By Madison Nef
The Crusades were a series of religious wars during the Middle Ages where the Christians of Europe tried to retake control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims.
Jerusalem was an important religious capital for many religions during the Middle Ages. It was important to Jewish people as it was the site of the original temple to God built by King Solomon; it was important to the Muslims because it was where they believe Muhammad ascended to heaven; and it was important to Christians as it is where Christ was crucified and rose again.
Therefore, the Crusades were between the armies of the Europe, mostly the Holy Roman Empire, and the Arabs that had control of Jerusalem. In the first Crusade, the Seljuk Turks had control of Jerusalem. There were roughly 30,000 soldiers from Europe who fought in the first Crusade- and not just professional soldiers. Everyone came out to fight, from royal knights all the way down to peasants and commoners. Many saw the army as a way to earn money while trying their hand at fighting, and others saw it as a righteous way into heaven.
This first Crusade between the Turks and the Europeans was the start to 200 years more of many religious wars and Crusades, with many more occurring in the years that followed. The Byzantine Emperor of the time, Alexius I, called for help from the Pope himself to help him defend his empire from the invading Turks and help to drive them out of the Holy Land. The Pope actually managed to give a good-sized army to Alexius, mainly with the help of the Roman Empire.
Starting in 1095, the Crusades continued for over 200 years (as mentioned above)…
• The First Crusade (1095-1099): The First Crusade was extremely successful- in fact, the most successful Crusade of them all. The European armies were able to drive the Turks out of Jerusalem and reclaim it.
• The Second Crusade (1147-1149): In 1146 the city of Edessa was conquered by the Turks (again), though the fighting didn’t start until the following year, after the Turks killed the whole population and sold many of the women and children as slaves. When the second Crusade WAS finally launched, it was really too late for redemption and it failed miserably.
• The Third Crusade (1187-1192): In the year 1187 Saladin was the ruler (or sultan) of Egypt. He recaptured Jerusalem from the Christians, causing a third Crusade. This war was started by the then-kings of France and England and the current Emperor of Germany. Richard the Lionheart (King of England) fought Saladin for several long years, but was un-triumphant in the end. He did, however, win the rights for pilgrims to visit the Holy Land once again.
• The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204): The Fourth Crusade was started by Pope Innocent III, who hoped to reclaim the Jerusalem from the Egyptians. Unfortunately, the army of crusaders got overly greedy and instead of following the original plan, they sacked and conquered Constantinople, which had been left undefended, instead.
• Children's Crusade (1212): This Crusade began with two children, a French child by the name of Stephen of Cloyes and a German child named Nicholas, led thousands of young children toward the Holy Land… in a demented band of crusaders. The children never made it to Jerusalem, and many were never seen again… two popular theories, each equally horrifying, are that the children died of natural causes OR that they were captured and sold into slavery. This Crusade is thought to have been what inspired the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
• Crusades Five-Nine (1217 - 1272): Over the next several decades, 5 more Crusades took place… None, however, were very important and all were unsuccessful at reclaiming Jerusalem.
In my opinion? The Crusades were a disgusting and un-necessary waste of good human life and talent… as are all wars. If Jerusalem was so important to so many different religions, then why couldn’t they all visit it in peace and harmony? It wouldn’t have been that hard; especially since each religion had a different belief system… and it would have saved so many lives.
What is your opinion on the Crusades? Let me know in the comments OR in a reply email.
Maddie
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