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The Crusades

The Crusades were a series of holy wars launched by the Christian states of Europe against the Saracens. Back then ‘Saracen’ was a word used to describe a Moslem. In 1095 The Crusades began when Pope Claremont preached the First Crusade at the Council of Claremont. The reason for the Crusades was a war between the Moslems and the Christians. They fought for the city of Jerusalem, as the city held a Holy significance to Christian religion. They also fought for revenge for an earlier event – in 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the Turkish and about 3000 Christians were killed.

The main objective of the Crusades was to free the Holy Land from the Moslems. In total there were eight crusades. The first four being the Principal Crusades involving adults, and the last four being the Minor Crusades involving children.

Consequences came along with the war of the Crusades. The Crusades kept all of Europe in a large confusion for two centuries, and eventually lost their appeal. Directly or not, the Crusades cost Christendom millions of lives, ranging from 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 deaths. They also cost many people suffering and incalculable expenses. The Christians were considered ruthless and exploitive as they violently persecuted many Jews and Muslims. This was the cause of the Christians becoming unreliable and the cause of an increase in anti-Semitism. In the modern world, people described the Crusades as evil, unacceptable and an act of intolerance in the name of God.

After 200 years of conflict, the Crusades unfortunately lost their battle and the Moslems held possession of the city of Jerusalem. The Crusades finally ended in the medieval times, around the thirteenth century. This helped Europe reconnect with Asia and Africa, re-establishing trade networks which have been lost for hundreds of years.

Although the Crusades failed, they are a major part of history and have impacted on society and Christianity. The Crusades helped the Catholic Church gain wealth and the power of Papacy. These helped the Catholic Church gain and maintain more followers than any other religion. They brought change to commerce, role, wealth, and political, intellectual, social, and voyage development to Europe. They became a very important factor in the history of civilisation and changed the political system in Europe from Feudalism to Monarchy.