Hannah+Rovito

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1. Introduction--Describe a general cause or causes of the conflict.
The Crusades were started by so many things. One thing was the power over Jerusalem. Everyone wanted control, all to themselves. Which, as you can imagine, would start a HUGE war. An other thing that started the Crusades was, the spreading of Christianity. All of the crusaders were Christian, which could start a problem. The crusaders would go out and try and kill people if they didn't convert to Christianity. Which could get some people mad. Mad enough to start a war. So, those are some of the many things that started the Crusades.

2. Background--Describe who, what, when, and where.

 * The people involved in these crusades were, the Muslims, the Christians, and the Jews.
 * The crusades took place around 1095 to 1291. Almost two hundred years!
 * The crusades were started to spread the Christian religion, and to try and take over Jerusalem. The Pope said, "I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it."[1
 * The Crusades took place around the middle east. In some countries like, Turkey and Israel.

3. Causal Factors--Describe three factors that led to The Crusades.

 * For the Christians, the Turks fighting them and the Pope helping them really started the Crusades.
 * For the Muslims, it was ruling the Holy Land, or Jerusalem, and the Christians trying to take over.
 * The reason that the Crusades started for the Jews was, when the Pope called a meeting to fight off the Turks, the Turks decided to advance to Jerusalem, where the Jews were, and attacked the Jews.

4. Most Important Factor--Explain how one factor was more important than the others.
The factor that everyone wanted to be in control of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, would probably be the most important. I think this because the crusaders were fighting Muslims for Jerusalem. Also, since the Pope tryed to fight off the Turks, the Turks decided to go to Jerusalem and take over. So, everyone was mainly fighting over who controlled what.

5. Impacts--Explain how one religous group and an individual within that group were impacted by The Crusades.
The religious group I am going to write about are the Christians. They were impacted by the weakining of the Byzantine Empire. The crusaders came in, try to be in favor of the Emperor, and then " sacked and looted" the Byzantine Empire and took over. Anna Comnena was very much affected by the Crusades. She was the daughter of Alexus The First, the Emperor of Byzantine, and was a part of everything that happened to her city. She described that she had mixed feelings about the crusaders. She felt that that they were not fighting for God, but, for in fact, the money and power. The crusaders had become in favor of her father, but she still did not trust them. Later, her feelings proved right when the crusaders stole from the city of Constantinople, and fought the people in the city. The Crusades would forever effect her life. = =

6. Conclusion--Explain how The Crusades could have been avoided.
The Crusades could have been avoided in many ways. My opinion is, if they acted like civilized people, instead of acting like barbarians, they could have worked something out where they ALL ruled Jerusalem. Maybe the Christians could rule the East side of the town, The Jews West, and the Muslims North, and the South could have been no man's land. The crusaders also could have been a bit nicer to the Muslims. I know that that was their way for trying to get people to convert to Christianity, but they didn't have to drive people to kill themselves. That's how I think the Crusades could have been avoided, instead of killing all those innocent people.

7. Works Cited -- List your sources in MLA format.
**Anna of Byzantium,** Tracy Barrett: [] United Methodist Women: []