THE CRUSADES

Launching the CRUSADES  A long series or Wars between Christians and Muslims  They fought over control of Jerusalem which was called the Holy Land because it was the region where Jesus had lived, preached and died.  Many Christians believed that Christ would come again only once the Christians “held” Jerusalem.

Muslims control the Holy Land  By the late 1000s the city of Jerusalem had fallen to North African Muslims called FATIMADS  Muslims stopped Christians from visiting the Holy Land  Christian Pilgrims were attacked  Byzantine Empire feared Constantinople would be destroyed  The Byzantine Emperor turned to POPE URBAN II for help.

COUNCIL OF CLERMONT  Urban called church leaders to a council in CLERMONT, FRANCE.  There they were told of the dangers that Byzantine faced. He called on all Christian warriors, knights and nobles, to put their differences aside and fight against the Turks. “GOD WILLS IT!!” Hundreds volunteered for this Crusade.

THE CRUSADES  Crusaders were inspired by Pope Urban and left France in 1096 in what is known as the FIRST CRUSADE.  9 Crusades happened between 1096 and different leaders, degrees of success but all had the same goal--**Claiming or protecting the Holy Land**

FIRST CRUSADE  TWO GROUPS  Peasant army  Untrained  Lacked military equipment  Many killed by Muslim Turks  Knight  Many knights resorted to looting towns and farms to get needed supplies  Better prepared than peasants.  Eventually succeeded in capturing Jerusalem.

 After 3 years of travelings, the Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem.  Was a victory for the Crusaders, but involved terrible fighting and ended in disaster for the city’s inhabitants.  After winning, the Crusaders created four states in the Holy Land. 1. Jerusalem 2. Edessa 3. Antioch 4. Tripoli

SECOND CRUSADE ( )  After victory many Christians went back home.  The Muslims took the city of Edessa, the capital of one of the Crusader states.  THEY CALLED FOR A SECOND CRUSADE  Launched in 1147, the Second Crusade was a failure.  The Crusaders took no land from the Muslims.

THIRD CRUSADE  30 years after Second Crusade  A new leader arose in the Muslim World - SALADIN – had overthrown the Fatimids and took the title of sultan for himself. - - set back out to gain back the Crusader states. - SUCCEEDED and drove European Christians out of Jerusalem.

 Christians responded to this by launching a THIRD crusade.  King RICHARD the LION-HEARTD of England fought in the Holy Land.  Richard and Saladin had great respect for each other even though they had never met.

 Despite their respect for one another, the both fought fiercely for control of the Holy Land.  Richard won several battles against the Muslims, but he was not able to drive them out of the Holy Land or to take Jerusalem.  In the end, he had to admit that the Crusade was a draw and return to England.

RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED SALADIN

FOURTH AND LATER  With Jerusalem still in Muslim hands, Europeans set out on the Fourth Crusade in  Could not afford to pay the Venetians who had arranged to take them to the Holy Land.  Instead of payment, Crusaders agreed to attack the city of Zara, a port that had once belonged to Venice but was held by a Christian King of Hungary.  Angry that the Crusaders had attacked a Christian city, the pope EXCOMMUNICATED them ALL.

 Even so, the Crusaders still pushed to the Holy Land.  The Crusaders reached Constantinople and decided to attack this city (it was Christian).  The FOURTH Crusade, too, due to lack of strong leadership made the Fourth Crusade another failure. 5 other crusades followed but none were successful. By 1291 the Muslims had driven the Christians completely out of the Holy Land.