Middle Ages: Crusades (Lesson 4)

​MAIN IDEAS

1. The pope called on Crusaders to invade the Holy Land.

2. Despite some initial success, the later Crusades failed.

3. The Crusades changed Europe forever.

Multiple Choice

The king called on Crusaders to invade the Holy Land.

• TRUE

• FALSE

​Key Terms and People

1) Crusades: a long series of wars fought between Christians and Muslims over control of Palestine

2) Holy Land: the European name for Palestine, the region where Jesus had lived, preached, and died

3) Pope Urban II: head of the Roman Catholic Church who started the Crusades

4) King Richard I: English king who led the third, ill-fated Crusade to seize Palestine

5) Saladin: Turkish leader of the Muslim forces that prevented England from taking Palestine

​CRUSADERS INVADE THE HOLY LAND

The Crusades were a long series of wars between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia. The Europeans fought the Muslims to retake Palestine. Christians call the region the Holy Land because it was where Jesus had lived, preached, and died.

​For many years, Palestine had been ruled by Muslims. In general, the Muslims did not bother Christians who visited the region. In the late 1000s, however, a new group of Turkish Muslims captured the city of Jerusalem. Pilgrims returning to Europe said that these Turks had attacked them.

​Before long the Turks began to raid the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine emperor asked Pope Urban II of the Roman Catholic Church for help. Although the Byzantines were Eastern Orthodox Christians and not Roman Catholic, the pope agreed to help.

Multiple Choice

Before long the Turks began to raid the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine emperor asked Pope Urban II of the ___________ for help.

• Jewish Church

• Muslim Church

• Roman Catholic Church

• Hindu Church

​Pope Urban called on Christians to retake the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. Crusaders from all over Europe flocked to France to prepare to fight. About 5,000 Crusaders left Europe for the Holy Land in 1096. Many were peasants, not soldiers. On their way to the Holy Land, the peasant Crusaders attacked Jews in Germany. They blamed the Jews for Jesus’s death. Turkish troops killed most of these untrained peasants before they even reached the Holy Land. However, the nobles and knights, in 1099, were able take Jerusalem and set up four kingdoms there.

Open Ended

What happened to the peasant Crusaders?

​LATER CRUSADES FAIL

Within 50 years the Muslims had started taking land back from the Christians. The Europeans launched more Crusades, but these invasions ended in defeat for the Christians. The Third Crusade started as a group effort between the German, French, and English kings. But only King Richard I of England stayed on to fight. His opponent (rival) was the brilliant Muslim leader Saladin, known for his kindness toward fallen enemies. Eventually, King Richard left the Holy Land, which was still under Muslim control. By 1291, Muslim armies had taken back all of the Holy Land. The Crusades were over.

Multiple Choice

Though the rulers of England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire led armies during the Third Crusade, only King Richard V of England stayed in the Holy Land to fight.

• TRUE

• FALSE

​CRUSADES CHANGE EUROPE

The Crusades increased trade between Europe and Asia. In some cases, the Crusades increased the power of the European kings. But the main impact of the wars was divisive(disruptive). The Crusades hurt the trust European Jews had developed with Christians. The Crusades also caused distrust between Muslims and Christians. Those tensions are still felt today.