Medieval News
The Crusades
The Crusades
Unfortunately, the Muslims attacked in 1144 and captured one of our lands, Edessa. The Europeans started another crusade to regain their lost lands. But the Second Crusade was a total failure; Pope Eugenius III called for a second crusade especially for King Luis VII. King Luis VI and another king lead the crusade and didn't do a great job working together. Each of their armies went separate locations and gave the Muslims an easier chance to wipe out both of their armies. The Christians then lost and their armies were almost wiped out, and one army only got to the shore.
The Third Crusade- Later on, an Egypt ruler that is Muslim united Muslims and declared war against the Christian states the Christians had built. He was known to be a brilliant commander. This war ended with Saladin beating the Christians and getting Jerusalem back. Now that he had Jerusalem, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the King of England, and the King of France gathered all of their armies and went to fight Saladin. Unfortunately, Christians didn't win back Jerusalem.
The Fourth Crusade- This Fourth Crusade was called by Pope Innocent III mainly to win back Jerusalem but merchants from Venice convinced the Crusaders to attack Constantinople. For three days, they had been attacking and looting the city. The Western Europeans were shocked on what happened as they thought that they were going to Jerusalem and not to attack a Christian city. Because they attacked Constantinople, they weakened the Byzantine Empire.
Conclusion- Europe got affected by the Crusades. The Crusades increased trade between Europe and they helped break down feudalism. Nobles who joined the Crusades sold their lands and freed their serfs. This reduced their power and enabled kings to build stronger central governments. Kings also began taxing the new trade with the Middle East. These taxes helped them build stronger kingdoms in Western Europe.