- "The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period."
A series of military campaigns by Western European Christians to capture Palestine and restore Christian dominance in the Holy Land.
The First Crusade: This was the first of a series of holy wars fought by Christians to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim rule in the 11th century.
The Second Crusade: This was a military campaign launched by the Catholic Church in the 12th century to conquer Jerusalem and other territories in the Holy Land that were lost to the Muslims during the previous crusade.
The Third Crusade: This was a major battle fought between Saladin and the Christian armies of Europe, which resulted in the retaking of Jerusalem by the Muslims.
The Fourth Crusade: This military campaign was launched by the Catholic Church in the 13th century to reclaim Constantinople from the Byzantine Empire.
The Children's Crusade: This was a popular movement of young children and teens who marched to the Holy Land in the 13th century, believing it would lead to the reclaiming of the Holy Land from the Muslims.
The Crusader States: This refers to a number of Christian kingdoms established in the Holy Land during the era of the Crusades.
Medieval Warfare: The military strategies, weapons, and tactics used in the Crusades.
The Knights Templar: This was a religious military order established in the 12th century to protect pilgrims and defend the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Crusaders and the Jews: The role that Jewish communities played in the Crusades, and how they were persecuted and oppressed by the Christian armies.
The Crusaders and the Byzantine Empire: This section deals with the tension and eventual conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Christian armies during the Fourth Crusade.
Religious Propaganda and the Crusades: The role of religious propaganda in influencing public opinion and encouraging participation in the Crusades.
Impact of the Crusades on Europe and the Middle East: The long-term effects the Crusades had on both the Christian and Muslim worlds, and how it impacted the political, social, and cultural landscape of Europe and the Middle East.
Difference between Crusaders, Pilgrims, and Mercenaries: Distinctions between the groups who participated in the Crusades.
Crusades and Islam: The history of the Muslim response to the invasion of Christian armies, the power dynamic between the two religions, and the lasting effects of the conflict.
Clerical reforms and the Crusades: The role of the religious hierarchy in promoting and financing the Crusades, and how its motivations differed from the secular aristocracy.
First Crusade (1096-1099): The first attempt by European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslim rule. It resulted in the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders.
Second Crusade (1147-1149): A response to the fall of the County of Edessa, the second crusade attempted to recapture lost territory. It ended in a failure, with the Crusaders suffering a major defeat in their efforts to take Damascus.
Third Crusade (1189-1192): Called after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, the third Crusade was an attempt to retake the Holy Land led by King Richard the Lionheart of England, King Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. Although it failed to capture Jerusalem, it resulted in a peace treaty between Saladin and the Crusaders that allowed Christians to visit the Holy Sites.
Fourth Crusade (1202-1204): Directed at regaining Jerusalem but instead descended into a controversial conflict with the Byzantine Empire. Some of the crusaders were accused of attacking and looting the Christian city of Constantinople.
Children's Crusade (1212): An unsuccessful attempt by a group of French and German children to march to the Holy Land to recover the True Cross, which they believed would bring success to the Crusaders. The children were either sold into slavery or died while attempting their journey.
Fifth Crusade (1217-1221): Directed at capturing or weakening the Muslim stronghold in Egypt in order to access Jerusalem more easily. Although the Crusaders won some victories, they failed to capture Cairo and were forced to retreat.
Sixth Crusade (1228-1229): An agreement between Emperor Frederic II and the Egyptian sultan al-Kamil allowed the German Emperor to regain Jerusalem without conflict. The treaty was short-lived, however.
Seventh Crusade (1248-1254): Led by King Louis IX of France in an effort to recapture Jerusalem, it ultimately ended in defeat with the capture of Louis and the loss of most of his army.
Eighth Crusade (1270): A second campaign led by Louis IX, who had just failed in the Seventh Crusade, this campaign ended in the death of the king in Tunisia, and the abandonment of the Crusade.
Ninth Crusade (1271-1272): Led by Prince Edward of England (later Edward I), who achieved several victories before negotiations with the Muslims secured safe passage for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Reconquista: A series of campaigns launched by Christian kingdoms in Iberia between the 11th and 15th centuries to recapture the Muslim-held territories. Although not officially a Crusade, the Reconquista was supported by the Papacy and shared many of the same goals as the Crusades.
- "The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291."
- "that were intended to conquer Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Muslim rule."
- "In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the first expedition at the Council of Clermont."
- "Participants came from all over Europe and had a variety of motivations, including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage."
- "Later expeditions were conducted by generally more organized armies, sometimes led by a king."
- "All were granted papal indulgences."
- "Initial successes established four Crusader states: the County of Edessa; the Principality of Antioch; the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the County of Tripoli."
- "A European presence remained in the region in some form until the fall of Acre in 1291."
- "Other church-sanctioned campaigns include crusades against Christians not obeying papal rulings."
- "The struggle between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula was proclaimed a crusade in 1123, but eventually became better known as the Reconquista."
- "The Reconquista [...] ended in 1492 with the fall of the Emirate of Granada."
- "From 1147, campaigns in Northern Europe against pagan tribes were considered crusades."
- "In 1199, Pope Innocent III began the practice of proclaiming crusades against what the Latin Church considered heretic Christian communities."
- "Crusades were called against the Cathars in Languedoc and against Bosnia; against the Waldensians in Savoy and the Hussites in Bohemia."
- "Unsanctioned by the church, there were also several popular Crusades."
- "Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century."
- "Other church-sanctioned campaigns include crusades against the Ottoman Empire."
- "After this, no further large military campaigns were organized."
- "Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of military campaigns were organized, providing a focal point of European history for centuries."