...Crusaders Casey Roden THEO 350-B13 The crusades are something that I love to read about. Not only are they filled with action, but also mystery. As a kid I remember watching things like Indiana Jones or even Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and wanting to know more about the time period. I would love to travel to the areas that the Crusades went through. The crusades were a series of holy wars called by popes with the promise of indulgences for those who fought in them and directed against external and internal enemies of Christendom for the recovery of Christian property or in defense of the Church or Christian people. Crusaders would take a vow and granted indulgences. The Crusades are often related to pilgrimages, spreading Christian love and piety that paid for penalties earned by sin. Crusades were a combination of Holy war and pilgrimage to produce the concept of indulgence, “remission of penance and/or sin granted by papacy for participation in sacred activity”. This paper will be looking to answer the question, “Although there were clearly political, intellectual, and technological benefits to Europe as a result of the Crusades, can it be said that the Crusades advanced the cause of Christ?” Scholars argue what is covered as a Crusade and what is not. There are traditionalists that limit the true crusades to expeditions aimed at recovering or protecting Jerusalem. Pluralists, regard any expedition preached as a crusade in which the participants took crusading vows...
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...Religion. Throughout history religion has been the prominent cause of wars. Religion has many conflicts in the history of the world. In ancient times civilizations believed that if they won a war it was because the gods favored them. The wars may have been over land or power but it was believed that it was their religion that won their victory. The bible says, "Some rely on chariots, others on horses, but we on the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, But we stand strong and firm. Lord, grant victory to the king; Answer when we call upon you"(Psalm 20: 8-10). The key test is to see who wins. If God is really on your side, then you will win. One might face enormous odds against them, but this doesn't mean anything when God stands on one side. One of the major examples where religion caused war would be the Crusades. The Crusades were fought in the 11th century. The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars between Christian and Muslims, which was centered around the city of Jerusalem. In 1065 the Turks took Jerusalem and massacred 3,000 Christians starting a chain of events, which lead to the start of the Crusades. However, some researchers say that the massacre of the 3000 Christians which caused the crusades to begin and not because of differing religious beliefs. The Crusades were fought for two hundred years. No one knows how many people died during the nine Crusades. This is one of histories bloodiest battles over religion. Let’s jump forward nine hundred years...
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...nature of man and reduce conflict. But history is not encouraging in this respect. The bloodiest wars in history have been religious wars." Richard M. Nixon. Many people believe that all war is caused by your religious beliefs but others disagree. One example is the Crusades. A crusade is a war fought on behalf of God. America uses this excuse all the time. The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making...
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...Holy war can be defined “as a war that is believed to be commanded by god or waged for religious reasons.” Holy war contains three main principles in the crusades, hebrew bible and the religious wars. The Christian holy war section of the text demonstrates a fierce idea about the Babylonian Empire as they decided to deport a significant portion of the Israelites that were currently occupying the land at the time. Because of the Early Christians plan to reject the “earthly power”, violence began to break out for years to come. Due to the Early Christians ignorance these holy wars were very violent and gruesome. The crusades time period caused a huge conflict between Early Christians and Muslim armies. Muslim armies at the time had conquered...
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...and bloodiest wars in the history of humanity. The Crusades (1095-1291) were a series of religious expeditionary wars blessed by Pope Urban II and the Catholic Church, with the stated goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem. The Crusades had major political, economic, and social impact on western Europe. It resulted in a substantial weakening of the Christian Byzantine Empire, which fell several centuries later to the Muslim Turks. Another great example of wars brought on by religion are the ongoing wars in the Middle East. The roots of the modern Arab–Israeli conflict lie in the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century. Territory regarded by the Jewish people as their historical homeland is also regarded by the Pan-Arab movement as historically and presently belonging to the Palestinian Arabs, and in the Pan-Islamic context, as Muslim lands. The conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs emerged in the early 20th century, exploding into a full scale civil war in 1947 and expanding to all Arab League countries with the creation of the modern State of Israel in May 1948. Organized religion has also had many positive effects on society. They have been responsible for assisting in teaching people morals and values. A classic example of this would be the “Ten Commandments” which served as a moral guideline for the people of the time, and influenced even modern laws. They assisted in teaching people that murder,...
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... it can be a faction motivated by religion attempting to spread its faith by violence either within the state or elsewhere. The French Wars of Religion, the Crusades, and the Reconquista are often cited historical examples. While there are certainly wars fought primarily on religious grounds, wars frequently have multiple and complex causes. Saint Augustine is credited as being the first to detail a "Just War" theory within Christianity, whereby war is justifiable on religious grounds. Saint Thomas Aquinas elaborated on these criteria and his writings were used by the Roman Catholic Church to regulate the actions of European countries (Sherman & Salisbury). In modern times religious differences are frequently used as shorthand for cultural and historical differences between combatants, giving the impression that the conflict is primarily about religious differences. For example, The Troubles in Northern Ireland is frequently seen as a conflict between Catholic and Protestant. However, the more basic cause is the attachment of Northern Ireland to either the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. As the native Irish were mostly Catholic, and the later English-sponsored immigrants mainly Protestant, the terms become shorthand for the two cultures. It cannot be denied that religion does play a part in the conflict, since churches are used as organizing points for demonstrations, and Protestants are far more likely to oppose union with the Catholic-dominated Republic. The...
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...used to solve conflicts. It is supposed to determine which nation will be considered the more superior nation and to determine which nation would be considered to be the weakest. Although war is supposed to be used to solve conflicts, often times instead of solving conflicts it either makes matters worse or creates new problems. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, war is defined as, “a state or period of fighting between countries or groups. It is also defined as an organized effort by a government or other large organization to stop or defeat something that is viewed as dangerous or bad (War, 2016).” War consists of a lot of violence, and unfortunately we as a society, think that is the best way to get our point across and the best way to solve problems. It is a situation that affects so many people. Not just those involved in the actual fighting in the war, but their families, their friends, and each country included in the war. When we send soldiers in to fight a battle, a lot of them will not make it back home to see their loved ones again. They may not even understand or agree with the reason behind the war. They just know they were called to serve their country and that’s what they will do. Based on the history of the United States of America, we have been at war for about 90% of the time since 1776. Some of the wars that have been instrumental within our history and that I will be discussing are World War 1, Battle of the Bull Run and Crusade. The process of...
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...The Crusades In 1095 an assembly of churchmen called by Pope Urban II met at Clermont, France. Messengers from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus had urged the pope to send help against the armies of Muslim Turks. On November 27 the pope addressed the assembly and asked the warriors of Europe to liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. The response of the assembly was overwhelmingly favorable. Thus was launched the first and most successful of at least eight crusades against the Muslim caliphates of the Near East. "God wills it!" That was the battle cry of the thousands of Christians who joined crusades to free the Holy Land from the Muslims. From 1096 to 1270 there were eight major crusades and two children's crusades, both in the year 1212. Only the First and Third Crusades were successful. In the long history of the Crusades, thousands of knights, soldiers, merchants, and peasants lost their lives on the march or in battle. 1095: Beginning of the Crusades In 1095 an assembly of churchmen called by Pope Urban II met at Clermont, France. Messengers from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus had urged the pope to send help against the armies of Muslim Turks. On November 27 the pope addressed the assembly and asked the warriors of Europe to liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. The response of the assembly was overwhelmingly favorable. Thus was launched the first and most successful of at least eight crusades against the Muslim caliphates of the Near East. The...
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...era with war and conflict from Asia all the way to Europe and beyond. Peace and war continued throughout the High-Middle Ages yet wars lasted longer and several issues arose impacting both war and peace. This paper includes an explanation of the people affected in the High-Middle Ages consisting of, Christianity in Europe, the Crusades failure, the structure of a feudal society, and death beyond belief. Christianity surfaced through the beliefs of Jews and creating the rise of Christianity began. The expansion of Christianity during the reign of the Roman Empire threatened the Empire. The Empire wanted power and if Christians has all power the Roman Empire failed as leaders. This threat began the stages of persecution towards Christians and the aggravation ceased when Emperor Constantine obtained his Roman throne. Christianity held strong and dominated Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Christianity dominated people of both the poor and the rich. “Religious institutors including the Church and the monasteries became wealthy and influential given the fact that the state allocated a significant budget for religious activities”, (Newman, 2008, Para.1). Christianity dominated and Crusaders wanted nothing more than to take over the Holy Land promised to them. The Crusades involved numerous armed missions ordered by Western Christians. The Crusaders sought after the spreading of Christianity and fought anyone opposing their ideas. Although the Crusades motives included...
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...The Middle Ages are often referred to as the Dark Ages for a few reasons. First, it was viewed as a time in which there was a lack of scientific and cultural achievements. Also, war, famine, and disease were common. The devastating Black Death riddled Europe in the late 1340s. The Hundred Years War and the Crusades were also viewed as dark events in the Middle Ages. Although there were ways dark times affected by plague and what many believed was a lack of intellectual advancement, the Middle Ages was actually a time of many major achievements that economically and socially improved the future for Modern Europe. Therefore, there is a misconception that the Middle Ages were just completely dark. However, much success and progress came from that time. Instead of being considered a time...
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...other subjects or it will result in ongoing fights, arguments, and wars. In the case of the Crusades, this was exactly the result- a series of religious “Holy wars”. This particular set of Holy wars was divided amongst the Christians, Muslims, and Jews in revolt against the Catholic church. The original intention of the Crusades started as a political issue under the rule of Pope Urban II in 1095 AD. His goal was to increase Papal power, obtain wealth, and gain greater political power in Jerusalem, the Holy land. However, this quickly changed when religion played its role. The Pope performed a speech in Claremont simply implying that Muslims were persecuting the Christian faith due to the regions they resided in near the Middle East. As a result, the first Crusade came to terms. Something as profound as the Crusades will never be forgotten and although many centuries have passed, the previous problems still linger- especially in the Middle East. Most history books will focus on the outcome of the Crusades according to Western European culture, but it is the Eastern culture and religions who have truly suffered. All one has to do in order to realize this is to look at the current situation in our world today. The effects of the Crusades have taken a negative toll on the relations between Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions and communities. In order to explain the result of the Crusades within the Jewish religion, one must understand what Jerusalem is to the Jewish people. It...
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...The crusades were a series of Wars fought over the Holy Land Jerusalem, between Christian Europe and Muslim Asia. Jerusalem held a high significance to Christians because the Church of the Sepulchre was built upon the hill Christ was crucified on top of. The start of the Crusades was influenced by Pope Claremount in 1095. There were about nine crusades in total, the first four were known as the Principal crusades, and the four remaining, Minor crusades. The Holy crusades had many effects on both Europe and Asia. Before the 11th century most Christians were encouraged and even welcomed by the Muslim people of Jerusalem to journey on pilgrimages to experience Christ. Muslims had an open policy for pilgrims seeing them as a source of revenue. In the 1065 the Turkish took over control of Jerusalem and murdered Christians. The Pope Urban II hired a man named Peter the Hermit, a native monk of France, to spread the word and influence people to stand up and fight against the Infidels controlling Jerusalem and attacking Europe. August 15th 1096 marked the start of the crusades into Asia. The most important Crusades are the first four known as the Principle crusades. 3000 Christians were slaughtered in Jerusalem, prompting the first crusade, known as the People’s Crusade, made up of all kinds of classes of people, men, women, and children. Many preachers’ excited people of Europe, swaying them with their words of “Gods Will” to set out on a march to Jerusalem. The first crusade...
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...How the Crusades Changed the World HIS/276CA June 23, 2014 How the Crusades Changed the World The Dark Ages were a time of cultural recession for Western Europe. The barbarian invasions during the fifth and sixth centuries had obliterated the Roman Empire in the West. The wisdom of the lost Empire was nothing more than a memory. The Crusades offered endless opportunity and provided exposure the knowledge, culture, and resources that fueled the European progression into the Renaissance; a fortuity that shifted both cultural and religious power in the modern world. By the end of the 10th century, Western Europe was destitute. The inhabitants could not farm their land properly, and soon a cycle of famine, flood, and disease began to dictate the lives of the people. The only surviving institution was the Western Church in Rome. Roman popes soon began to challenge the Byzantine emperors for ultimate control of the church. Tension grew between the two branches of Christianity, which lead to cultural, theological, and irreconcilable differences between the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe and the Greek Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire (Stalcup, 2000). This event, known as the East-West Schism in 1054, was a precursor to the Protestant Reformation (Stalcup, 2000). Meanwhile, a holy war in Spain between Christian Europeans and Muslims terrorized the outskirts of Rome during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Western Europe became very accustomed to religious...
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...The Crusades Through Arab Eyes: Part I The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, by Amin Maalouf, originally published in 1983, takes a new approach to telling an old history from the point-of-view of Muslim historians. Throughout the text, Maalouf focuses on how Muslims perceive the nearly 200-year-long slaughters by Western religious zealots that took Arab cities and holy grounds, regardless of how violent the means and how those perceptions have lead to contemporary ideological wars in the Middle East. Through Arab Eyes presents a compelling history of the series of wars by European Christians that sought to seize holy places under Muslim control between the 11th and 13th centuries. Maalouf tells the story of the seizure of Muslim people and their lands. Between the two disparaging accounts —the Arab view, a bloody slaughter from the historical accounts of exclusively Muslim experts and the same events portrayed as dignified religious conquests by Western historians — Maalouf pulls off not only a convincing argument but one that explores the breach of the Islamic nations by Christian crusaders. Part one, “Invasions” reveals that the Muslim people’s incomprehension of the crusades themselves and the lack of organization among their ranks, lead to their devastation during the invasions. To understand the Muslim perspective from which this book is told, it’s worth knowing a thing or two about its author, Amin Maalouf. Maalouf is perhaps the best-fit person to construct a book like...
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...Strong leaders are made from those who have struggled in their lifetimes or from those who are motivated by a cause. A life fraught with hardships and difficulties inspires greatness. Good leaders take the difficulties and turn them into fuel to make a difference. In the 1100s, Richard I of England fought for his religion during the Third Crusade against his formidable enemy, Saladin, sultan of Egypt (Regan 1998, 15). Richard also kept an eye on his throne while he was away fighting in foreign countries. Richard earned the French nickname “Coeur de Lion” – “Lion-Hearted” – for overcoming family struggles, his recurring military success, and his aptitude as a leader. Richard I’s religion was the reason he got involved in the Third Crusade, in his attempt to recapture Jerusalem. He had been a devout Christian since birth like the rest of his family. He grew up in southern France...
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