Section 3 - The Story of the Crusades
In addition to knights, who else fought in the Crusades?
thousands of townspeople, craftsmen, and peasants joined the crusade.
The Crusades began as a response to the threat posed by the ___________.
Seljuk Turks
What were the social motives of the Crusades?
- They wanted to get rid of knights who fought each other.
When Crusaders went into battle with what battle cry?
"God Wills It!"
The Reconquista
- Christians launched these wars to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims. - The Umayyads had established a Muslim dynasty in Spain in the 8th century, where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in peace. However, non-Muslims had to pay a special tax. - Christian rulers in the Northern Iberian Peninsula chip away at Muslim lands. The pace of reconquest quickened after the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba broke up into rival kingdoms in 1002. - In 1085, gained Toledo, located in central Spain. - In 1039, Portugal became an independent Christian kingdom. By 1248, only the kingdom of Granada, in southern Spain, remained in Muslim hands.
First Crusade; 1096 - 1099
- Four European nobles led the First Crusade. - They fought their way through Anatolia, and headed south toward Palestine. - Gained Antioch in 1098 after nine months of fighting - Captured Jerusalem in 1099 after a month of fighting. Many of the people in Jerusalem either died or were sold into slavery. - Four Crusader kingdoms were established in Palestine, Syria, as well as modern-day Lebanon and Turkey.
Third Crusade; 1189 - 1192
- It was initially led by Phillip II of France, German emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), and English king, Richard the Lionhearted. Phillip, however, argued with Richard and went home. Additionally, Barbarossa died on the journey. - By the 1180s, the great sultan Salah al-Din, called Saladin by Europeans, had formed the largest Muslim empire since the Seljuks. - Salah al-Din quickly took back most of Palestine. In 1187, his armies captured Jerusalem. - The loss of Jerusalem sparked the third Crusade. - In 1191, Richard I of England and his army forced the surrender of the Palestinian town of Acre. - Richard failed to take over Jerusalem. - As both sides weakened, they signed a peace treaty in September of 1192. Jerusalem remained under Muslim control, but Saladin promised that unarmed Christian pilgrims could freely visit the city's holy places. - The Crusaders kept a chain of cities along the coast of Palestine. Additionally, Muslims agreed to let Christian pilgrims enter Jerusalem.
Second Crusade; 1146 - 1148
- Muslims band together and become more unity; thus increasing their military strength. - In 1144, they captured Edessa, the capital of the northernmost crusader kingdom. As a result, the Christians answered in a second Crusade. - The Crusade ended in failure for the Christians, for they failed to gain back territory, but rather lost territory.
Why did the Crusades fail?
- No supreme commander. Power struggles led to disputity between knights, kings, and nobles. - Poor tactics, strategy, and unfamiliar with the land. Additionally, they were unable to adapt to military methods suitable for region and dement. - Crusaders would not swear loyalty to the Byzantine emperor so there was no support and information - Difficulty maintaining supplies led to "barbarian" acts by supposedly civilized Europeans such as looting and plundering local towns to gain supplies - Due to their actions, they did not gain support of their local people.
Why did people choose embark on the Crusades?
- People believed that if they died fighting for the Holy Land, they would gain salvation. - People wanted a sense of adventure. - Lower Class: Cancel taxes (paid by church) Avoid Jail Personal gain (by plundering) - A person who had fought in the Holy Land also gained respect and prestige at home. - Younger sons of nobles who would not inherit land hoped to gain estates in the Holy Land. - Merchants hoped to make money through trade with Muslims.
The Reconquista; Inquisition
- Purpose: Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted to unite Spain as a Catholic Country. - Inquisition: a judicial body established by the Roman Catholic Church to combat forms of religious error. - Heresy: beliefs or opinions that are contrary to that of certain religions - The Spanish Inquisition was extremely harsh on those who had allegedly claimed to convert to Christianity. Many who were charged with heresy were tortured and/or burned at the stake. - In 1492, Granada fell to Ferdinand and Isabella. - More than 170,000 Jews left their homes forever. - Spain expelled remaining Muslims beginning in 1609. This expulsion ended centuries of cooperation among these groups and Christians in Spain.
Later Crusades
- Some Crusades were popular movements of poor people, rather than organized military campaigns. - In 1212, for example, thousands of peasant children from France and Germany marched in a Children's Crusade. - They marched in hopes of being able to conquer Jerusalem, armed, only with the belief that God would give them Jerusalem. - None had succeeded in gaining back Jerusalem. Many had died from cold and starvation. Additionally, some had drowned or were sold into slavery. - Two, well renowned leaders of the Children's Crusade were Stephan of Cloyes and Nicholas of cologne. - Muslims gained back the land they lost. - In 1291, they took Acre, the last Crusader city. This victory ended some two hundred years of Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land.
What were the political motives of the Crusades?
- The Christians wanted to protect Constantinople from nearby Muslims in Palestine.
What were the economic motives of the Crusades?
- The Crusaders hoped to win control of trade routes.
What were the religious motives of the Crusades?
- They wanted to reunite Christendom, which had split into Eastern and Western branches. - They wanted to take back the holy land.
What were the effects of the Crusades?
- They were a forceful example of Church power. - When the Crusades failed, it lessened the pope's power. - They also weakened feudal power, including that of kings. - Thousands of knights and others lost their loved ones and fortunes. - The fall of Constantinople weakened the Byzantine Empire. - The Christians harsh treatment of Muslims in the Holy Land led to bitterness that has lasted to the present. - European nobles lost power and prestige while Kings gained power. - All Europeans gained culture and knowledge of the ancient civilizations along with advancements the Muslims had made.
Why did Pope Urban make the call for the Crusades?
- To unite European Christians in a common cause - To bring the kings and noble vassals under his spiritual leadership (a move to get power) - To move quarrelsome and violent knights away from central Europe in an attempt to reduce fighting among lords and kings - To subject the Eastern Orthodox churches to Rome (also a move to gain power) - To return the Holy Lands to Christian control (major reason)
What did the Pope promise for those who fought in the Crusades?
Entry into heaven
