The Crusades

Social Studies 8

Primary Source… A Speech from..• “It is the imminent [immediate] peril [danger]

threatening you and all the faithful which has brought us hither [here]. From the conflicts of Jerusalem and form the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth. A race utterly alienated [turned away] from God has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage, and fire… On whom, therefore, is the labor of avenging these wrongs and of recovering this territory incumbent [a duty], if not upon you? Enter upon the Road to the Holy Sepulchre [Jesus’s tomb]: wrest [pull] that land from [them], and subject it to yourselves.

What Were They?• The Crusades: a series of military campaigns to gain

Christian control of the Holy Land, had a profound economic, political, and social impact on the societies involved.

• Holy Land: Jerusalem: was the holiest city for Christians, Jews and Muslims

• Muslims had gained control of it: Christians felt they needed to do something about it

Timeline of Crusades

• First Crusade 1096 - 1099• Second Crusade 1147 - 1149• Third Crusade 1189 - 1192• Fourth Crusade 1201 - 1204• Fifth Crusade 1218 - 1221• Sixth Crusade 1228 - 1229• Seventh Crusade 1248 - 1254• Eighth Crusade 1270

The Reasons For a Crusade• Opportunity to gain wealth and fortune: many

had no opportunities in Western Europe, joining a crusade may help them

• Religion: Fighting in a war for your religion would solidify a place in heaven for you when you died

• Opportunity for land: Knights and others sought out fief to help their status and power

• Pope Urban II:– Tells the people that they are in danger of being taken

over by the Byzantines– Calls all Christians to put aside their differences to fight

against the Turks– Effectively calls men to arms under the slogan, “God

Wills It!”

Christian World Vs. Muslim World• Whichever religion controlled Jerusalem that religion was

to be considered to be the more powerful and dominant • Christianity was coming from the West, and Islam from

the East Meeting at Jerusalem

The First Crusade• Crusaders in two groups:• The Peasants– Unskilled peasants answered Pope’s

call• Eager to fight non-Christians in

Holy Land• On the way attacked and

slaughtered German Jews despite protests

• The Knights– Better trained in warfare than

peasants, but unprepared for hardship of journey

– Traveled three years – Siege of Jerusalem victory for

Crusaders, disaster for city

The Next Seven Crusades• After constant battles, each side would win

then lose

• There was a mutual peace/respect in the 3rd Crusade, but then fighting restarted

• Fighting continued for hundreds of years more

Disasters and Victories• Religious discrimination and

slaughtering of people: Both sides saw those of a different religion as an enemy and would most likely kill them at their first chance

• Innocent women and children killed as well for religious differences. This still occurs today

• The Christian crusaders succeeded on their first crusade and managed to take back their holy lands. This did not last long however and soon, Sultan Saladin and his men retook the Holy Lands

The Outcomes and Consequences• The Christians continuously tried to regain their

Holy Lands but continued to lose the lands to the Muslims

• They realized that Muslim society was highly advanced and quite scholarly: the Muslims were advanced in medicine, astronomy, philosophy, math and literature and they exchanged knowledge

The Outcomes and Consequences• The Crusades had an enormous impact:• They gave Europeans a new knowledge of the Arab

world, and gave Arabs new knowledge of the European world

• Trading of goods opened European civilizations to new things and created a demand for worldly goods such as: silk, spices, new fruits and foods (plums and figs)

• European economy opened up to new things: this led to the European Age of Discovery

• Crusades: New knowledge and new trading goods

Primary Source Analysis• Read the “Atrocities of War” primary source on

page 64. Once you are done reading answer questions: #2 and #3

• Once done, answer the following question if time permits: in at least two paragraphs answer: Explain the various reasons why the Crusades were so significant: