditional Islamic state than it had been.

As this empire grew by conquering lands of the Byzantine Empire and beyond, it came
to include at the height of its power all of Asia Minor; the countries of the Balkan
Peninsula; the islands of the eastern Mediterranean; parts of Hungary and Russia; Iraq,
Syria, the Caucasus, Palestine, and Egypt; part of Arabia; and all of North Africa
through Algeria.