How Did The Crusades Change Over Time

200 Years Of War, Worth It?

In November of 1095, Pope Urban the II changed the fate of Europe when he call the first Crusade to order. The Seljuk Turk Muslims were in control of the Holy Land, known as Jerusalem, at the time and the Pope felt the need to take it back. Though the first crusade was quite successful at taking back Jerusalem, which was the main point, the eight more to follow were not (“The Crusades”). For the next two-hundred years, a total of nine crusades to place, all attempting to achieve the same goal, and win back the Holy Lands. For about two-hundred years the Crusades lead to the deaths of millions across Europe, but, it improved the lives of many because of the increase intellectual development, the spread of trade

This Age started as yearly as the second crusade, around 1147 and continue to the fifteenth century. Due to the constant travel and exploration of the crusaders, this lead to the conquest of many areas and islands in the Mediterranean Sea which helped christians gain control of most of the trade routes in that area. This, in turn, lead to “the conquest of the Iberian peninsula (now Spain and Portugal)” (“Khan Academy”). Which was finished in 1492, “when the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I conquered the last Muslim community [in] the city of Granada” (“Khan Academy”). Once that over and the land was conquered, they authorized the expeditions of many others that felt they needed to spread Christianity and the Christian faith throughout the world including Christopher Columbus (“Khan

The Crusades were still years of war and pilgrimage, with the deaths of millions along the way, of both Muslims and of Jews across Europe and across islands in the Mediterranean. For some it’s even seen as a genocide, with the mass murder of hundreds just because they didn’t not believe in Christianity. Even the very first crusade, in some ways, was considered as, “an excuse to unleash savage attacks in the name of Christianity on Jewish communities” (“The Crusades”). Along with that, the eight other crusades are thought of as a waste due to the fact that the Holy Lands of Jerusalem were “gained so quickly [but were so] steadily lost.” (“The Crusades”). Unfortunately, this is the rather dark and side of the crusades and their effects on the world, during this time