The Crusades
The Crusades (1095-1291) were a series of religious wars in which Christian Europeans attempted to capture and hold the Holy Land.
Why the Crusades Happened
Religious motivation: Jerusalem — where Christ died and rose — was sacred to Christians. Its control by Muslims (since 638) troubled Western Christendom.
- Remission of sins for crusaders
- Eternal salvation for those who died
- Younger sons sought land and glory
- Merchants saw commercial opportunities
- Adventure and escape from home
The First Crusade (1095-1099)
Remarkably successful. An army of perhaps 100,000 (soldiers, families, camp followers) marched across Europe and the Middle East.
1099: Jerusalem captured. The crusaders massacred the Muslim and Jewish populations.
Four Crusader States established: Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli, Edessa.
Later Crusades
Second Crusade (1147-1149): Failed to recapture Edessa.
Third Crusade (1189-1192): Saladin retook Jerusalem (1187). Richard the Lionheart couldn't recapture it but secured pilgrimage access.
Fourth Crusade (1202-1204): Infamously sacked Constantinople — a Christian city.
Children's Crusade (1212): Thousands of young people set out; most died or were enslaved.
Subsequent crusades achieved little. The last Crusader stronghold (Acre) fell in 1291.
Legacy
- Increased trade with the East
- Transfer of knowledge (medicine, mathematics)
- Gothic architecture influenced by Islamic designs
- Massacres and destruction
- Deepened Christian-Muslim hostility
- Precedent for religious violence
The Crusades remain controversial, viewed very differently in the West and the Islamic world.
Related Reading
Listen to the Full Course
Explore medieval warfare in Medieval History.