The+Crusades



1. The crusades were a series of military conflicts between the Muslims of the Middle East and the Christians. There were a total of eight crusades that lasted from 1096 to 1270, which was a total of over 200 years. The crusades were fought over the land of Jerusalem. The Christians wanted the land of Jerusalem because Jesus died and was crucified there; they believed that Jerusalem was the “city of god.” Muslims wanted control of the land because Mohammed was said to have sat and prayed on the Dome of the Rock. The early crusades took place in Jerusalem, Edessa, Tarsus, Antioch, and Tripoli. The later crusades occurred in Byzantium, Anatolia, Crete, Greece, Egypt along the Nile River, and Tunis.

2. The Crusades were the last straw for the Byzantine Empire. Due to Crusader kingdoms set up in Palestine a trade between those areas and Europe was set up. This resulted in a full out Mediterranean trade, which led to the development and spread of new ideas such as banking and accounting techniques. Much of Europe's stone masonry and other architecture was also drawn from ideas from the Middle East. They were also able to import raw materials from Europe. The heavy costs of the Crusades led to the weakening of the power of nobility and to the strengthening of merchant classes and independence of cities such as Genoa and Venice. In addition, the Crusades were the cause of the fall of Constantinople.

3. The crusades had a large effect on the europeans during the middle ages. During this time the continent was under a powerful papacy, but by the 14th century the old concept of the christendom was broken and the development of bureaucracies was on its way of creation, in france, england, burgundy, portgual and aragon.. The crusades also aided the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy, as various Italian city-states from the very beginning had important and profitable trading colonies in the crusader states, both in the Holy Land and later in captured Byzantine territory. The crusades weakened the Byzanite Empire, created diversity, there was an increase in trade which led to economic growth. After the Crusades, there was a large demand for transportation of men and supplies. They also encouraged ship building. The crusades also contributed to the increase in wealth in the Catholic church. They helped break downt the power of the feaudal aristocracy and give more power to the kings and the people.

4. The Crusades would create a division between Muslims and Christians all around the globe, and the fighting and killing that resulted from the Crusades would echo in many years to come. One of the short-term effects of the Crusades was an initiation of trade throughout the Mediterranean, which, in turn, effected culture and technology on a world-wide scale because it resulted in the sharing and spreading of new ideas. In addition, the fall of Constantinople would have effected both Christianity and Islam in that region of the world because it was a city so religiously-based.

Caroline, Brianne, and Sam's source: http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/WestTech/xcrusade.htm http://z.about.com/d/atheism/1/0/N/I/Battle-l.jpg