What's the point of the Crusades?

Question

Help! I have a report about it but I can't really find the thing I'm looking for.. My topic's just so broad!! HELP!

Answer 1

Jerusalem....thats the point.

All three of the main religions...Islam, Judaism, and Christianity focus on Jerusalem as the High Holy Place on earth. All three trace their beginnings to Father Abraham.

Abraham had two sons. Ishmael by his wife's slave girl and then later Issac, the son promised by God by his wife.

Ishmael would be the root of Islam. Issac was taken to Mount Moriah to be sacraficed to God but at the last minute an Angel of God stopped him. Issac would go on to be the beginning of the covenant with the Jews. This same Mount Moriah would become the Temple Mount in Jerusalm.

Both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem were built on Moriah and finally the Muslims built the gold colored "Dome of the Rock" Mosque that sits there to this day. The only thing remaining of the second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. is the "Wailing Wall".

Its amazing to see these three religions so at odds with each other when they actually have more in common with each other than they have differences. They share a common ancestor, history, and Holy places. Why do they fight?

Answer 2

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns—usually sanctioned by the Papacy—that took place during the 11th through 13th centuries. Originally, they were Roman Catholic Holy Wars to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims, but some were directed against other targets, such as the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of southern France, the Northern Crusades, and the Fourth Crusade which conquered Constantinople.

Answer 3

I'm hoping you don't close this conversation because I want to answer it but I'm just too tired to right now. So hopefully, you'll keep it open until I wake up :D like in....eight hours, lol.

Hopefully!

But I do know abit about the crusades, the causes and outcomes of it.

Answer 4

To fight over the Holy Land the Europeans/Middle Easterners were fighting over the Holy land. It was a religious crusade.

Answer 5

The year was 1095 CE, William the Conqueror had united England under one crown 30 years earlier. The French had been dividing properties amongst their sons for generations, causing bloodshed between brothers over small pieces of real estate. In reaction, Pope Urban II expanded "The Truce of God", which outlawed fighting from Sunday to Wednesday, and banned fighting involving priests, monks, women, laborers and merchants on any day of the week. Italy was a collection of city-states, constantly being overrun by invading hordes, the latest of which were the Normans, who had just started to become "civilized".

There was also the Byzantine empire, ruling from Constantinople, whose emperor at this time was Alexius Comnenus. To his East, the Turks were rapidly encroaching on his empire, and had begun attacking pilgrims on their way to - and in - Jerusalem, causing him great distress. He wrote to his friend Robert, the Count of Flanders, in 1093, telling him about supposed atrocities committed by the Turks on the Christian pilgrims, and Robert passed this letter on to Pope Urban II. Urban, an opportunist, saw this as a perfect way to solve some of his local problems. He personally promoted a Holy Crusade to reclaim the Holy Lands from the barbarian Turks. Thus, the First Crusade was launched in 1096 CE.

At this point, we need a list of players. Many went along, but only a few are worth remembering. It was an international group, with members from France, Italy and England. From France, we have Hugh the (not so) Great, Count of Vermandois, brother of the French King of Northern and Central France, and a man of little character with no other importance to our story. With him were Godfrey, Baldwin and Eustace of Bouillon, sons of the Duke of Lower Lorraine - descended through their mother from Charlemagne - along with their cousin, Baldwin Le Bourg. Also from France, we have Raymond IV of Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse, who had already fought the Moors in Spain. His mother was a princess of Barcelona. He was the first to "Take the Cross".

From England, we have Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror. From Italy, we have Marcus Bohemond, Prince of Toranto, son of Robert Guiscard, a Norman who had not fallen too far from his barbarian tree, and also his nephew Tancred.

We have set the players, now for the place. It was called the Levant, the land over the ocean, the Latin Orient. The area in question is now called Israel, and also includes parts of Lebanon and a small stretch of Syria and southeastern Turkey. It was divided into the four Crusader States of Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli and Jerusalem. It was a small stretch of land that was steeped in religious heritage and held the promise of bestowing riches upon the men who could control the "land flowing in milk and honey".

What follows is a story of war, holy visions, unholy alliances, promises made with fingers crossed, sieges and slaughters, the details of which fill volumes. The crusades lasted 250 years.

Answer 6

The crusades in the 11th-13th century had, as their main objective originally, to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the muslims. But as it progressed, its aims got diverted as well...
check wikipedia, it got a good article about it

Answer 7

The movie "Kingdom of Heaven" contains some decent history for a hollywood movie. Basically, the Church of England felt that Jerusalem should be in control of christians and not muslims. Hence, they sent knights to present Israel to take it.

Answer 8

There was a point "bring Christ to the heathens"
The point was lost when they didn't get with it ,then it turned in to a
control thing,which is usually what happens when man takes over
"God's work".

Answer 9

In fact ther is none. But for crusaders it's to make other belive, to forcce them into their religion. It's to help them be "saved" (Christian argument)...they say it's for God, but they got it all wrong...

Answer 10

Basically they wanted to conver everyone to christianity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade