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What happened during the crusades?

The crusades were an armed Christian movement chiefly to parts of the eastern Mediterranean known as the Holy Land. Crusaders hoped to reconquer what they saw as Christian land. It was a time of upheaval with brutal violence committed by all parties.

The crusades inspired a sense of militant Christian identity in Western Europe and, through centuries of conflict and war, played a role in uniting disparate Muslim states against the invaders. Click to discover the bloody centuries-long history.

Fourth Crusade

After Richard I's truce expired, Pope Innocent III ordered a crusade to retake Jerusalem. But opportunism and lack of commitment changed his plans.

A well organised force was meant to invade Egypt en route to Jerusalem, but was diverted to the Eastern Christian city of Constantinople at the request of the son of its deposed emperor. Instead of welcoming the invading army, residents dug in. The crusaders attacked the city, massacring many of its inhabitants in 1204. With their appetite for loot sated, few continued towards Jerusalem. It would seem that for these crusaders, plunder was as important as piety.

Fifth Crusade and aftermath

In the 1210s, several popes sent armies on new crusades. Egypt was invaded. Jerusalem's return was negotiated in 1229, but the city was soon retaken.

By 1291, all the crusader states of mainland Syria and Palestine were reconquered by Muslim armies, while Christians continued to regain control of the Iberian Peninsula. Today, Popes no longer try to start wars, but the legacy of the crusades has done much to create a sense of hostility between Christianity and other religions.

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The crusades were an armed Christian movement chiefly to parts of the eastern Mediterranean known as the Holy Land. Crusaders hoped to reconquer what they saw as Christian land. It was a time of upheaval with brutal violence committed by all parties.

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The crusades! What can we learn form this image (painting) below?

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Good Crusades introduction.

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What Were the Crusades?

By the end of the 11th century, Western Europe had emerged as a significant power in its own right, though it still lagged behind other Mediterranean civilizations, such as the Byzantine Empire (formerly the eastern half of the Roman Empire) and the Islamic Empire of the Middle East and North Africa.

However, Byzantium had lost considerable territory to the invading Seljuk Turks. After years of chaos and civil war, the general Alexius Comnenus seized the Byzantine throne in 1081 and consolidated control over the remaining empire as Emperor Alexius I.

In 1095, Alexius sent envoys to Pope Urban II asking for mercenary troops from the West to help confront the Turkish threat. Though relations between Christians in the East and those in the West had long been fractious, Alexius's request came at a time when the situation was improving.

When Were the Crusades?

In November 1095, at the Council of Clermont in southern France, the Pope called on Western Christians to take up arms to aid the Byzantines and recapture the Holy Land from Muslim control. This marked the beginning of the Crusades.

Pope Urban's plea was met with a tremendous response, both among the military elite as well as ordinary citizens. Those who joined the armed pilgrimage wore a cross as a symbol of the Church.

The Crusades set the stage for several religious knightly military orders, including the Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, and the Hospitallers. These groups defended the Holy Land and protected Christian pilgrims traveling to and from the region.

Did you know? In a popular movement known as the Children's Crusade (1212), a motley crew including children, adolescents, women, the elderly and the poor marched all the way from the Rhineland to Italy behind a young man named Nicholas, who said he had received divine instruction to march toward the Holy Land.

The First Crusade (1096-1099)

Four armies of Crusaders were formed from troops of different Western European regions, led by Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Godfrey of Bouillon, Hugh of Vermandois and Bohemond of Taranto (with his nephew Tancred). These groups departed for Byzantium in August 1096.

A less organized band of knights and commoners known as the "People's Crusade" set off before the others under the command of a popular preacher known as Peter the Hermit.

Ignoring Alexius' advice to wait for the rest of the Crusaders, Peter's army crossed the Bosporus Strait in early August. In the first major clash between the Crusaders and Muslims, Turkish forces crushed the invading Europeans at Cibotus.

Another group of Crusaders, led by the notorious Count Emicho, carried out a series of massacres of Jews in various towns in the Rhineland in 1096, drawing widespread outrage and causing a major crisis in Jewish-Christian relations.

When the four main armies of Crusaders arrived in Constantinople, Alexius insisted that their leaders swear an oath of loyalty to him and recognize his authority over any land regained from the Turks, as well as any other territory they might conquer. All but Bohemond resisted taking the oath.

In May 1097, the Crusaders and their Byzantine allies attacked Nicea (now Iznik, Turkey), the Seljuk capital in Anatolia. The city surrendered in late June.

The Fall of Jerusalem

Despite deteriorating relations between the Crusaders and Byzantine leaders, the combined force continued its march through Anatolia, capturing the great Syrian city of Antioch in June 1098.

After various internal struggles over control of Antioch, the Crusaders began their march toward Jerusalem, then occupied by Egyptian Fatimids (who as Shi'ite Muslims were enemies of the Sunni Seljuks).

Encamping before Jerusalem in June 1099, the Christians forced the besieged city's governor to surrender by mid-July.

Despite Tancred's promise of protection, the Crusaders slaughtered hundreds of men, women and children in their victorious entrance into Jerusalem.

The Second Crusade (1147-1149)

Having achieved their goal in an unexpectedly short period of time after the First Crusade, many of the Crusaders departed for home. To govern the conquered territory, those who remained established four large western settlements, or Crusader states, in Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch and Tripoli.

Guarded by formidable castles, the Crusader states retained the upper hand in the region until around 1130, when Muslim forces began gaining ground in their own holy war (or jihad) against the Christians, whom they called "Franks."

In 1144, the Seljuk general Zangi, governor of Mosul, captured Edessa, leading to the loss of the northernmost Crusader state.

News of Edessa's fall stunned Europe and caused Christian authorities in the West to call for another Crusade. Led by two great rulers, King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany, the Second Crusade began in 1147.

That October, the Turks annihilated Conrad's forces at Dorylaeum, the site of a great Christian victory during the First Crusade.

After Louis and Conrad managed to assemble their armies at Jerusalem, they decided to attack the Syrian stronghold of Damascus with an army of some 50,000 (the largest Crusader force yet).

Damascus' ruler was forced to call on Nur al-Din, Zangi's successor in Mosul, for aid. The combined Muslim forces dealt a humiliating defeat to the Crusaders, decisively ending the Second Crusade. Nur al-Din added Damascus to his expanding empire in 1154.

The Third Crusade (1187-1192)

After numerous attempts by the Crusaders of Jerusalem to capture Egypt, Nur al-Din's forces (led by the general Shirkuh and his nephew, Saladin) seized Cairo in 1169 and forced the Crusader army to evacuate.

Upon Shirkuh's subsequent death, Saladin assumed control and began a campaign of conquests that accelerated after Nur al-Din's death in 1174.

In 1187, Saladin began a major campaign against the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. His troops virtually destroyed the Christian army at the battle of Hattin, taking back the important city along with a large amount of territory.

Outrage over these defeats inspired the Third Crusade, led by rulers such as the aging Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (who was drowned at Anatolia before his entire army reached Syria), King Philip II of France, and King Richard I of England (known as Richard the Lionheart).

In September 1191, Richard's forces defeated those of Saladin in the battle of Arsuf, which would be the only true battle of the Third Crusade.

From the recaptured city of Jaffa, Richard reestablished Christian control over some of the region and approached Jerusalem, though he refused to lay siege to the city.

In September 1192, Richard and Saladin signed a peace treaty that reestablished the Kingdom of Jerusalem (though without the city of Jerusalem) and ended the Third Crusade.

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)

Though Pope Innocent III called for a new Crusade in 1198, power struggles within and between Europe and Byzantium drove the Crusaders to divert their mission in order to topple the reigning Byzantine emperor, Alexius III, in favor of his nephew, who became Alexius IV in mid-1203.

The new emperor's attempts to submit the Byzantine church to Rome was met with stiff resistance, and Alexius IV was strangled after a palace coup in early 1204.

In response, the Crusaders declared war on Constantinople, and the Fourth Crusade ended with the devastating Fall of Constantinople, marked by a bloody conquest, looting and near-destruction of the magnificent Byzantine capital later that year.

Final Crusades (1208-1271)

Throughout the remainder of the 13th century, a variety of Crusades aimed not so much to topple Muslim forces in the Holy Land but to combat any and all groups seen as enemies of the Christian faith.

The Albigensian Crusade (1208-29) aimed to root out the heretical Cathari or Albigensian sect of Christianity in France, while the Baltic Crusades (1211-25) sought to subdue pagans in Transylvania.

A so-called Children's Crusade took place in 1212 when thousands of young children vowed to march to Jerusalem. Although it was called the Children's Crusade, most historians don't regard it as an actual crusade, and many experts question whether the group was really comprised of children. The movement never reached the Holy Land.

In the Fifth Crusade, put in motion by Pope Innocent III before his death in 1216, the Crusaders attacked Egypt from both land and sea but were forced to surrender to Muslim defenders led by Saladin's nephew, Al-Malik al-Kamil, in 1221.

In 1229, in what became known as the Sixth Crusade, Emperor Frederick II achieved the peaceful transfer of Jerusalem to Crusader control through negotiation with al-Kamil. The peace treaty expired a decade later, and Muslims easily regained control of Jerusalem.

From 1248 to 1254, Louis IX of France organized a crusade against Egypt. This battle, known as the Seventh Crusade, was a failure for Louis.

The Mamluks

As the Crusaders struggled, a new dynasty, known as the Mamluks, descended from former slaves of the Islamic Empire, took power in Egypt. In 1260, Mamluk forces in Palestine managed to halt the advance of the Mongols, an invading force led by Genghis Khan and his descendants, which had emerged as a potential ally for the Christians in the region.

Under the ruthless Sultan Baybars, the Mamluks demolished Antioch in 1268. In response, Louis organized the Eighth Crusade in 1270. The initial goal was to aid the remaining Crusader states in Syria, but the mission was redirected to Tunis, where Louis died.

Edward I of England took on another expedition in 1271. This battle, which is often grouped with the Eighth Crusade but is sometimes referred to as the Ninth Crusade, accomplished very little and was considered the last significant crusade to the Holy Land.

The Last Crusade

In 1291, one of the only remaining Crusader cities, Acre, fell to the Muslim Mamluks. Many historians believe this defeat marked the end of the Crusader States and the Crusades themselves.

Though the Church organized minor Crusades with limited goals after 1291-mainly military campaigns aimed at pushing Muslims from conquered territory, or conquering pagan regions-support for such efforts diminished in the 16th century, with the rise of the Reformation and the corresponding decline of papal authority.

Effects of the Crusades

While the Crusades ultimately resulted in defeat for Europeans and a Muslim victory, many argue that they successfully extended the reach of Christianity and Western civilization. The Roman Catholic Church experienced an increase in wealth, and the power of the Pope was elevated during the Crusades.

Trade and transportation also improved throughout Europe as a result of the Crusades. The wars created a constant demand for supplies and transportation, which resulted in shipbuilding and the manufacturing of various supplies.

After the Crusades, there was a heightened interest in travel and learning throughout Europe, which some historians believe may have paved the way for the Renaissance.

Among followers of Islam, however, the Crusaders were regarded as immoral, bloody and savage. The ruthless and widespread massacre of Muslims, Jews and other non-Christians resulted in bitter resentment that persisted for many years. Even today, some Muslims derisively refer to the West's involvement in the Middle East as a "crusade."

There's no question that the years of warfare and conflict brought by the Crusades had an impact on Middle East and Western European nations for many years, and they still influence political and cultural views held today.

Sources

Timeline for the Crusades and Christian Holy War to c.1350: United States Naval Academy.
The Crusades: A Complete History: History Today.
The Crusades: LordsAndLadies.org.
Crusades: New Advent.
What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?: Bible History Daily.

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The Crusades: Definition, Religious Wars & Facts - HISTORY

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The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims, occurring from 1096 and 1291, primarily to secure control of Middle Eastern holy sites.

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Screenshot challenge from the Crusader Kings II game.

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YouTube video.

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Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire 1300 - 1923

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Map shared in session.

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Good overview video.

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The Crusades: A Concise Overview for Students

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Areas impacted by the crusades include modern day Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Israel.

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The crusade against Christian Cathars in the south of France and Catalonia.

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The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (1209-1229; French: Croisade des albigeois, Occitan: Crosada dels albigeses) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in southern France.

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The Northern Crusades is the name given to a variety of conflicts to remove 'pagans' from modern Poland, Belarus, Lithuania and other areas.

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The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were religious wars undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and to a lesser extent also against Orthodox Christian Slavs ( East Slavs).

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Shows the relatively rapid growth of Islam in the post-Roman world that contribute to Christian desire to 'retake' the Holy Lands around Jerusalem.

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A study guide that covers the full period form 1919 to 1939.

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World History 1919-1939 Conflict & Tension

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Welcome to our History Study Guide that explores the interwar period of 1919 to 1939. We look at international relations during this period, in a time where the hope and efforts of harmony post war world one were abandoned as economic pressures and ideology created a drift towards another war.

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Apart from economic turmoil, natural disasters were common in 1930's, not to mention the "dust bowl".  See these emotional pictures attached to get a better understanding of this period of hardship. 

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Apart from economic turmoil, natural disasters were common in 1930's, not to mention the "dust bowl".  See these emotional pictures attached to get a better understanding of this period of hardship. 

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The grasslands of the southern Plains were rapidly turned into wheat fields. Then following the early years of the drought, storms killed crops and livestock and literally rearranged the landscape. The worst storm of them all was on April 14, 1935-Black Sunday-a searing experience for everyone caught in it, including a young songwriter from Pampa, Texas, named Woody Guthrie.

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The Dust Bowl | Ken Burns | PBS | Watch The Dust Bowl | Ken Burns | PBS

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The Dust Bowl chronicles the environmental catastrophe that, throughout the 1930s, destroyed the farmlands of the Great Plains, turned prairies into deserts, and unleashed a pattern of massive, deadly dust storms that for many seemed to herald the end of the world. Full film now streaming.

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The economics/business perspective on the 1929 financial crisis.

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The Wall Street Crash was the most severe stock market crash in American history. It occurred in late October 1929. People also refer to it as Black Tuesday, the Great Crash, or the Crash of '29. There was also a Black Thursday and a Black Monday. The Wall Street Crash preceded the Great Depression, which lasted well into the late 1930s. It was not until 1954 that stock market prices reached their pre-Crash levels.

Some financial experts had warned that the American economy was losing steam. In September 1929, investors began selling shares in large numbers. Other investors became nervous and soon there was a panic. More and more people rushed to sell their shares.

On Thursday, October 24th, 1929, investors sold 12.8 million shares. On Tuesday, October 29th, sixteen million shares were sold at significantly low prices. New York's Stock Market collapsed in what we call today the Wall Street Crash.

We refer to the 24th and 29th of October as Black Thursday and Black Tuesday. Some selling also occurred on Monday, October 28th; hence, the term Black Monday also exists.

Wall Street Crash - Great Depression

Thousands of investors lost their money in the Wall Street Crash. From one week to the next they lost everything and could not pay their debts.

Banks closed down all over the country, and ordinary Americans lost all their savings. Consumer spending dried up.

When consumers stopped spending companies sold less, so they had to lay off workers or close down. Subsequently, unemployment rose rapidly. The Great Depression had begun.

The Great Depression

It was America's most severe economic downturn in modern history. The Great Depression also affected dozens of countries around the world.

In the US, the Great Depression lasted a decade - from 1929 to 1939. In other words, from the Wall Street Crash to the beginning of World War II when Britain and France declared war on Germany.

By 1933, half of America's banks had shut down and unemployment had reached 15 million.

The Great Depression was much more severe than the Great Recession of 2007/9 to 2009/10.

During the Great Depression, global GDP shrank by 15%. Global GDP during the Great Recession, on the other hand, declined by just 1%. .

Causes of the Wall Street Crash

The Wall Street Crash occurred for many reasons. The rise of American consumerism during the roaring '20s led to the overproduction of goods. People acquired many of these goods with borrowed money. There were many easy credit schemes.

There was lots of borrowing in the 1920s because the authorities kept interest rates too low. Economists refer to the easy access to credit as 'loose money.'

During the months and years leading up to the Wall Street Crash, there had been an unsustainable boom in the prices of stocks. In this context, the word 'stocks' means the same as 'shares.' Hence the terms 'stocks and shares' and 'stock market.'

Encouraged by the apparent strength of the American economy and easy access to credit, many consumers borrowed to buy shares. Also, companies took out huge loans for expansion.

As their indebtedness grew, consumers and businesses also became more susceptible to changes in confidence.

Regarding that susceptibility, Economics Help states:

" When that change of confidence came in 1929, those who had borrowed were particularly exposed and joined the rush to sell shares and try and redeem their debts."

Wall Street Crash - investment bubble

The Wall Street Crash was not the first investment bubble ever to occur. There had been many before. There have also been a few since. More recently, we witnessed the ' dot.com bubble ' at the end of the last century.

The New York Times made the following comment about the Wall Street Crash:

"It came with a speed and ferocity that left men dazed. The bottom, simply fell out of the market..... The streets were crammed with a mixed crowd - agonized little speculators,... sold-out traders,... inquisitive individuals and tourists seeking ... a closer view of the national catastrophe..... Where was it going to end?"

Some people predicted that something like the Wall Street Crash would happen soon. In a Guardian article, Larry Elliott quotes Roger Babson, an investment adviser, who one month before the crash said:

"Factories will shut down. Men will be thrown out of work. The vicious cycle will get in, and the result will be a serious business depression."

F Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) said that the Wall Street Crash was the moment when the "jazz age dived to its death." Fitzgerald was an American fiction writer whose works illustrate the Jazz Age.

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What was the Wall Street Crash? Definition and examples

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The Wall Street Crash was the most severe stock market crash in American history. It occurred in late October 1929. People also refer to it as Black Tuesday, the Great Crash, or the Crash of '29. There was also a Black Thursday and a Black Monday.

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GD and role for WW2.

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causes of wall street crash 1929 - YouTube

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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.