Mandy Zhao

March 29, 2014

H2G Shuman
Period #5
Were the Crusades a success or a failure?

The Crusades was mainly called a Holy War because the main purpose of it was
obtaining the holy land, Jerusalem, as well as proclaiming religious dominance over other
religions. It was a time which was also convenient in persuading people to convert to a
religion. The Crusades started when the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus sent an
appeal to Rober, Count of Flanders. The emperor asked for help against the Muslim
Turks. They were threatening to conquer his capital, Constantinople. Pope Urban II also
read that letter. Shortly after this appeal, he issued a call for what he termed a holy war,
a Crusade, to gain control of the holy land. Over the next 300 years, a number of such
Crusades were launched. (Roger B. Beck, Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C.
Naylor, Dahia Ibo Shabaka, S 2008, World History Patterns of Interaction, New York
edn., Evanston, IL). Though the Crusades may have established the spread of religion and
wealth, developed technology, a broken down feudal system, and increased trade and
education, the Crusades also had some cons. The Crusades were a failure because the
original goal behind having the Crusades was never achieved, the struggle between the
pope and king continued, and the Crusades resulted in loss in more ways than one.

The Crusades was a failure because it continued the fight between the pope and the
king. During and after the Crusades, there was still a struggle for power. As the Crusades
weakened the power of the popes and feudal nobility due to waning faith from the losses
the people suffered in the Crusades, it caused a shift towards favoring a decentralized
government. It led in the direction of a monarchy, where the king was the supreme ruler,
which was not what the Church favored. Already the Church and the kings fought over
lay investiture, which gave more power to the kings and nobles over the Church. In a
protest to this, several battles between the Church and king erupted, including the
Showdown at Canossa, the battle of Legnano, and other fights that led to the signing of
the Concordat of Worms. Already, the bloodshed, excommunication of kings, the battles,
and the tension rose between the 2 powers had the people divided, who were beginning to
lose trust in the Churchs teachings. The events painted the Crusades as a time of
destruction and confusion rather than a period of winning back the riches the people had
lost and regaining the holy land instead, causing the foundation of the system of the
government to crumble.
The original goal of the Crusades was never fully achieved. The original goal(s) was
to stop Muslim attacks, reclaim Palestine, and reunite Christendom. Though some goals
seemed to have been met, there were some drawbacks to them. The Crusaders could not
fully capture the holy land, Jerusalem, and therefore, could not reclaim Palestine. Though
they captured Jerusalem once, it was recaptured by Saladin, the Muslim leader. This was
because the Crusaders did not have a well-prepared plan for war, and were poorly
equipped because of the lack of knowledge on the geography, landscape, climate, or
cultures. Eventually, the plan to weaken the Muslim forces failed, as well as the divide

between Christendom branches grew wider than ever from the varied views of
Christianity from a religious standpoint while fighting this religious war. As a result, the
Crusades influenced religious grudges and tensions, including one between Christians
and Muslims, long after the Crusades had ended due to prejudice.
The Crusades resulted in loss in more ways than one. The initial thought of having a
Crusade was due to the glory and riches that one would earn with participation. It was
also because it would benefit the religious views of the land, conquer property, and bring
back cultures and traditions. A minor percentage achieved riches. However, many lives
were lost fighting in a failure of Crusade, and the initial motive, to protect Constantinople
and the Byzantine Empire from the Muslims, ultimately failed from lack of strategy,
knowledge, and power. As a result, the knights looted Constantinople instead and never
succeeded in capturing the holy land. Not only that, the religious faith in having a
Crusades faded as the knights began fighting only for personal benefits. Feudal lords and
knights were also weakened of power and riches from the expenses of the war, and loss
of religious bonds, such as the bitterness of the Jews from being persecuted, and the feud
between the Christians and Muslims occurred. As a result of the chaos, the Byzantine
Empire declined, and the Muslims gained power while the Crusades ended with the
Crusaders signing a truce. Crusaders had practically lost the war after totaling the actual
losses.
After the Crusades, there was a period of rebirth from the destruction left behind by
the Crusades. After wartime was over, trade, commerce, and population booms sprang up
all over Europe and led to major changes in society and its system.

Citations:
o

Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, and Dahia
Ibo Shabaka.World History Patterns of Interaction. NY ed. Evanston, IL:

McDougal Littell, 2008. Print.

"The Split between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy - Issues In
Perspective."Issues In Perspective The Split between Western Catholicism
and Eastern Orthodoxy Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
<http://graceuniversity.edu/iip/2011/08/11-08-20-2/>.