THE MIDDLE AGES
THE MIDDLE AGES
• Aka the Medieval Period
• Lasted from 5th to 15th centuries
• Began with the fall of the Western Roman
Empire to Germanic tribes
• Ended with the beginning of the Renaissance
THE MIDDLE AGES IN THE WESTERN
ROMAN EMPIRE
• Invasion by Germanic tribes
• Rise of Carolingian Empire
• Fall of Carolingian empire by invaders leads to feudalism and
manorialism
• Depopulation and deurbanization
• No central authority
• Allegiance to local lords
• Chaos and constant warfare
• Catholic church becomes dominant force in European society
THE MIDDLE AGES IN THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE
• Eastern Roman Empire, centered around Constantinople, existed
long after Western Roman Empire
• Became known as the Byzantine Empire
• Lasted until 1453
• Both Greek and Christian state
• Christian Church of Byzantine Empire came to be known as
Eastern Orthodox Church
• Did not believe that pope was the sole head of Christianity
• Caused them to have a schism (separation) with the
Roman Catholic Church
• The Byzantine Empire’s greatest external threat came from the
Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor
• 1071: Seljuk Turks take over
• Leads to the Crusades
WHAT WERE THE CRUSADES?
• Military expeditions
• Launched by European
Christians
• Goal was to win back the Holy
Land from Muslim control
• Holy Land = Jerusalem and
surrounding areas
• This is where Jesus lived:
sacred to Christians
BEFORE THE CRUSADES…
• Muslims had conquered the holy
land many years before
• Muslims allowed Christian
pilgrims to Jerusalem because it
brought them trade
• Christians made pilgrimages
because it was a way of being
forgiven for your sins
• Violence is ripping apart Europe
as nobles are sending their
knights to attack each other
WHO WERE THE SELJUK TURKS AND WHAT DID THEY
DO?
• Persian Muslims
• Did not allow Christian pilgrims
into Jerusalem
• Persecuted Christians who were
there
• Violence escalates and 3,000
Christians are massacred
• Causes the Byzantine emperor
Alexis to send a letter to Pope
Urban asking for help
POPE URBAN II AND THE START OF THE CRUSADES
• 1095: Pope Urban II gives a speech
at Clermont, France
• Calls for European knights to go and
free Holy Land from Muslims
• Saw this as a great way for the
knights to stop fighting each
other
• Promises anyone who goes on
the Crusade that all their sins will
be forgiven and that they are
guaranteed to get into heaven
THE KNIGHTS’ CRUSADE VS. THE PEOPLE’S CRUSADE
• The knights take time to organize their crusade
• While they are preparing, a preacher named Peter the
Hermit calls for a “People’s Crusade”
• Peasants and serfs leave their manors to join him
• Peter leads the unorganized mob towards the Holy
Land
• Loot towns and kill Jews along their journey
• Their reasoning is that if they are going to
attack Muslims they should be punishing the
Jews for what they did to Jesus as well
• Muslim Turks ambush People’s Crusade
• 20,000 Crusaders are executed or sold into
slavery
THE FIRST CRUSADE
• Knights finally get organized and begin
march towards Holy Land
• Journey lasts 3 years
• Fight many battles along the way
• 1099: Jerusalem falls to Crusaders
• Crusaders show no mercy
• 10,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem are
slaughtered
THE SECOND CRUSADE
• Muslims counterattack and regain land
from Crusaders
• King Louis VII of France leads Second
Crusade
• Muslim armies united under great new
leader named Saladin
• Calls for jihad, or Muslim Holy War
• 1187: Saladin recaptures Jerusalem
for Muslims
• Spares the lives of the Crusaders
inside the city
THE THIRD CRUSADE
• Crusaders led by King Richard “The Lion Heart” of England
• Richard and Saladin fight to a draw
•
Agree that Jerusalem will remain under Muslim control
•
Unarmed Christian pilgrims will be allowed in Jerusalem
• There would be several other attempts at Crusades, all of which failed
•
Including Children’s Crusades
EFFECTS OF THE CRUSADES
• Increased trade with the East
• Introduced the use of money instead of bartering
• New ideas and technology from Muslims were brought
back to Europe
• Broke down feudalism
• Allowed kings to create stronger central governments
• Paved way for development of nation-states
• By mid-1400s, 4 strong nation-states emerged in Europe
• Portugal
• Spain
• England
• France
OVERVIEW OF THE CRUSADES
• Crusades Overview Video