Religious Wars Between European Christians And Muslim Turks During The Middle Ages

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between European Christians and Muslim Turks during the Middle Ages. Started by the Christians, who wished to take back the holy land from the Muslims. They began due to the Byzantine emperor, Alexis Comnenus' need for assistance from the Muslim Turks invading Constantinople. He asked for help from Pope Urban II, who then called for the start of these holy wars. He got over 30,000 men to join by promising salvation from all their sins and a spot in heaven. Although the objective was to recover the holy land from the Muslims, there were also other goals like expanding Christian influence. These wars lasted two centuries, from the years 1093 to 1204, there were four crusades followed by a children's crusade. They had a significant impact on both the Western and the Eastern world's cultural and economic states through cultural exchange and increased trade.

The main cause of the Crusades was to reclaim the

A positive is trade, knowledge, and materials. It states (global research slides, slide 26) “Stimulated trade throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East.Europe learns much from the Muslims.” They traded materials such as spices, metal goods, silk, porcelain, etc, and they exchanged knowledge of science and astrology, numerals, and paper production. There were also negatives such as the weakness of the Byzantine empire and hatred of the three religions. It states (global research slides, slide 25) “Weakened the Byzantine Empire.Leaves a legacy of bitterness between the Christians, Jews, and the Muslims.” The nobles' and the pope’s power declined as they lost the war for the ownership of the land, however, the king's power only got stronger. The three religions are also left in competition and hatred due to all the wars. Overall, the Crusades had a significant impact on both the Middle East and Europe, and will always be an extremely important part of