The Impacts of crusades on European and Middle Eastern Historical development.

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The Impacts of crusades on European and Middle Eastern Historical development.

The Crusades were a group of Holy Wars fought between European Christians and the Seluk Turks between the years of 1096 and 1291. All in total there were eight organized crusades.  Jerusalem is a sacred city for Christians; many Christians made regular pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Up to the invasion of the Seluk Turks, the Saracens controlled the city and allowed the Christians to make peaceful journeys to the city. The Christians, when the Seluk Turks took control were beaten and robbed on their pilgrimages. Alexius Commenus, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, who had controlled Jerusalem prior to the Saracens with the blessing and assistance of Pope Urban II, wanted to remove the Turks from Jerusalem and recover the Holy Lands. In Clearmont France in 1095 after a stirring speech by the Pope thousands of people joined the crusaded and had an armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land (Hamilton, The Crusades, p 2-4).

The first Crusades started formerly on November 27, 1095. In this crusade the Christians basically gained back a portion of Jerusalem. In 1144 the Muslims captured control of the land the Crusaders previously gained.  The Second Crusade was formed to recapture the city that the Muslims took back, as well as Jerusalem, but in the end the Crusaders were again defeated. Also during the Second Crusade the Muslim named Saladin gained control over all of Jerusalem. This occurrence became a source of great turmoil in the Church.  The Third Crusade was called for to remedy the taking of Jerusalem.  During this Crusade Saladin, the Muslim who now controlled Jerusalem and King Richard, who was one of the leaders of the Crusade became good friends, the result of the Third Crusade was that the Muslims remained in control of Jerusalem however unlike previously, the Christians were free to visit anytime they wanted without fear of persecution (Hamilton, The Crusades, p 4-8)

The fifth crusade lasted from 1217 to 1221.  The Pope Innocent III wanted them to attack Egypt on their way to the Jerusalem. The crusade, while it had good success in the beginning with its capture of the city Damietta in Egypt, fell short when the crusaders had to give back the city for a truce (Hamilton, The Crusades, p 23). Fredrick II, who was The Holy Roman Emperor, during the time of the sixth crusade in 1228 and 1229, took over the city of Acre and he negotiated a treaty, which gave Jerusalem to the Christians for ten years (Hamilton, The Crusades, p 29).

The crusades officially ended when the Muslim Sultan Khalil captured Acre, the last Christian city, on May 5, 1291. Europe was losing its interest in the Holy Land and instead turned its attention to the discovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492. The Christians decided to leave the Holy Land to the Muslims, while satisfying their ambitions to expand in the New World (Treece, The Crusades, p. 272 -74).

There were many impacts on the development of both Western and Eastern civilizations as a result of the Crusades. These impacts revolved mostly around the sharing and exchange of ideas and techniques between the European Christians and the Muslims. The Crusades dramatically changed the course of history and forever changed the way of life for the West.

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Zoë Oldenbourg was born in Leningrad Russia, and with the dawn of Communism upon her and her family escaped to Paris at the age of 9. She has written many books of the subject of the middle ages. Her book The Crusades looks at the crusades from the point of view of the poor, "the victimization of the poor and the relative safety of the rich" (Oldenbourg, The Crusades, p. 3).

Oldenbourg writes, " bound to the soil as farmer, shepherd, and hunter, the medieval peasants lived to the rhythm of the season…Medieval Society and society before the Crusades in particular ...

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