The Crusades Dbq Essay

The Crusades were a violent series of battles that Christians fought against Muslims in order to gain back the holy land, Jerusalem. The Christians felt threatened by the intimidating rule of the Islamic Empire, and their response was the first Crusade. These attacks continued and grew unsuccessful throughout many years, and are often due to the intense bond between Christians and God, however there are other influences, like wealth and power. Some argue also that the actions committed during these events were not necessarily “barbaric”, considering the historical time period. The Crusades should be remembered as a series of attacks with a variety of motives and influences that were violent and barbaric. Because of these characteristics, millions

According to a speech during the Council of Clermont, the pope promised forgiveness and the reward of heaven to those who decided to fight as Crusaders in the name of God. Due to this, there may have been sinful Christians that would be willing to do barbaric things to people that wanted wealth or a place in heaven. Criminals were promised no punishment for any of their actions, despite the reasoning, during the Crusades. Some also believe that within historical context, this behavior could have been considered normal. However, this particular event costed the lives of millions of people, which had never happened before. “In addition to trained knights, thousands of townspeople, craftsmen, and peasants joined the crusade.” (From the Crusades to New Muslim Empires) If the people fighting were only fighting because of religion, they would not have committed such violent actions. Another point made was by Jay Michaelson in an article critiquing the thoughts of Jonah Goldberg, reflecting on the events of the crusade. He argued that the crusades were an offensive and brutal war because Jews were massacred and millions of people were brutally murdered. Jews were not directly threatening Christianity, therefore it could not have been a defensive attack on the Jews. The main threat to Christians were the Muslim Empire. The extreme responses that the Christians took in order to “defend” themselves were not at all defensive, and may have just been an excuse to gain