The Crusades: Impactful Or Impactful?

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There is much controversy whether the Crusades were beneficial or harmful. From 1095-1291, there were a total of eight crusades plus one children’s crusade (History Lists 3). The word “crusade” is a modern term that derives from the word crucesignati, or, “signed by the cross” (Madden 1). The first Crusade was a call to war by Pope Urban II to take back the Holy Land, Jerusalem, and to rescue the Eastern Church in Constantinople from incoming Muslim attacks. About 100,000 men, women, and children quickly joined the Holy War with hopes of returning home with riches, or finding a new life in a foreign land (France 2). Many others sought to fight for Christ, and to be forgiven of their sins and given eternal life in heaven. The Crusades were extremely impactful to many different cultures and religions, and has brought us to where we stand today. Then again, …show more content…

By viewing how the Christians in the 11th century handled the Muslims, political leaders can infer how to handle Isis. There are basically three options, to attack, retreat, or contain. The 11th century Christians went with the first option, to attack. After reviewing the history of the Crusades, I believe that this is not the best option, especially since it has previously failed and infuriated the Muslims more. The next option is to retreat and not act against Isis, but this will only make their group expand and cause more destruction. Personally, I think that America should help contain Isis. As Dov S. Zakheim, the undersecretary of defense from 2001-2004, said, “Containment will not destroy Isis; that is a task only the people of the region can accomplish. But, containment will buy time: time for a revolt by those who Isis nominally governs” (Zakheim 2). By containing Isis in their own region, eventually, stability will come to their fractured world. By understanding the result of the Crusades, we can make better plans on how to handle

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