Chapter 12 lesson 2

Chapter 12 lesson 2

The Crusades

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How did the Church influence political and cultural changes in medieval Europe?

 How did both innovations and disruptive forces affect people during the Middle Ages?

Causes of the Crusades

• The Crusades started when the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus asked for help against the Seljuk Turks.

• The Seljuk Turks were Muslims who had taken control of Asia Minor.

• Pope Urban II, who responded to the request, saw an opportunity to provide leadership for a great cause

That cause was rallying Europe's warriors to free Jerusalem and the Holy Land from people whom Christians viewed as infidels, or unbelievers—the Muslims. 

At the Council of Clermont in southern France near the end of 1095, Urban II asked Christians to take up their weapons and join in a holy war. The pope promised: "All who die . . . shall have immediate remission [forgiveness] of sins."

Multiple Choice

Pope Urban II saw the Byzantine emperor's request for help fighting the Seljuk Turks as a chance to

• explore the lands to the east.

• free the Holy Lands from the control of infidels.

• establish himself as a great warrior.

• invade the Byzantine empire.

Open Ended

How did Urban II persuade the Crusaders to invade Jerusalem?

The First Crusade

the First Crusade began as three organized bands of mostly French warriors made their way to the East. The crusading army, which included thousands of men in cavalry and infantry, captured Antioch in 1098. The crusaders proceeded down the Palestinian coast, avoiding the well-defended coastal cities, and reached Jerusalem in June 1099. The Holy City was taken amid a horrible massacre of its inhabitants.

The First Crusade

After further conquests, the crusaders organized four Latin crusader states in the East. One of these was the kingdom of Jerusalem under Godfrey de Bouillon, one of the Frankish leaders of the First Crusade.

Multiple Choice

Most of the warriors who first joined the Crusades came from

• England.

• Germany.

• France.

• Italy.

Multiple Choice

By the end of the First Crusade, the Europeans had managed to

• convert the Muslims to Christianity.

• cause the Muslims to retreat to Egypt.

• assume control of the Holy Land.

• establish four Latin crusader states.

The Second Crusade

Bernard of Clairvaux managed to enlist two powerful rulers, King Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany, in a Second Crusade. This campaign, however, was a total failure

Multiple Choice

The Second Crusade was launched in

• the 1140s.

• 1204.

• 1187.

• the 1190s.

The fall of Jerusalem

In 1187 Jerusalem fell to Muslim forces under Saladin. Saladin had made himself sultan of Egypt in 1169 and then become leader of the Muslim offensive against the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. After Saladin’s success, three European rulers then agreed to lead a Third Crusade: German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, English king Richard I (Richard the Lionhearted), and French king Philip II Augustus.

The Third Crusade

Frederick drowned in a local river. The English and French arrived by sea and captured the coastal cities but were unable to move inland. After Philip returned home, Richard negotiated a settlement with Saladin that permitted Christian pilgrims free access to Jerusalem. 

Multiple Choice

The Third Crusade began in response to

• the urging of Pope Innocent III.

• the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa's desire to prove his bravery.

• the seizure of Jerusalem by Muslim forces led by Saladin.

• the invasion of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks.

Later Crusades

About six years after Saladin’s death in 1193, Pope Innocent III initiated the Fourth Crusade. As it headed east, the crusading army became involved in a fight over the Byzantine throne. 

Later Crusades

The Venetian leaders of the Crusade used the situation to weaken their greatest commercial competitor, the Byzantine Empire. In 1204 the crusaders sacked Constantinople, adding to the division between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Western forces also set up a new Latin empire of Constantinople

Multiple Choice

During the Fourth Crusade, the armies got distracted from their spiritual goals and began

• a fight for control of the city of Venice.

• a fight for control of the Byzantine Empire.

• to push farther into Asia Minor.

• .to sack the city of Antioch.

Open Ended

Why did the capture of Constantinople lead to the weakening of the Byzantine Empire?

The Children's Crusade

Despite failures, the crusading ideal continued. In Germany in 1212, a youth known as Nicholas of Cologne announced that God had inspired him to lead a "children's crusade" to the Holy Land.

The Children's Crusade

The pope told them to go home. Most tried to do so. At about the same time, a group of about 20,000 French children headed to Marseille, where two shipowners agreed to take them to the Holy Land. Seven ships filled with youths left the port. Two of the ships went down in a storm. The other five sailed to North Africa, where the children were sold into slavery.

The Last Crusades

The last two major Crusades were organized by the king of France, Louis IX. After his defeat by Baybars, the sultan of Egypt, Louis tried again but died of the plague without any conquests. 

Multiple Choice

The last major Crusade ended when its leader, King Louis IX,

• returned home to France.

• was defeated by Sultan Baybars of Egypt.

• overcame the Muslims and seized Jerusalem.

• died of the plague.

Side Effects of the Crusades

The Crusades had some unfortunate side effects on European society. The first widespread attacks on the Jews began in the context of the Crusades. Some Christians argued that to fight the Muslims while the Jews, whom they blamed for Jesus’s death, ran free at home was unthinkable

Open Ended

Why do you think the Crusades led to persecutions of European Jews?

Side Effects of the Crusades

Perhaps the greatest impact of the Crusades was political. They eventually helped to break down feudalism. As kings levied taxes and raised armies, nobles joining the Crusades sold their lands and freed their serfs. As nobles lost power, the kings created stronger central governments

Multiple Choice

The Crusades helped to pave the way for

• the development of true nation-states in Europe.

• the freeing of the Holy Lands from the infidels.

• the crusading knights' ascent to political power in their homelands.

• increased religious tolerance throughout Europe.

Open Ended

How did the Church influence political and cultural changes in medieval Europe?