Religion
In Daily Life
The Crusades



The Crusades were expeditions to free the Holy Land, Jerusalem, from the Muslims. The Seljuk Turks had closed Jerusalem, the city where Jesus was crucified, to all Christians. There were four major Crusades, and eight total Crusades. Pope Urban II started the First Crusade, which is also called the Peasant's Crusade. The First Crusade managed to recapture Jerusalem and establish Crusader states. The Crusader states were outposts that were ruled like Europe's feudal kingdoms. Kings that were as powerful as lords ruled the Crusader states. They built castles to help protect themselves from the Muslims, and to keep the land they had gained. The Muslims started to overpower the Crusader States about 40 years after the First Crusade. The Church urged the people to have the Second Crusade. The Second Crusade was unsuccessful, and the crusaders fought each other instead of the Muslims. The Muslims defeated the crusaders and captured Jerusalem during the Second Crusade. Then Pope Gregory VIII called for the Third Crusade, which was called the Crusade of Kings. Three Kings went on the Crusade. The Kings were:
  • King Fredrick
  • King Richard ("The Lion Hearted")
  • King Phillip
King Fredrick died trying to swim across a river, and most of his army went back to Europe. Then King Richard and King Phillip II captured the city of Acre. After they captured Acre, King Phillip went back to England. Then King Richard fought many battles against the Muslim ruler, Saladin, but could not regain Jerusalem. Then Pope Innocent III called for the Fourth Crusade, which was also a failure. The crusaders decided to go by sea instead of land, and made a deal with Venetian bankers. The Venetian bankers provided boats and supplies in exchange for a share of the riches the crusaders found. The crusaders went to Constantinople, and robbed its works of art, jewels, and gold. Then they shipped it to Venice to pay off their debt. Today, there are no more Crusades, but there is still fighting over Jerusalem, and the Muslims still believe in Jihad, or holy war.

 
Home    The Pope    Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops    Monks    Priests and Lay People
The Inquisition    How the Church's role in daily life is decreasing