Homework: the crusades

What were the crusades?

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East.
In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God".
However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome.
Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years

How were the crusades?

The first crusade: 1096-1102

The appeal was made by Pope Urban II in November 1095 but crusaders did not set out until the following summer. One route went through Hungary crossing the Byzantine frontier at Belgrade then through the Balkans. The other route took crusaders down through Italy crossing by sea from Bari to Dyrrachion and then to Constantinople by land.

The second crusade:1447-1449

The Second Crusade was prompted by the fall of Edessa in 1144. In this case both the French under Louis VII and the Germans led by Emperor Conrad III followed the same route through Hungary and arrived in Constantinople within a month of each other in September and October 1847.

The third crusade:1189-1192

The Third Crusade, was prompted by the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187. A German contingent under Frederick Barbarossa did attempt to cross using the traditional route through the Balkans and Anatolian but Barbarossa died en route and his forces later suffered an ambush. The important routes therefore were those take by the French under Philip Augustus and the English led by Richard I. Both expeditions travelled by sea stopping for the winter at Messina.

The fourth crusade:1202-1204

The Fourth Crusade was preached by Innocent III in 1202. The majority of the Crusaders sailed from Venice. The goal was the recapture of Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, however, the Crusaders were persuaded to mount an attack on behalf of the Venetians at Zara and then on Constantinople to depose the Emperor. The fall and sack of Constantinople in April 1204 did lasting damage to relations between Eastern and Western Christians. A Latin empire lasted there for 60 years.

The fifth crusade:1218-1221

The sixth crusade:1228-1229

The seventh crusade:1248-1254

The eighth crusade:1270