Tony H & Natalie F
Crusades
The Crusades were a long series of wars fought between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia. They were fighting over control of Palestine (the Holy Land), a region of Southwest Asia. For years Palestine had been under the control of Muslims. In general, the Muslims did not bother with the Christians who visited the region. But in the late 1000's, a group of Turkish Muslims entered the area and captured the city of Jerusalem. People returning to Europe reported that the Turks had attacked them in the Holy Land, which was now no longer safe for the Christian.
Before long, the Turks began to attack the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Emperor, fearing an attack on Constantinople, asked Pope Urban II for help. Pope Urban II called on Christians from all over Europe to help retake the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. He asked Europe's Kings and Nobles to unite and fight against the Turks. People joined the pope's army by the thousands. Crusaders had to prepare for their long journey. They sew the cross on their armor and clothing to show that they were fighting for God. The word Crusade comes from Latin for "marked with a cross". They usually cryed out "God will it!" as their battle cry.
The First Crusade started when about 5,000 Crusaders left Europe for the Holy Land in 1096. The first ones to set out were peasants and not soldiers. On their journey to the Holy Land, they attacked the Jews in Germany. They blamed the Jews for Jesus's death. Before they even reached the Holy Land, the Turkish troops killed mostly all of the "crusaders" because they were untrained and they were poorly equipped. The Nobles and Knights had a better chance. When they reached Jerusalem in 1099, they fought the Muslims who were unskilled and unprepared to fight. After the battle, the Crusaders took Jerusalem. The kingdoms the Christians created within the Holy Land didn't last long. Within 50 yeears, the Muslims start taking back land from the Christians. Back in Europe, they started launching more Crusades.
The Second Crusade was a horrible failure. French and German kings set off in 1147 to retake the land from the Muslims. They lost due to poor planning and heavy losses on the journey to the Holy Land. This led the Chrstians total defeat. Ashamed and scared, they returned to Europe in less then a year.
The Third Crusade began after the Muslims took Jerusalem in 1189. The rulers of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire united and led their armies to the Holy Land to fight in Jerusalem but problems occured. The German King died, and the French King left. Only King Richard I of England stayed in the Holy Land to fight. King Richard's main rival was Saladin, the leeader of the Muslims. Both Saladin and King Richard were both highly respected. For months, Richard and Saladin negotiated and fought for the Holy Land. In the end howver, King Richard I returned home with Jerusalem still in Muslim's hands.
In 1201, French Knights arrived in Venice to get reeady to start the Fourth Crusade. The knights, however, did not have enough money to pay for the voyage. For the payment, the people of Venice asked the knights to take control of Zara, a rival trade city. The knights agreed and they later also attacked Constantinople.
Other Crusades followed, but none of them were successful. By 1291, the Muslims had taken back all of their land, and that marked the last of the Crusades.