The conflict between the Christians and the Muslims, between 1098 and 1229, was the result of political unrest; which was fueled the Muslims migrating into the Christian holy lands, lead by Pope Urban II and carried on, throughout latter centuries by his followers. What follows is a story of war, holy visions,unholy alliances, promises made with fingers crossed, sieges and slaughters, the details of which fill volumes. Christianity, in its infancy, was a very threatened state. It was enriched with radical ideas that called for the worship of a single god in place of the many dieties that had ruled for centuries before. These radical concepts took a while to sink in and become the root of what would be the modern era. The world of the latter 9th century and early 10th century was in a state of turmoil, resulting from the recent adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the modern world. In order to cement its hold on the masses, the political heads of the day decided to quell all internal conflicts and unite against an enemy whose destruction would help to further develop the hold that the Pope, and the church, had on the world. The Muslims were originally a tight banded group of followers of Muhammad and the religion of Islam. When the prophet Muhammad died, however, the group lost it's center and thus began to unravel a little and disperse. The Muslims slowly began to integrate into the Christian holy lands', threatening the foundation of Christianity. This integration lead to unease and gave root to the cause of the Crusades. It allowed for the Pope to issue official doctrine which called for the removal of the muslims in a united effort by devout Christians. A crusade is a holy war authorized, encouraged, and supported by the Pope in the name of God and Christ. In order to justify a war, or the need for war, the Pope proposed the issue as a defensive reaction to injury or aggression and as an attempt to recover Christian territories lost to infidels. Pope Urban II initiated the first crusade as an attempt to unite the conflicting Christian territories against a single and foreign foe, the Muslims. Otto, better known as Pope Urban II, was born around 1042 and died 29 July 1099. On 12 March 1088, Otto was unanimously elected as Pope, taking the title of Urban II.
From the eleventh century throughout the thirteenth century there were six wars throughout that time line between the christians and the muslims. These specific wars were known as the crusades caused by the crusaders also known as the christians and muslims. The crusades legacy wasn't a very kind one you see it was kind of bitter legacy they left behind them. Here's two examples why the crusades were all about negative actions. In document 4 it states that the crusades caused severe damage to the the byzantine empire that unit never recovered from that destruction that the crusaders caused. A second reason that caught my eye was in document 6 that they did not care about an other it was kill or be killed that this city was savagely taken and
The Crusades were one of the most prominent events in Western European history; they were not discrete and unimportant pilgrimages, but a continuous stream of marching Western armies (Crusaders) into the Muslim world, terminating in the creation and eventually the fall of the Islamic Kingdoms. The Crusades were a Holy War of Roman Christianity against Islam, but was it really a “holy war” or was it Western Europe fighting for more land and power? Through Pope Urban II and the Roman Catholic Church’s actions, their proposed motivations seem unclear, and even unchristian. Prior to the Crusades, Urban encouraged that Western Europe fight for their religion but throughout the crusades the real motivations shone though; the Crusaders were power hungry, land coveting people who fought with non Christian ideals and Morales.
In the ninth century, the Holy Land, now known at the Middle East or historical Palestine, went through a major shift in culture. For many centuries, the majority of the Palestinian population had been people of the Jewish and Christian faiths, however, now the majority of this population were of the Islamic faith and the area was being ruled under Muslim leadership. In 1095, Pope Urban II spoke at a council meeting in Clermont, France where he called the Franks to take this land back. He told the Franks that it was the will of God for them to stop in-fighting and go to war. This was the call of the First Crusade, a series of battles between Catholics and Muslims over the Holy Land.
During the autumn of 1095, Pope Urban II gave an inspiring speech to Christians of Rome, which inspired the beginning of the crusades the following year. The Crusades were a movement of Christians against Muslims into the holy land. This is detailed in the beginning of God’s Battalions; Rodney Stark argues that the Crusades were not an attempt by the Christians to convert Muslims and argues that the acts of war committed by both religions are not a cause of strife in modern times.
Crusades, military expeditions that begun during the late 11th century that were organized by western European Christians. In 1095 the council of Clermont, “Pope Urban II called Christians in Europe to respond to an urgent plea from Byzantine Christians in the East.” (Madden, 2). This caused a striking expedition to Jerusalem in order to prevent the city from Muslim control. Many Muslim threatened to conquer the remnant of the Roman Empire for Allah. To many, Pope Urban II was a huge inspiration to willing participant. His works connected to every accomplishment to the works of God, which lead many to be intrigued. The crusades showed nothing but passionate devotion that most Western Europe had towards Christianity. It touched upon almost
In the current news, the religious tensions between Christians and Muslim extremists are a recurring topic that sparks conversations between many people. The history behind this religious conflict goes back into the early 7th and 8th centuries during the times of the Byzantine and West European Empires. Although the conflicts between the two religions may have not been profound in the past, they were solidified due to the Crusades. Lasting from 1096 to 1204 CE, the Crusades were a prominent event in history and they had a significant impact on both the Byzantine and Western European Empires. These four expeditions involved the long distance travel across Europe, the loss of many innocent lives and the destruction of cities and important artifacts.The
The crusades began to stir up after the death of Charlemagne, king of the Franks, in 814. After his death Christian Europe was under attack and weak. “Magyars, nomadic people from Asia, pillaged eastern and central Europe until the 10th century.” (Encarta “Crusades”). Starting in the year 800, Viking raids interrupted life in northern Europe and even Mediterranean cities. But the greatest threat came from the forces of Islam. This was in consequence to Muhammad their notorious leader dying, in 632. “By the 8th century, Islamic forces had conquered North Africa, the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, and most of Spain.” (Mayer, 3...
Crusades were a progression of religious and political wars battled in the vicinity of 1096 and 1291. Externally, the First Crusade appears to be something with a straightforward cause – contempt between two religious groups. In essence, the causes were much more mind-boggling: a blend of social, political, monetary and religious factors that prompted Pope Urban II's invitation to battle in 1095, and the far-reaching reaction to his call, with financial and religious elements being the fundamental impetuses.
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.
Circa 1000 CE, Catholic and Byzantine Empires and Muslim Caliphates were located near the Mediterranean Basin. They had differences beliefs in religion which led to crusades. The Catholic Empire resided in Medieval Europe. Feudalism played a huge role in shaping medieval life. People wanted protection for their land, their homes, and themselves. Feudalism was the way of life in Western Europe for centuries. At the top was the Monarch, and at the bottom were the Peasants. In Feudalism, local lords gave land to their vassals in exchange for loyalty and service. The Catholics had strong religious beliefs also. They were very faithful to the Pope, who was the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Christians believed that all people were sinners, and the way to avoid punishment of hell, they would have to believe in Christ and participate in the sacraments. Since the Church was in control of the religious
The emperor of the Byzantine Emperor was upset with Turks encroaching on his empire. He went to the Pope Urban II and complained. He made up atrocities about the Turks. In 1096, The Pope Urban II promoted the Crusade to reclaim the Holy Land from the barbaric Turks. These crusades lasted till the 13th century. In the process, Jews were persecuted and lots of looting took place. Many countries took interest in the Crusades because they were ready for travel and adventure. They wanted to expand trade with the Middle and Far East and so the Crusades gave them a chance to open up trade routes with those countries. They used Christianity to justify the Crusades. In reality, they wanted to expand trade and gain more territorial land.
The crusades were a series of fighting events in religious cities like Jerusalem and Palestine. Muslims were fighting against christians to try and gain more land and power and most of all to convert all people to Islam. Muslims and Europeans fought to control Jerusalem, but after a while the Muslims finally took over in 1291.
Wars are started due to different beliefs whether it is religion, ethics, etc. The Crusades were a series of “Holy Wars”. Prior to the Crusades, in 1009 the Arabs rule Jerusalem, a sacred site to both Christians and Muslims. At the same time, El Hakim ordered the burning of the Holy Sepulcher. This brought mistrust with the Muslims. In 1054 the Church split into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Sixteen years later, the Turks conquered Jerusalem and started to attack the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines sent a letter to the west asking for help. Pope Urban II read it and then called for the first Crusade to take back the Holy Lands. Thousands marched to the Holy Sites and conquered Jerusalem. However, only this Crusade was successful as the other two resulted in failure. The second and third Crusade was called to take back Edessa and Jerusalem which were recaptured by the Muslims. Although some of the Christian reasons were right, their attacks on Muslims were mostly unjustified.
This is quite significant for a wide variety of reasons but for this topic it plays a large part in how the Crusades began and continued. Finally, the history of the Crusades can be and have been debated by historians and theologians alike, however, for the purpose of this paper the very brief history discussed merely provides an insight, background information, as to why the Crusades were called, who was involved, and lastly the outcome of the Crusades. It all started with large efforts from Islamic people after the death of Mohammed, to gain land and spread the Islamic faith. Muslims gained control of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt (one of the most heavily Christian areas in the world). By the eighth century, Islam had control over all of Christian North Africa and Spain. Again in the eleventh century, by the Seljuk Turks, land known as Asia Minor was taken under Islamic control, a region which had been Christian dating back to St. Paul. What was known as the Byzantine Empire had been minimized to about the size of Greece. Obviously desperate, the Emperor of Constantinople (Byzantine Empire and Eastern Church) requested help from Christians of the Western church to fight off advancing Muslims
Orthodox Christians wanted to gain back their holy land from the Muslims, so Pope Urban II held the crusades because the muslims acted inappropriately towards their holy land. They went to war but in the end they did not accomplish their goal of gaining their holy land back. This changed history because it led to more trade routes in Europe and the spread of Islam. After the Crusades were over the Christian's realized that instead of being mad at the Muslim's they should trade with them because they had conquered so much land which meant they had a lot of resources and advanced trade routes which eventually lead to advanced trade routes in Europe. Islam spread because the Muslims had so much land. because they fought Jerusalem and gained land, a lot of people were starting to practice their beliefs and eventually became one of the most popular religions to be