So what were the crusades actually about?

Question

I know nothing except from the movies. If the muslims (infidels) were in Jerusalem, where had they come from?

Pardon my ignorance. So were the Muslims originally Persians? I mean, one assumes the Jews were still living there in the time of Christ so were they conquered and banished?

Help! I need a book, as written for children. Anyone got a name of one for me?

Answer 1

After the Romans left Jerusalem it was not ruled over for about hundred years. But with the expansion of the Muslim faith the Syrian Empire began to expand into the holy land. Since there was a fair population of Christians in what we know today as Israel, when the Muslims began to move in, the Church in Europe got worried about control of the area going to the Muslims. The first crusade by the Europeans took control of Israel and most of the holy land. Fighting between Christians and Muslims went on for over a hundred years. The Christians finally left the holy land, and the Muslims took over.

The Syrian empire crumbled and the region was once again without a ruling body until the Ottoman empire which lasted till World War 1.

The crusades were about faith and ideology. Since all three of the religions call this area home, conflict has been a regular thing. In essence the crusades really never ended. They are still going on today, the fight we see like then is one of ideology.

Answer 2

Are you guys retarded? Each crusade had its own meaning and Merritt. Not because the Jews lost favor with God, cut the crap. The First Crusade was 70 years after the fact. What I mean by this is the Seljuk Turks already had conquered Jerusalem b4 1097, when Urban II called all Christians to arms as if it had just happened. Second, the real important reason was to rid Byzantium, former eastern Roman Empire, of the same Arab horsemen who were occupying much of modern-day Turkey. The first crusade was the only successful one. The Christians butchered everyone no matter what affiliation of faith within Jerusalem. The Second Crusade was a Muslim victory which was headed by Saladin, the greatest Muslim military figure, after Reynold of Chatileon kept ambushing Muslim caravans in peacetime. The Third Crusade was a duel between Richard the Lionheart-king of England- and Saladin with no recapturing of Jerusalem for Christianity. The Fourth Crusade never even reached the Holy Land. Instead, knights sacked the city of Constantinople-formely Byzantium and currently Istanbul after the Ottoman Turks conquered it later on-as a debt to Venician bankers. This led to Venice's trade monopoly during the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration. Basically, the Muslims kicked Christianity's ***.

Answer 3

It was all political and nothing to do with religions or Jerusalem.

The covering up idea was that Jerusalem is the holy land for Christians and should be recapture from the Arabs, who were not Christian.

In fact, crusades were part of the political struggle between the Roman Empire and the Vatican. It was the Pope who crowned the emperor and it was the emperor who appointed religious leaders. The Vatican wanted to change this, so the fight began. To get rid of a possible military threat, the Pope announced the crusade which was a great opportunity for an adventure to knights and for wealth to poor people.

Of course, there were casus bellis, such as the Byzantine Empire's ask for help, or incidents against Christians.

EDIT: This is only for the first crusade, of course.

In children language: Once upon a time, The evil Mr. Roman Emperor and the evil Mr. Pope got veeery angry at each other! Therefore the evil Mr. Pope tricked the evil Mr. Roman Emperor. Sleep well. :)))

Answer 4

The Crusades were pretty complex. Jerusalem and most of the Middle East were Christian and Jewish until the rise of Islam in the 10th C. The early Muslims conquered most of the area including Egypt and Palestine, converting most people to Islam. They also attacked Europe, successfully occupying part of Spain. The Crusaders were christian knights from Europe who wanted access to the holy land. Strangely enough they did not want to convert the population to Christianity. The first crusade was very brutal. Uncontrolled, fanatic, warrior pilgrims attacked, not only muslim towns but jewish as well. They carried out a number of gruesome massacres, including on one occasion practicing cannabilism. They took Jerusalem but it was subsequently retaken by the muslims. Later crusades were better organised and eventually became more humane. English King Richard the Lionheart was a successful crusader leader. He respected the Kurdish Islamic leader Saladin and even tried to arrange peace with the muslims by having his sister marry Saladin's brother. The Crusaders remained in the middle east for several centuries until they were thrown out by the Mamelukes. Nowadays radical muslims point to the crusades and use them as an excuse for hostility to the west, although the crusades were not much different to all other medieval wars, including wars between muslims. They also forget that muslim armies attacked Europe prior to the crusades.

Answer 5

This is a real large subject covering 100s of years. The Jewish were forced off their land in 69-70AD by the Romans well before the Crusades. The Persians split the Roman Empire in two.

The story of the Crusades is one of betrayal by the church of Rome. Money was the problem. I recall one particular battle where 8,000 French knights gallantly fought their way into the center of 50,000 Muslims. After the battle, the knights had to select those among themselves who would fetch the most ransom. By the Fourth Crusades there wasn't much interest left to continue on.

The upbeat is the ending of the Age of Faith and the start of the Enlightenment. Read up on it. You'll be fascinated.

Answer 6

Oh my! I have at least four books on the subject and I have no idea where to begin. Religious expansion and recclaimation. Tourism, no joke... people made a lot of money on pilgrims making their way to the holy land. Knights Templar actually set up the first idea of "branch" banking. They offered to their passengers the ability to deposit coin in their temples in Europe to withdraw in the holy land. I cannot recall currently right now, but one of the crusades (10th or 13th) was actually a false crusade where the promoters of it used it as a ploy to sell European children slaves to Africa. Another reason for the continuation of the crusades is that it became fashionable for leaders to make one in the sense of doing it for the right cause and gain support of the people. Richard the Lionheart went on a crusade and that almost bankrupted England. The inverse to Christen expansion is that of the Ottoman empire and the far reach into Austria. But of course that was not a "crusade."

Hope that helped. Hope others can give you a better light.

Answer 7

FYI Sherrie....infidel is a term for non-muslims and NOT the other way around.

The Muslims were in Jerusalem during that time because the Jews lost favor with God and they were not allowed to enter the promised land.

The crusades were military expeditions with the primary objective of re-taking Jerusalem for Christianity.

Unfortunately, the crusaders were mercenaries who engaged in rape, plunder and destruction while in the course of their actions.

Answer 8

political power & social control (and let's not forget the money that was to be made). the ironic part is that the crusades marked the rediscovery of the knowlege of ancient Greece, which had been lost 700 years previous, with the coming of the dark ages.

Answer 9

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Answer 10

It is a turning around point 4 the evil doers.