First And Fourth Crusades Comparison Essay

The Crusades of the High Middle Ages (a.d. 1050-1300) was a period of conquest or rather, reconquest, of Christian lands taken from Muslims in the early Middle Ages. It is an era romanticized by fervent Christians as the time when Christianity secured its honorable status as the true religion of the world. The affect of the Crusades is still with us today. It sailed from Spain and Portugal to the Americas in the fifthteenth century aboard sailing ships carrying conquistadors who sought new territory and rich resources. They used the shield and sword of Christianity to justify a swift conquest of mass territory and the subjugation of the indigenous peoples; a mentality learned, indeed,

The Crusades, a series of wars, are an extremely important part of history in the 12th century, occurring during the Middle Ages. The Middle East or the Holy Land was always a place that Christians traveled to to make pilgrimages. The Seljuk Turks eventually took control of Jerusalem and all Christians were not allowed in the Holy City. As the Turks power grew, they threatened to take over the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, asked Pope Urban II for help and Pope agreed, hoping to strengthen his own power. He He united the Christians in Europe and In 1095, Pope Urban II waged waged war against muslims in order to “reclaim the holy land.”

The First Crusades was a military group that was started by Christians in Europe who wanted to gain back the Holy Land that was being occupied by the Muslims. Pope Urban II preached a sermon at Clermont Ferrand on November 1095. Most histories consider this speech to be the spark the fueled a wave of military campaigns to gain back the Holy Land. This speech was meant to unite the Europeans and to gain back what was taken from them. The holy land was a small area on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The First Crusades was a very successful military expedition that was driven by religious faith to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy places that fell under Muslim control. driven by religious faith. They wanted to gain back the Holy Land that was once theirs. Arabs and the Muslim Turks otherwise known as the Seljuk Turks were the Muslims that invaded and conquered land rightfully occupied by the Christian’s. Many European men, women, and children joined the Crusades and fought in the Middle East. Pope Urban II granted forgiveness of all sins to those who died in battle thus assuring them ascendancy into heaven. Which gave those who volunteered to fight assurance. Nobles and peasants responded in great numbers to the call and marched across Europe to the capital of the Byzantine empire. Having the support of the Byzantine emperor helped make them a stronger army. The Crusaders took over many of the cities on the Mediterranean coast and built a large number of fortified castles across the Holy Land to protect their newly established territories. Soon after seizing power the Seljuks face a very different challenge to Islamic civilization. It came from Christian Crusaders. Knights from western Europe who were determined to capture portions of the Islamic world that made up the holy land of biblical times. Muslim political division and element of surprise made the first of the Crusaders assaults, between 1096 and 1099, by far the most successful. Much of

The Third Crusade is one of the most famous Crusades in history. This essay will examine the success of this crusade through the perspective of the European force. The Third Crusade was aptly named because it was the third wave of religious soldiers to travel to the modern day Middle East and wage a war for the holy city of Jerusalem. There is a certain level of multiple causation that can be gleaned from the beginnings of this Crusade. First, Richard I had recently become king after his father Henry of England died in 1188 which may have pushed Richard to do something to prove himself to the English people. There was also the ceaseless pressure of to reclaim Jerusalem for the Christians, especially after their recent loss of the city and terrible loss at Hattin.

Some reasons for the crusades were based off religion. Both Christians and Muslims consider Jerusalem a holy place. Both also wanted control of the city because it would please their god. Pope Urban II should defend their fellow brethren in the East. Even though Eastern Orthodox was a different branch of Christians that didn’t follow the pope, he still considered them his “brethren” and wanted to help them fight for their

The Crusades did not happen extemporaneously. An upsurge of newly converted nomadic Muslims, called the Turks came together challenged the vulnerable Byzantine Empire. Unable to cease further development of the Turks, Pope Urban II, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, hoped to raise an army to free the Holy Land, overtaken by the Muslim Turks. The Pope got the attention of many leaders, including, bishops, abbots, lords and kings. The decision to raise an army and crusade to Jerusalem was agreed. A Holy war was launched. (Acrobatiq, 2014)

In The middle of the Eleventh Century The tranquillity of the eastern Mediterranean seemed assured for many years to come, but little did the people know what was ahead . This, thus embark us on a journey back into the First Crusade. In this paper I will be discussing the events that lead up to the first in a long line of crusades. I will also be mentioning the lives of some of the crusaders through letters that they wrote. The crusades were a time of confusion for most people, yet today we look back at them as a turning point.

The Fourth Crusade by Donald Queller and Thomas Madden sheds light on the last great crusade and the on goings within the event. The authors capture a glimpse into the world of the middle ages, and provides insight into the relationships within the crusades. Soon after his promotion to papacy in 1198 Innocent III announced his goal for possession of the holy lands. He announced a crusade and put forth a call for crusaders to all towns including barons while excluding kings. Innocent III intended for the crusade to be wholly under the control of the papacy. Unfortunately, politically circumstances in Latin Europe was not ideal for a crusade. While Innocent III attempted to settle political matters within the secular power, he was

“The modern word “crusade” derives from cruce signati (“those signed by the cross”), a descriptive term used occasionally after the twelfth century to refer to crusaders” (Madden, p.1). But during the time of the First Crusade what did “crusade” mean? What about the “First Crusade”? The First Crusade can be viewed from various perspectives; like the authors who were eyewitnesses of it, people who were hurt by it, or the people who initiated it. Specifically, during the time of the First Crusade there were four cultures involved: the Jews, the Muslims in the Islamic World, the Latin Christians and the Franks of the Byzantine Empire.

As the historian John Riley Smith points out “The First Crusade was a violent and brutal episode during which the crusaders cut out a swathe of suffering through Europe and Western Asia.” In this description of the First Crusade (1095/6- 1099) Smith makes it difficult for us to see and, or uncover any elements of pilgrimage in the crusaders actions. However, there are many different ways in which the crusades have been described, the historian Christopher Tyerman on the other hand, steers towards the idea that it is reasonable to label the Frist crusade as an armed Pilgrimage as it showed “a defining commitment to the church to accommodate the spiritual aspirations of the laity” . However, it’s worth pointing out he labels other less sanctified ways in which the First Crusade could be described. The approach to answer the question for this essay will focus mainly on whether the Crusaders joined and embarked on the First Crusade with the belief of it representing an armed pilgrimage, as it seems important to focus on the origins of the crusades in order to answer why it may be perceived so, after all every pilgrimage must start from somewhere. However, in answering this question it’s also important to consider other factors such as the role of Pope Urban II, who has been labelled by some historians as playing a pivotal role in crusaders participation and therefore the creation of the First Crusade and why it could be perceived as an armed pilgrimage, or whether an

The First Crusade began in the year 1096 and was called for by Urban II in 1095. The Seljuk Turks invaded Asia Minor,and the Crusade began. “ By the 1050s, they had captured Baghdad, subjugated the Abbasid Caliphate, and begun to threaten Byzantium.” (Smith 329) The goal of this first crusade was to gain Christian control of the Holy Land which, at the Furchert 2 time was under Muslim control. They accomplished this goal, and the Holy Land then consisted of many tiny states.

Another important religious component of the Crusades was the offer of salvation that could be obtained simply by being a crusader. Pope Urban II explicitly explains this in his speech at the Council of Clermont: “All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins.” The ability to be immediately forgiven of all sins upon death is something that few would pass up on if given the chance, and is often pointed to as the main reason crusaders

The Fourth Crusade was a “maritime expedition” which intended to conquer Jerusalem through invading Egypt (Nicolle 7-8). Yet, the main goal of the crusade was not accomplished and the plan turned against the crusaders. Not only Constantinople was conquered, but what was more shocking how Christians attacked and killed each other. In fact, they absolutely forgot about their motives in the first place. The Fourth Crusade was not Crusaders against Muslims but Crusaders vs. Byzantine. The Fourth Crusade 1202-04: The betrayal of Byzantium (Campaign) is a book written by David Nicolle and illustrated by Christa Hook provides unique insights into how the Crusades contributed to the fall of the Byzantine Empire from a super power to a corrupted state. The use of maps, illustrations, and characters sketches are very helpful to the reader visualize the big picture behind the crusade. Yet, the lack of details does not help the reader the whole picture of the Fourth Crusade and its development.

The Byzantine Empire never really recovered from the ransack caused by the war. The Fourth Crusade deeply angered Pope Innocent III, as the Crusaders had attacked their own fellow Christians. The Crusaders were by now unpopular and had yet to achieve their initial goal of regaining control of Jerusalem. Before his death in 1216, Pope Innocent III commissioned the Fifth Crusade to accomplish the mission of the Fourth, to free Jerusalem from Egyptian command. The Crusaders travelled to Acre in 1217 and joined the ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, King John was aware that attacking Jerusalem while Egypt was at full strength was not possible, so they collectively planned to take Egypt under Latin control, thus forcing the Muslims

During that period, a lot of young men would choose to take part in the Crusade. When a men who had land died in the Crusade, the king then was allowed to get his land. Gradually, the king’s power was consolidated a