The Crusades Lesson

The Crusades

by Mr. Porter

Middle East

• ​From 632 CE, Islam spread rapidly through North Africa, the Middle East, and Spain

• ​By 1095, Islamic groups had occupied Jerusalem and built large cities in Cairo and Baghdad

• ​These groups had organized theocracies and strong militaries that rivaled the Byzantines in Eastern Europe

Multiple Choice

Which of the following cities was not under Islamic control?

• Jerusalem

• Baghdad

• Cairo

• Rome

Fill in the Blank

What type of government did these Islamic groups have?

​Eastern Europe

• ​From 600 CE forward, the Byzantine Empire began to decline

• ​By 1095 an Islamic group known as the Turks had begun conquering their Empire

• ​The Byzantine Emperor called to the Pope in Rome for support despite their Schism in 1054

Multiple Choice

Which group was attacking the Byzantine Empire?

• Nazis

• Turks

• Romans

• Spartans

​Western Europe

• ​European Gentry was fighting with control over land and power

• ​The Pope, in response to the Byzantine Emperor, made a speech calling on all Christians to unite and "reclaim the Holy Land" in the name of Christ

• ​By 1096, kings and armies from across Western Europe began the 1st Crusade as they marched toward Jerusalem

Multiple Choice

What did the Pope ask Christians to do?

• Divide and Conquer

• Stay at Home

• Unite and Reclaim

• The Pope Isn't Real

​Politics

• ​​In Western Europe kings and the Pope struggled for power for centuries

• ​The Crusades gave the Pope an opportunity to consolidate power for the Church and away from local rulers

• ​One of the ways he did so was by promising that any who died during this Crusade would automatically be saved and sent to heaven

• ​This led to many poor, untrained, and undisciplined serfs joining Kings in their armies

Multiple Choice

True or False: The serfs that fought in the Crusades were highly trained and were professional soldiers

• True

• False

​Jerusalem

• ​The people in Jerusalem were not fully prepared for what was coming as they were not the ones attacking the Byzantine Empire

• ​It was, however, under the control of an Islamic caliphate which made it the target for the Crusade

• ​After several grueling months, the tired, starving, and battered European knights and serfs arrived in Jerusalem

• ​These untrained armies killed thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were Muslim, Jew, and Christian in the Middle East until 1099 when the Pope died

• ​This marked the end of the 1st Crusade

Multiple Choice

True or False: Only Muslims were killed by European armies

• True

• False

​1st Crusade

• ​The 1st Crusade was a "success" for the European armies

• ​They established four Crusader States which imposed Feudalism in the Middle East and former Byzantine territory

• ​The people in these states, however, were not accustomed to the Manor system and this would lead to the next crusades

​Scoreboard

• ​Europeans won the 1st Crusade

• ​They would go on to lose the city of Jerusalem in the 2nd Crusade

• ​They would then be beaten back in the 3rd Crusade by Saladin

• ​By the 4th Crusade, Western European knights sacked Constantinople rather than returning to Jerusalem

Multiple Choice

How many Crusades did the Europeans win?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

​Consequences

• ​The soldiers returned from the Crusades with:

• New knowledge including the number 0

• ​Books and records from Greece and Rome that were lost, hidden or destroyed

• ​A taste for spices and culture from Asian societies

• ​All of which would go on to help spur the Renaissance

Fill in the Blank

Name at least two things that European Crusaders brought back to Europe