Religious Conflicts: The Crusades

Religious Conflicts regardless the reason have occurred all throughout history with men and women taking up their weapons in the name of their religion. The Crusades were a series of campaigns that occurred during the middle ages that started from 1096 with the first crusade and ultimately ending with the Third crusade in 1254. Beginning as a right of passage of pilgrims, ending as a struggle for land and potential power. The Crusades would later prove to be more important than a struggle for land in that it would prove even more helpful to Europe. The Crusades began when Pope urban II began his sermon at Clermont, where he won over his audience’s emotions fairly easily. Urban II described the current situation in the holy land as a bloodbath.

They would depart to Antioch a city located on the Mediterranean near the modern day Turkish city Antakya. This city was located along a route into Syria and was a vital strategic Point for the Crusaders. They gained control of the city in 1098 and by that time the threat to Christians and pilgrims had faded away yet the crusaders persisted onward. Once the Crusaders reached Jerusalem, they outnumbered the defending forces and within time they had laid siege over the city and gained control, granting free passage to Christians making pilgrimage to the Holy land provided the gain of territory would also prove helpful for the crusaders. Many of the remaining Crusaders left the holy land, leaving it to be governed by the few who would stay. The Crusaders that stayed behind who were tasked with governing their captured territories would control their land for four decades before someone would organize the Muslims to recapture their land. The man would be credited with this feat would be Imad al-Din Zengi the founder of the Zengid Dynasty. Imad al-Din Zengi choose to begin his offensive with besieging and capturing the city of Tripoli which was being occupied by Frankish forces. Zengi would then lay besiege to Edessa eventually gaining entry to the city, in which his forces would slaughter many of its inhabitants. Word of Imad al-Din Zengi’s achievement would travel

Crusader returning demanded foreign spices and goods causing an influx of goods coming to europe and wealth grew. Crusaders grew loyal to their military leaders, and this allowed them to grow more powerful and since the pope had not been their on their crusade people began to question the church. The church giving away indulgences for currency and promising salvation in the crusades led to even more questioning of the church. Many of the nobles that went on the crusades sold their land or died resulting in most of their land going into the hands of their kings leading them to have more power. The kings now having more power than before lead to them breaking away from the