Crusades1
In the Middle Ages, Christians considered Palestine the Holy Land because it was where Jesus had lived and taught. The Arabs had conquered Palestine in the 600s. Most Arabs were Muslims, but they usually tolerated other religions. Jews and Christians who paid their taxes and observed other regulations were free to live in Palestine and practice their own religion. The Arab rulers didn't usually interfere with Christian pilgrims visiting Palestine, and European traders could generally do business there. During the 1000s the Seljuk Turks, people from central Asia who had adopted the Muslim faith, conquered Palestine and attacked Asia Minor, which was part of the Byzantine Empire. When the Turks threatened the capital city of Constantinople, the Byzantine emperor appealed to the pope in Rome. Because Christian pilgrims going to Palestine came home with reports of persecution from the Turks, the Byzantine emperor's appeal for help found a reception in Europe. Pope Urban I wanted to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims. He called a great meeting of church leaders and French nobles at Clermont France in 1095. At the meeting he encouraged the powerful feudal nobles to stop fighting with each other, and to jo
In the Middle East the crusaders set up four small states: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripole, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. There were many more Crusades until 1291, when the Muslims captured the last Christian stronghold, in Acre. In Europe the Crusades increased the power of kings and decreased the power of feudal lords. They were fighting separately, and didn't join forces until they got to Damascus, which was held by the Turks. The crusaders captured Jerusalem after a short battle and slaughtered the Muslim inhabitants. Those who died on a Crusade were said to go strait to heaven. Criminals were relieved of punishment. Then they marched toward Jerusalem. If the Turks had not also been quarreling and disunited, the expedition would have failed. Christians and Muslims lived in close proximity and grew to respect each other. Cotton cloth was also introduced into Europe in the form of muslin and damask. One leader wrote to the pope that his horse's legs had been bloodstained to the knees from riding among the bodies of the dead Muslims. Brisk European trade, with goods carried mostly in Italian ships, sprang up. The Crusades appealed to both a love of adventure and the promise of reward- the desire to escape debts or punishment.
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