The Crusades:
Military expeditions from Christian
Europe to Palestine between the 11th
and 13th centuries.
7th Grade World History
First Crusade
Reasons for the Crusades
(Reasons to go to war)
(1) The Pope calls for Christians to
reclaim the Holy Land
• The Holy Land is the city of Jerusalem and the
area around it, also called Palestine
• It is sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims,
who ALL make pilgrimages there
• The Seljuk Turks (Muslims) had captured
Palestine making Christian pilgrimages to the
Holy Land impossible.
• The Turks started to attack the Christian cities of
the Byzantine Empire and the Byzantine
Emperor asked the Pope for help.
The Holy Land
Other reasons for the Crusades…
• (2) Success in warfare is a way for
European feudal nobles (princes) to gain
power
• (3) Merchants wanted to gain access to
rich trade routes to the east
• (4) Peasants wanted a chance for
adventure, treasures, and win favor with
God.
The First Crusade
The First Crusade
• 1096 – 1099, the war lasted 4 years
• In 1099, the Christian forces finally
captured the city of Jerusalem
• They divided the conquered land into 4
Crusader states: Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli,
and Jerusalem
The Second Crusade
• 1147 – 1149, Muslim Turks recaptured
Edessa, one of the Crusader states
• Christians kept control of the other states
because Muslim leaders were not united,
but that is about to change…
– Saladin was a powerful Muslim leader who
began to unify the Muslims in the region
Saladin
The Third Crusade
• 1189 – 1192, Saladin had recaptured
Jerusalem
• Richard the Lion-Hearted was a powerful
Christian leader for the crusade because
of his courage and skill
• After 3 years of fighting, Saladin and
Richard agreed on a truce in 1192
– Muslims keep control of Jerusalem, but
Christians are allowed to make
pilgrimages.
Richard the Lion-Hearted
End of the Crusades
• There were more
crusades
• By 1270, the Muslims
drove the Crusaders
out of Palestine
Effects of the Crusades
Good…
Traders and pilgrims
maintained an
exchange of cultural
ideas between
Europe and Asia
Increased trade helped
towns to grow
Bad…
Christians increased
intolerance toward
non-Christians
Reconquista and
Inquisition are
examples of this
intolerance