“Were the Crusades successful in achieving their aim of reclaiming Jerusalem and maintaining the Christian presence in the Middle East (Anatolia) and the Crusader States, and how are the Crusades relevant/similar to recent events taking place in the Middle East such as America’s war on Terror and Jihadism.” The Crusades were a series of holy wars declared by the officials of the Catholic Church on the Muslim expansion and Seljuk Turks who had taken over the holy lands. Crusaders were sent off to Israel to reclaim these lands and strengthen the Christian presence in Anatolia however they were not successful in maintaining their holds and crusades following the first crusades can be considered failures. The First crusade was declared by Pope …show more content…
This crusade was declared by Pope Eugenius III in 1147 after it became apparent the crusader states were still under threat of Muslim invasion. The Second crusade was led by King Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France. (Source 5)The kings planned to march into Anatolia to push back the Turkish armies and provide reinforcements for the crusader states and once again solidifying the presences of Christianity in the Middle East however this would be difficult due to many knights having died during the first crusade. Both kings were eventually defeated by the Turks and called off the crusade in 1149 without making any significant achievements during their time crusading (Source 7). The second crusade was uneventful compared to other crusades and is considered a failure due to the lack of communication between King Conrad and King Louis, the defeat effected Europe in that it damaged their economy, many soldiers died on the journey and the crusade created internal turmoil. The Second Crusade failed to achieve the aim of maintaining the Christian presence in the Middle East and it was also the beginning of the downfall of the Crusader states in