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The Pros And Cons Of The Crusades

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How can something so horrible turn out so well? The Crusades. The Crusades were military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries to recover control of the Holy Land from the Muslims. They were devastating for many Christians, or Jews. The Turks, or Muslims, and the Jews fought for many years over Jerusalem, resulting in many deaths. In the end, the Jews prevailed, turning it into the Holy place it is today. During the Middle Ages, Christian Jews tried to recapture Jerusalem, which had been previously taken by Muslim Turks. The Turks took Jerusalem because their god, Allah, told them too. Allah, who spoke through the Prophet Muhammad, said that they need to convert as many people as possible to the Muslim faith. They were also told that converting with force was okay, and the Turks did just that. They wanted Jerusalem so they could expand their empire and religion. Just like us, they would do anything for their faith and for their god, even if it means going to crazy extents trying to convert people to their religion. The European Christians wanted Jerusalem for almost the same religious reasons the Turks did. Jerusalem was …show more content…

Both wanted Jerusalem for their own religious reasons. The Jews wanted it because it was promised to them. They knew it was rightfully theirs and they wouldn’t give it up. The Turkish Muslims religion worshipped the god Allah, who as mentioned earlier, spoke through Muhammad. Allah told them to take the land to expand his empire. Once it was conquered, the consequence of not converting to Muslim was to leave the Holy City. The rules were simple- convert or leave. The Jews were not happy with this. With some false encouragement from Pope Urban II and the rules to fuel their anger, they fought for seven crusades, eventually winning Jerusalem back. So while they both wanted Jerusalem, they had different ways of getting

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