Tyler Ann Jones

The Crusades
The Crusades took place in Europe around the end of the Eleventh century. The Byzantine
Empire controlled by Emperor Alexius I was losing territory from invading Turkish peoples. In the year
1095 Alexius asked Pope Urban II for troops to help him defend his territory and recapture the Holy
Land from Muslim control. This brought on a tremendous amount of people determined to fight for
the Christian cause. From this beginning, six extensively tragic Crusades were started.

The First Crusade ranged from the year 1096 through 1099. Four armies were formed from Western
European regions and were set to depart for Byzantium. These armies left havoc in their wake,
slaughtering Jewish, murdering innocent families, and destroying towns and villages. The first few
sections of these armies were crushed pathetically by Turkish armies. After regrouping and swearing
their alliances wholly to Alexius, the Crusaders captured the cities of Anatolia, Antioch, and finally
Jerusalem. The Crusaders slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children along their victorious
entrance to the Holy City. The Second Crusade began when the Muslims created their own holy war
against the Christians (known as Jihad). In the year 1147 the Crusade was led by King Louis VII of France
and King Conrad III of Germany. An army of 50,000 Crusaders was defeated in Damascus by combined
Muslim forces, decisively ending the Second Crusade.

The Third Crusade ranged from the years 1189 to 1192. The city of Cairo, Egypt was captured by
Muslim forces and eventually went on to reclaim the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Christian forces
retaliated, and ultimately a peace treaty was signed between leaders to reestablish the Kingdom of
Jerusalem, which ended the Third Crusade. The Fourth through the Sixth Crusade can be summed up
easily. These conflicts lasted from the years 1198 through 1229. Power Struggles between Europe and
the Byzantine Empire created havoc and ended up sacking Emperor Alexius in favor of, Alexius IV (his
nephew). The new emperor attempted to convert religious affiliations with the Church of Rome, and
was as a result strangled to death and had his palace looted, ending the Fourth Crusade. The remainder
of the 13th century saw the rest of the Crusades aimed not so much against Muslim forces in the Holy
Land, but focusing instead on combating any and all enemies (everyone who was not a Christian) of the
Christian Faith.

Essentially the Crusades were just a big long drawn out fight for Jerusalem and the Holy
Land. Mainly, the fights were between the Muslim faith and the Christian faith, and were inspired by
petty differences between leaders and belief systems. Countless numbers of people were inspired to
become Crusaders and fight for their beliefs, some achieved victories, while others humiliating defeat,
and in all instances was a large loss of life. Major outcomes from this time in history were the formation
of new states and territories, the destruction and re-forming of priceless palaces and artifacts, and the
major separations and prejudices between the Muslim and Christian faiths which we still see in our
present day society.
Key Terms:
Serfs -agricultural workers
that belong to the manor
Manors -self-sufficient
farming estates
Piety- dutifulness in
religion
Holy Land- the area of
Palestine held spiritually important to Christians, Muslims, and
Jews
Hierarchy- a ruling body of
clergy organized into ranks
Crusades- a series of
holy wars to drive the Muslims out of Palestine
Sacrament- one of the church's
ceremonies in which you obtain grace from God
Saladin- most famous Muslim
leader of the 1100's, who defeated the armies of the 2nd
crusades
Richard the Lion hearted- the King of England
who left to join the crusade, leaving others to rule in his
place
Reconquista-beginning in the
11th Century, a military campaign to drive the Muslims out of
Spain
Byzantine Empire-Eastern Roman empire that began when Constantine moved the capital out of Rome
to Byzantium (Constantinople)

Holy Roman Empire- a loose federation
of mostly German states and principalities headed by the emperor, lasting from
962-1806
Lesson Plan Resources

http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/images/middleages.pdf

http://dnet01.ode.state.oh.us/ims.itemdetails/lessondetail.aspx?id=0907f84c805313db

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6257990

http://www.lessonplanet.com/article/history/the-crusades

http://sheg.stanford.edu/first-crusade

Technology Resources

http://www.history.com/topics/crusades

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the_crusades.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm

http://history-world.org/crusades.htm

http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/crusades.stm