THE CRUSADES Even though only the First and Third Crusades were successful in reclaiming parts of the Holy Land the Crusades played an important role in the expansion of Europe Historians have written about the excesses of the Crusades for centuries and the Crusades remain today a fascinating yet controversial chapter in the history of Christianity and in world history in general The Crusading movement was the result of a number of important factors By the end of the eleventh century the countries of Europe had become major powers Western Europe was composed of several Loarre Castle located in the province of Huesca in the auton omous community of Aragon in Spain is considered the best-preserved Romanesque fortress in Europe It was built in the eleventh century on a promontory of limestone giving it a great advantage against siege as there was virtually no way to breach the castle from below 6
INTRODUCTION kingdoms loosely describable as feudal Their populations as well as their economies economies had grown dramatically and their governments had become better organized enabling European leaders to raise and command large armies Such in improvements European society provided the necessary necessary foundation upon which to build the Crusading movement movement A thirteenth-century map of Jerusalem with the cities of Gethsemane Jericho Jericho Bethany and Hebron This French miniature is part of Robert the Monk’s History of the First Crusade Historia Hierosolymitana The nature of religious religious belief at the time was another important important factor According to the idea of holy war which took shape in the eleventh century Christian warriors had a duty to do God’s work by fighting for the church The practice of pilgrimage pilgrimage to holy sites and the shrines of saints also influenced influenced the Crusades In the late eleventh century a series 7
THE CRUSADES of popes reorganized the church and exercised greater influence over Christians than had their predecessors These developments were affected by changes in the Holy Land and in the Byzantine Empire In 1071 the Seljuq Turks defeated Byzantine armies at the battle of Manzikert and extended their control over much of Asia Minor They persecuted Christians and attacked Christian holy places They seized control of Jerusalem from the Muslim authority there The previous previous rulers had allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the Holy City but the Turks who were recent converts to Islam did not Seljuq expansion southward continued and in 1085 the capture of Antioch in Syria one of the patriarchal sees of Christianity was another blow to Byzantine prestige 8
WHAT LED TO THE CRUSADES Before the year 1000 most Christian pilgrims journeyed to the holy sites of Europe including to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome and to the city of Santiago de Compostela in north-western north-western Spain where the tomb of Jesus apostle Saint James was said to have been supernaturally revealed during the ninth century The social effect of religious belief at the time was complex Religion was moved by tales of signs and wonders and it even attributed natural disasters to supernatural intervention JOURNEYS TO THE HOLY LAND As a greater focus was given to the human Jesus and on the places associated with him journeys to Jerusalem Jersusalem became increasingly popular Some people believed that they were living at the end of time and they thought it best to be in Jerusalem when Jesus 9 Chapter 1
