In the history of the Muslim response to the Crusades, Zengi's capture of Edessa after a brief siege in the winter of 1144 was a key event. It was one of the first major Muslim victories against the Crusaders and lead to not only the fall of Edessa but also the conquest of all the Frankish territory east of the Euphrates and was viewed seriously enough by the Europeans to necessitate the calling of the Second Crusade. Because of this victory against the Christians Zengi is often portrayed by both contemporary and modern sources as a great pillar of the Jihad who laid the foundations for the latter victories of Nur ad-Din and Saladin. But how much of Zengi's activities were really motivated by any religious conception of Jihad, and how influential …show more content…
Now Christian armies were occupying territory in the heartland of the Muslim world, including the holy city of Jerusalem, and though their were differences between clerics on the subject of Jihad, all agreed that in the case of aggression by the unbeliever into Muslim territory a defensive Jihad was needed and all-able body Muslim’s should engage in it. However, in many ways the response of the various Muslim leader’s was halfhearted. Despite the calls by various Muslim writers and clerics to avenge Islam and retake the Levant most notably by the Damascene lawyer Al-Sulami and the poets al-Abiwardi and Ibn al-Khayyat, there was no great sustained Jihad launched by a united Muslim world to counter the Crusades, with the only Muslim states really involved in fighting the Crusades were those directly adjacent to the Crusaders namely the city states of Muslim Syria, most notably Aleppo and Damascus and Fatamid Egypt, with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, the Danishmends and Mosul also playing a role at times. On the other hand very powerful Muslim lords in North Africa,Iran, Iraq and Central Asia did not engage in the struggle in stark contrasts to the Crusader's were able to draw on the resources of most of Christian
After the disappointments of the Third Crusade the Christian forces would never again threaten the real bases of Muslim power. From the end of the Third Crusade and on they were only able to gain access to Jerusalem through diplomacy, not arms. In 1199 Innocent III called for another Crusade to recapture Jerusalem. To prepare for this crusade, the ruler of Venice had agreed to transport the French and Flemish Crusaders to the Holy Land. However the crusaders never fought the Muslims because more than half of their men did not show up and they were unable to pay the Venetians. This turned into a bargain with the Venetians and once Innocent III learned of their barging he excommunicated the participants. Then there was the Fourth Crusade which
The Crusades were a number of military expeditions by Europeans of the Christian faith attempting to recover the Holy Land, Jerusalem, which was then controlled by the powerful Muslim Empire. In his book People of The First Crusade, Michael Foss an independent historian tells the story of the first Crusade in vivid detail illustrating the motives behind this historic event, and what had really occurred towards the end of the eleventh century. The Christian lands of Western Europe were slowly deteriorating from invasions of the North, and the passing of corrupt laws from within the clergy and the high lords. However, these were not the only challenges those of European Christian faith had to face. Islam strengthened after the conversion of the
The first crusade was held only in order to fulfill desire of the Christians of the recapturing the center of the Christian faith-Jerusalem, which has been controlled by the Muslim nation for more than 400 years. This military campaign was followed with severe cruelty and harsh actions against Muslims which cannot be justified with anything but religious and material interest.
In the end of the eleventh and middle of the thirteenth century there were nine wars between muslims and christians that are now called the crusades. All nine wars were meant to take over the holy land (what is now israel) from the muslims. The most successful of those battles was the first and second. The worst of the crusades was the fourth crusade. The Crusades didn’t have a positive effect on trying to take over the holy land.
“Jihad was but one of the reactions that Muslims had toward the Franks. But given its prevalence in the medieval Islamic sources—understanding this concept and its history in the years leading up to the era of the Crusades is important.” states Cobb (Cobb, page
Among some of the largest conflicts in the world stand the Crusades; a brutal conflict that lasted over 200 years and was debatably one of the largest armed religious conflicts in the history of humankind. Since this is so clearly an event of importance, historians have searched vigorously for the true answer as to why the crusades began. Ultimately, because of accusatory views on both the sides of the Christians and of the Muslims, the two groups grew in such hatred of each other that they began to act in deep discrimination of each other. Moreover, Christian motives seemed to be driven mostly by the capture of Jerusalem, the dark ages of Europe and the common-folks desperation for land, wealth, and a spot in heaven. What seems to be continually
The emphasis of the Catholic religion during the Crusades resulted in the spreading of Christianity across many regions in Europe, and also resulted in an increase in trade. The Crusades were fought in order to take back the land of Jerusalem from the Muslims, and also to protect the Catholic Church. The Crusades began when Pope Urban II stated that “.an accursed race utterly alienated from God. has invaded the lands of the Christians and depopulated them by the sword, plundering, and fire. Tear that land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves,” in which he blames the Muslims for the loss of their holy land.
The Crusades and the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire controlled most of the land on the Mediterranean Sea in the AD 500's. In the 600's, Arab Muslims conquered Palestine, which included Jerusalem and other sacred Christian areas. However, the Arab Rulers allowed Christians to visit the shrines.
Contrary to many commonly held notions about the first crusade, in his book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Jonathan Riley-Smith sets out to explain how the idea of crusading thought evolved in the first crusade. In his book, Riley-Smith sets out five main arguments to show how these ideas of crusading evolved. Firstly, he argues that Pope Urban’s original message was conventional, secondly that a more positive reaction was drawn from the laity (due to the ideas surrounding Jerusalem), thirdly, that the original message of crusading had changed because of the horrible experiences of the first crusaders, fourth, that due to these experiences the crusaders developed their own concept of what a crusade was, and lastly, that these ideas were refined by (religious) writers and turned into an acceptable form of theology. Riley-Smith makes excellent points about the crusade; however, before one can delve directly into his argument, one must first understand the background surrounding the rise of the first crusade.
In 1095 Pope Urban II called all Christians to take part in what would become the world’s greatest Holy War in all of history. Urban’s called on Christians to take up arms and help fight to take the Holy Land of Jerusalem back from the accursed Muslims. During this time of war, the whole world changed. Land boundaries shifted, men gained and lost and gained power again, and bonds were forged and broken. The Crusades had a great impact on the world that will last forever.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” To understand the causes of the crusades, we must have a solid understanding of the Islamic world and Europe backgrounds – respectively. By the tenth century, the Islamic empire under Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad was divided. The Fatimid, Shiite dynasty established a Shiite Caliphate in Egypt, and Cairo was its capital. They had tried to unite the Islamic world under its caliphate and they had become enemies to the Sunni caliphate in Baghdad. As a result, the Islamic world was divided.
In Thomas F. Madden’s The New Concise History of the Crusades, he is able to effectively give an accurate depiction of the Crusades in a story-like manner. The expansive and convoluted history of the Crusades has been marred by myths and misconceptions about the true nature of these “holy wars”. In his history, Madden seeks to correct these maladies that plague the Crusades by using concrete evidence to support his claims. Although Madden does an excellent job in condensing the history of the Crusades into 225 pages, there are some improvements that he could have made in his history in order to make it less opinionated and more critical. This paper will criticize the effectiveness of Madden’s arguments and presentation of themes. The doctrine of “holy war”, the place of military leadership and rivalry, and the response of Muslim states and military leaders are all important themes addressed in The New Concise History of the Crusades that will be analyzed to extract Madden’s true intentions, concerns, and assumptions.
How did the Crusades affect the Christians, Muslims, and Jews? The crusades impacted them all greatly for they were all a key part of the Crusades. Occasionally A religion may get a positive consequence but most of the time it was a negative one. Why did they all want Jerusalem? They all wanted it because it had a religious value to them. For the Jews, it was their spiritual city where the great temple once stood. For the Christians, it was where Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. Last but not least for the Muslims it was where Muhammad rose to heaven during the night journey.
The people of the middle ages showed their faith in many ways some were through prayer or fasting and others took a more violent approach. The Crusades were a way for men to resolve themselves of their sins according to Pope Urban II. This was also a way for the Crusaders to take back what they believed was stolen from their ancestors and their god. This was not only from the men who went to fight, there were also the elderly, women, and children who felt they needed to go help their faith. This would also make the Muslims who had control over Jerusalem because they believed it was their holy land as well. They on the other side had to protect their faith and pay their own piety. This would also cement the relationship of Christians and Muslims for
The Crusades were great military missions embarked on by the Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of rescuing the Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the hands of the Moslems. The Crusades were considered Holy Wars (1). Their main target was the Moslems not the Jews, although campaigns were also waged against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians Old Prussians, and political enemies of the popes (2). There were many Crusades some more significant than others, but in general the Crusades was an important event in the history of Medieval Europe.