Modern Day Crusades

The Crusades were both an enlightening time in history and a dark time in history. It is interesting that something so many years ago can have an impact on our global society today. Battles, wars and treaties that occurred almost one thousand years ago shape the world as we see it today. Historians provide the opportunity to travel back in time and analyze the unfolding of these gruesome battles. Because of this, it is possible to compare the world today with the events that occurred during this time period. When doing this, several links can be made with the crusades and modern day political structures.
Before looking at the modern day consequences of the crusades, we must understand what the crusades were. The original crusades were considered

This crusade was successful and the Christians captured Jerusalem in 1099. However, the Muslims that were kicked out vowed to wage a holy war to regain their Holy Land. The crusaders split up the land into four sections called settlements. It was not until 1144 that the Muslims advanced enough to capture the settlement of Edessa. The loss of Edessa compelled the Christian leaders in the west to call for a second crusade. In 1147, the second crusade began by attacking at Dorylaeum and eventually made it all the way to Damascus. In Damascus, the Muslims wiped out the crusaders and the Muslims were able to retain their territory. While the Crusaders were attempting to capture Egypt, Muslim forces seized Cairo in 1169, forcing the Crusaders to evacuate. In 1187, a new ruler, Saladin began advancing toward Jerusalem. Destroying the Christian army, Saladin claimed Jerusalem for the Muslims once again. These occurrences inspired the third Crusade. Christian rulers in Europe called for the crusaders to advance toward the city of Jerusalem in order to reclaim it once more. These forces eventually recaptured the city of Jaffa, but did not siege the city of Jerusalem. Instead, a peace treaty was signed that

A military order during that time was a religious order that each of the members of the crusades took to show their commitment to the cause. Military orders during that time included chastity, obedience to their supervisors and communal poverty. These orders seem strange, but perhaps the strangest of them all is the order to engage in violence in the name of the Christian faith. These military orders formed the theology of that time and it still shows in those nations today. The violence that is occurring in the Middle East today can be traced to the military orders that were decreed about one Millennium