Lesson 12: From the Crusades to New Muslim Empire

• The main purpose of the Crusades was to gain control of


  the site of Jesus' crucifixation
• How Jerusalem is significant to Christianity:


  • crucifixion of Jesus
  • resurrection of Jesus
• How Jerusalem is significant to Judaism


  • ancient political capital
  • location of their great Temple
• How Jerusalem is significant to Islam:


  • point of interest during Night Journey
  • location of the Dome of the Rock
• Causes of the Crusades:


  After the Seljuks took control of Palestine

  • political turmoil made travel unsafe
  • highway robbers attacked and killed Christian pilgrims
  • fear with threat Suljuks posed towards Christian lands
• During the 1000s, the Seljuk Turks established a new Muslim dynasty and were eager to


  expand
• Sultan


  the supreme ruler of a Muslim state
• Holy Land


  the area between Egypt and Syria that was the ancient homeland of Jews and the place where Jesus Christ had lived; also called Palestine
• Crusades


  a series of religious and political wars launched by European Christians to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy sites from Muslims
• Pope Urban II


  called for a crusade to drive out the Muslims and reclaim Jerusalem and promised a forgiveness of sins to all who joined the fight
• Christian faith inspired many to put on the


  red cross as a symbol of the Crusaders' mission
• Crusading was viewed as an


  act of love and devotion to God OR as a forgiveness of their sins
• The 1st Crusade (1096-1099)


  • Antioch fell to the Christians
  • defeated Jerusalem
  • some Crusaders stayed behind and established the four Crusader kingdom (Palestine, Syria, modern-day Lebanon and Turkey)
• When the Crusades began, the Seljuk Empire was crumbling into a number of smaller states so 


  Muslims had trouble joining together to fight the invaders
• The 2nd Crusade (1146-1148)


  Muslims started to band together

  • captured Edessa (capital of crusader kingdom)
  • German army defeated in Anatolia
  • French Army went home after Muslims defeated 50,000 Crusaders in Damascus
• Salah al-Din


  united Egypt, Syria, and lands of the East; fought Crusaders and regained most of Palestine and all of Jerusalem, sparking the 3rd Crusade
• 3rd Crusade (1189-1192)


  • King Richard I of England led the Crusader army against Salah
  • a forced surrender of the Palestinian town of Arce
  • arrangements between eh two sides to exchange prisoners
  • both sides grew weak
  • ended with the signing of a peace treaty
• The peace treaty of the 3rd Crusade allowed 


  the Crusaders to keep a chain of cities along the coast of Palestine and Muslims agreed to let Christian pilgrims enter Jerusalem
• In 1212, thousands of young peasants from France and Germany marched in a Children's Crusade.


  • few reached Holy Land
  • some reached European port cities and were sold into slavery
  • some returned home
  • many disappeared
• During the later Crusades, Muslims were


  gaining back the land they lost and took Acre, the last Crusader city, in 1291
• None of the later Crusades were successful in reclaiming


  Jerusalem
• Reconquista


  series of wars Christian kingdoms launched to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslims
• Iberian Peninsula


  region in southwestern Europe that contains Spain and Portugal
• The pace of reconquest quickened after the Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba


  broke up into rival kingdoms around 1002
• In 1085, Christians gained a key victory by capturing


  Toledo (central Spain)
• When Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted to unite Spain as a Catholic country, they used the


  Inquisition against Muslims and Jews
• Inquisition


  a judicial body established by the Roman Catholic Church to combat forms or religious error
• 1492 C.E.


  • Granada fell to Ferdinand and Isabella ending Muslim rule in Spain
  • Jews ordered to become Catholics or leave the country
  • Muslims in Spain were forced to become Catholics
• In 1609, Spain expelled remaining Muslims, ending any


  cooperation among these groups and Christians in Spain
• Impacts of the Crusades on Christians:


  • weakened hold of feudalism throughout Europe
  • financial demands triggered innovations in the economy - investments, tax systems
  • adopted aspects of Middle Eastern culture and earned profits from trading these items
  • increased the power of European monarchs
• Richard I of England:


  • devoted to Christian cause and to knight ideals
  • spent most of his reign fighting in the Crusades and heavily taxing his people to pay for his armies
• Anna Comnena


  • daughter of Byzantine emperor
  • respected Christian Crusaders but recognized their danger
  • questioned the Crusader's motives for fighting
• Muslims and the Crusades:


  • had less to gain than Christians
  • lost land in the Iberian Peninsula
  • gained exposure to new military techniques
  • aligned politically
• Salah al-Din


  unified Muslim groups under his strong leadership and was framed in the West for his courtesy and military skills
• Usamah ibn-Munqidh


  • fought against Crusaders
  • described the sacrifices Muslims made for their families
  • wrote an account that told how Muslims and Christians observed one another admirably
• Anit-Semitism


  hostility or discrimination against Jews
• Anti-Semitism during the Crusades caused


  many Jews to relocate to Eastern Europe
• Negative impacts of the Crusades on Jews:


  • violent persecutions
  • tortured into accepting Christianity
  • status in society deteriorated
  • segregation
• Eliezer ben Nathan


  • told of Jews who killed themselves and their families rather than give up their religion
  • admired Jew's devotion
  • wondered how God could let so many Jews die
• Eleazar ben Judah


  • wondered if Jews would be able to survive Europe
  • continued to preach love for all humanity despite his suffering