Crusades And European Expansion Essay Research Paper

Campaigns, And European Expansion Essay, Research Paper

The aim of this Essay is to put out the ideological issues behind the Crusades, the logical thinking behind them and the actions taken. Besides discussed will be the effects of the Crusades, and if so the Crusading political orientation was an of import factor in the enlargement of Europe.

In the twelvemonth 1095, Emperor Alexius beseeched Pope Urban II in Europe for assistance against the incursive forces of Seljuk Turks, who were forcing at the boundary lines of the Byzantine Empire. When Pope Urban II read the missive from Alexius, Emperor of Byzantine, a glorious vision of kinds came to the Pope and he rapidly acted and made programs for the First Crusade. In November of that twelvemonth, in Clermont, France, Pope Urban II stood before a crowd of European Lords and provincials, and asked for their assistance in recapturing the Holy Land, the place land of Jesus Christ, the Land of the Holy Sepulchre.

In add-on to the release of the metropolis of Jerusalem, Pope Urban II appealed to the stuff desires of the people as good, for a holy Crusade would supply land to the conquest ground forcess, which would convey an terminal to the changeless land battle that the turning population of European Lords seemed to be caught in the center of. Another ground for the project of a military run such as this, was the farther enlargement of the Western Catholic Church, and the possible reuniting of the Western and Eastern Churches under one authorization, which of class, would be Pope Urban II and his replacements. This well-known address, lay down for the people of Western Europe, the political orientations of the Crusades that they were expected to take up. These political orientations were the anchor to the attempts of the Crusades and the can besides be interpreted as responsible for whatever was to go on next.

There were countless Campaigns throughout the following centuries ; some were large, some were little, some were successful, and some ended in awful catastrophe. Everything was seen as a direct contemplation of God & # 8217 ; s position of the people at the clip. There were eight major Crusades during the following two hundred old ages.

The First Crusade, 1095-1099, was really made up of two despatch s. The first, called the Peasant & # 8217 ; s Crusade, left Europe in the spring of 1096 on their manner to Constantinople. This rolling ground forces of provincials wreaked mayhem all over the Balkans against anyone considered an enemy to Christianity, but subsequently in fall, the existent ground forces, the Barons & # 8217 ; Crusade, which was a mix of German and Gallic forces left Europe and affairs came under control. The First Crusade was successful in capturing Jerusalem and puting up four Christian provinces, but much of the ground forces returned place, go forthing really few knights to support the newest add-on to Christendom, an enlargement of Europe.

Over the following 40 old ages the Muslim ground forcess retook much of the land lost in the First Crusade and in 1146 St. Bernard and Pope Eugenius III preached for a 2nd Campaign to recapture the Christian States lost to the Muslims. The Second Crusade, 1147-1148, is another combination of French and German forces, but leaders did non particularly acquire along. The German ground forces was defeated in October 1147, the Gallic in January 1148, and the Crusade was later abandoned after forces were defeated at Damascus.

Another 40 old ages would go through before meetings would get down to discourse a 3rd run against the schismatic forces across the Mediterranean Sea. In 1189, began the Third Crusade, Phillip Augustus of France and Richard the Lion Heart conquered Cyprus and Acre, and made peace with the great Syrian leader Saladin. The Third Crusade is an overall success in the eyes of most of Europe, yet the peace was short lived. Alexius of Constantinople asked the Crusaders for aid in subverting his challengers, and in 1204 an tremendous fleet landed in Constantinople victoriously. This triumph was short lived, nevertheless, and in four yearss the Byzantine ground forces, which had antecedently fled and drove the Reformers from their expansive metropolis. The Christian States in Palestine and Syria were ne’er aided, and the Byzantine Empire ne’er to the full recovered from this black Fourth Crusade.

A few old ages subsequently the ground forcess of Germany, Hungary, and the Netherlands set out on the Fifth Crusade, which lasted from 1218-1221. This clip the ground forcess steered off from the normal nonsubjective and decided to assail Egypt alternatively, trusting to divide the Muslim Empire in two. In the get downing the onslaughts along the Bankss of the Nile were successful, but in the terminal the Christian ground forcess were defeated at El Mansura. The Crusaders agreed to a armistice of eight old ages and were forced to return to Europe.

The Sixth Crusade eventually broke this losing run that the Christian ground forcess had run into. Frederick and his work forces recaptured Jerusalem and forced the Sultan of Egypt to subscribe a pact. Ironically though, as Frederick was sailing place, the apostolic ground forcess, which paid no attentiveness to Frederick & # 8217 ; s workss, were occupying Jerusalem, even though the metropolis was already theirs.

In 1244 the Turks recaptured Jerusalem. In 1248, King Louis IX led one of the most good prepared runs that Europe had of all time seen. Under Louis, they took the great metropolis of Damietta without a individual loss, but the Egyptians shortly returned and pushed their enemies back to their original cantonments. The Campaign ended in another licking as Louis IX and his work forces were surrounded and captured in 1254. The Christian provinces were lost one time once more.

Many more Campaigns would take topographic point, but none in conquering of the Holy Land. Driving the Muslims out of Spain became a major Campaign that is better known as the Reconquista, or reconquest, and there were besides many Crusades into the lands of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In the centuries to come the fire of the Holy Wars died down, along with their political orientation, and the thought of distributing Christianity without force took to the fire as the ethical motives of the old Crusades was looked upon by the now, more educated thickly settled of Europe.

The procedure of separating the immediate consequences of the Crusades becomes really hard due to the fact that the clip period consists of many centuries. Following the First Crusade four Latin States were set up that would go the counties of Christendom, non of Europe. Although the Muslim ground forcess finally retook the Latin States, the Latin States gave birth to really strong ties between two otherwise separate universes. Trade was greatly boosted as Lords returning from the Middle East and Egypt told of luxuries that were available even to the peasant category, such as silk. The people of Europe besides discovered how to build better ships and magnetic compasses, every bit good as how to utilize these two together. Yet another unfortunate alteration that was brought approximately by the Crusades was the King & # 8217 ; s seizing of all lands lost by the countless Lords who valorously gave their lives on unknown battlegrounds in antecedently unknown universes. The lands of Europe grew by springs and bounds, as did the power of their several royal households.

When Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade in hopes of suppressing the Holy Land in the name of the Western Catholic Church and unifying with the Eastern Church. Urban II besides wanted to free Europe of the changeless discord of land heritage that feudal system and a big aristocracy had presented by suppressing huge, unsettled lands. There was besides the great celebrity that would attach to any adult male that could suppress the Land of the Holy Sepulchre and get down a new imperium. The metropolis of Jerusalem was liberated from the custodies of the pagans in merely three of the countless campaigns, the First, Third, and Sixth, and even so it was merely held for a short period of clip. The Byzantine Empire, under Alexius, was barely helped by the Crusades, as was originally planned, instead it was brought down in 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, when another Alexius needed his political antagonists ousted. Equally far as huge, unsettled land is concerned, after all the dust of two centuries of war settled, the Christian ground forcess had succeeded in keeping on to none of the land they had antecedently conquered, although all the land back in Europe of the asleep Lords would be seized by the male monarchs of their well-thought-of states. The Crusades were such a valiant cause, yet unluckily they ended up every bit merely one great misbehavior that straight accomplished none of the aims. It is undue so to hold with the impression that the fighting political orientation was responsible for the enlargement of Europe.

The Crusading Ideology was responsible for puting up Christian provinces, wherever they were able to take a clasp of. However in the instance of the enlargement of Europe, the political orientation is non mostly responsible. European enlargement was due to the rise of Naval Supremacy at sea, and by keeping strategic points such as Goa, Malacca, and Macao. The ties that occurred between people at the terminal of the Crusades, through trade lines and so forth, is another over-riding factor that helped spread out the European presence.

Bibliography

Books

& # 183 ; Timothy Levi Biel, World History Series- The Crusades, San Diego, 1995

& # 183 ; J.R.S. Philips, The Medievil Expansion of Europe, Oxford, 1988

& # 183 ; Jonathan Riley-Smith, The First Crusade and the thought of Crusading, Cambridge, 1986

& # 183 ; Jonathan Riley Smith, The Campaigns: A Short History, London, 1987

& # 183 ; Richard E. Sullivan, Critical Issues in History- The Middle Ages, Boston, 1966

Encyclopedias

& # 183 ; Donald E. Querry, Crusades- World Book Encyclopaedia, Chicago, 1994

& # 183 ; Bryce Lyon, Middle Ages- World Book Encyclopaedia, Chicago, 1994

Articles

& # 183 ; Michel R. Evans, Commutation of Crusade Vows, International Medievil Research, 3, ( 1995 ) , pp. 221-228

Web sites

& # 183 ; Ellis L. Knox, hypertext transfer protocol: //history.idbsu.edu/westciv/crusades/00.html, Boise State University, 1995

& # 183 ; Paul Hassal, hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fordham.edu/halsall/maps/1090map.htm, Online Medievil Source Book