The Crusades
Keeping Students Up-to-Date On Religious Wars!
The Origins of the Crusades
The wars were sanctioned by the Latin Church in the medieval period and were fought with the goal of recovering the Holy Land from Muslims.
The term "crusades" can also be applied to church-sanctioned campaigns fought to combat paganism and heresy, to resolve conflict among Roman Catholic groups or to gain political or territorial advantage. The term can be used for religiously motivated Christian military campaigns in the Late Middle Ages.
The first Crusade was "inspired" by a sermon preached by Pope Urban II in which he urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its emperor, Alexios I. They needed reinforcements to stop the westward movement of migrating Turks who were colonizing Anatolia.
Historians are not in agreement as to Pope Urban's reason for urging support for the Byzantine Empire. One possible reason is that Pope Urban wanted to guarantee pilgrims access to eastern Mediterranean holy sites under Muslim control. Another possible reason could be to unite the eastern and western branches of Christendom that had been divided since the East-West Schism of 1054 and to establish himself as the head of the united church.
The first Crusade occurred from 1096-1099.
Siege of Acre
Siege of Lisbon
Arrival of King Philip of France in Palestine
The Second Crusade (1147-1149)
The 2nd Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III. This crusade was the first to be led by European kings (i.e., King Louis VII of France and Conrad III in Germany) with help from European nobles.
These European armies marched across Europe separately and were both defeated by the Seljuk Turks in the east.
This war was a great victory for Muslims. It also gave rise to the Third Crusade at the end of the 12th century.
The only Christian success was the expulsion of the Moors (Muslims) from Lisbon, Portugal in 1147. Thirteen thousand Flemish, Norman, English, Scottish and German soldiers traveled to the Holy Land by ship, stopping by Portugal to help 7000 Portuguese soldiers expel the Moors from Lisbon.
The Third Crusade (1189-1192)
The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)
They were able to sack Constantinople, the capital of the Christian-controlled Byzantine Empire.
There were 4,500 knights/4.500 horses, 9,000 squires and 20,000 foot soldiers involved. They set out from Venice in 1202 and most of the men were from France.