Natasha+Ng

==// The Crusades- Christians// ==

=//1. Introduction--Describe a general cause or causes of the conflict.// =

The Crusades took palace during 1095 to 1291. Even after then, more crusades had followed as well. During the time period of the Crusades, religion was a very important part of daily life. The Crusades were a series of religious wars that took over 200 years. A main cause of conflict was that the Seljuk Turks, a group of people living in central Asia and the Middle East, wanted to expand their territory. Their desire led to the Christians and the Byzantine Empire feeling threatened.

= **// 2. Background--Describe who, what, when, and where. //** =

The people involved in the Crusades weren’t just Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In fact, there were more people than just those three groups of people. Also involved in the Crusades were the Seljuk Turks. After all, they were the group of people who, by wanting to expand their territory, started the Crusades. As of that, knights and monarchs were drawn in. At about 1212, there was the Children’s Crusade, which 20,000 children participated in. So was the Pope Urban II, Richard I of England (Richard the Lionhead), and Anna Comnena.
 * The conflict can be two different things. The first option could be because the Seljuk Turks wanted to expand their territory. This action resulted in being a threat to the Christians and Byzantine Empire. The second option was because people wanted control over the Holy Land, Palestine, Jerusalem; any of the holy sites of God. During this time period, religion was a very important thing to the people. They’ll do anything that’ll bring them closer to God.
 * The Crusades first arose in 1095, where the Seljuk Turks started to draw notice towards them. It was one year later, 1096, in which the Crusades officially began. For the next 195 years, Muslims, Christians and Jews were caught in a series of religious wars. By 1291, the Crusades had ended.
 * The Crusades took place in about six places: Northern Africa, Clermont, Constantinople, Europe, Jerusalem, and the Holy Land.

= **// 3. Causal Factors--Describe three factors that led to The Crusades. //** = The Crusades didn’t start off because people wanted to be in a series of religious wars. One factor that led to the Crusades was the fact that the Seljuk Turks wanted to expand their territory. When they advanced on Europe, Northern Africa, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and the Holy Land, the Byzantine Empire and Christians viewed it as a threat. They prepared for the worst, leading to a second factor.
 * A second factor that led to the Crusades was about the schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. A schism is a separation (division). Leading from this action, the Pope had a call for help.
 * The third factor was about the Pope’s call for help. At the time, the pope was Pope Urban II. When given the news that there will be war, not many people were quite fond of helping. As of that, the Byzantium Emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, asked Pope Urban II for aid from the west against the Seljuk Turks, who had taken almost all of Asia Minor from the Emperor. The Pope accepted, and, at the council in Clermont, the Pope addressed the crowd gathered, telling to those who would help fight that they’d be rewarded in heaven. Eager at the chance to be rewarded in heaven by God, Jesus, Moses, and Abraham, people came flocking in to help the Emperor retrieve Palestine from the Turks.

= **// 4. Most Important Factor--Explain how one factor was more important than the others. //** = Pope Urban II’s speech for help was the most important factor because it tied people together to help others against an enemy/threat by a common belief from their religion. The people, Byzantine citizens and Europeans, united forces to fend off the Seljuk Turks. Christians believed in the traditions and practices of peace and truce of God, which played a role in the Crusades. As was said forth in his speech: “…O sons of God, you have promised…to keep the peace among yourselves and to preserve the rights of the church, there remains still an important work for you to do…you must apply the strength...To another matter which concerns you as well as God..your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them…They [the Turks] have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches…on this account, I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ’s heralds to carry aid promptly…Christ commands it.”

= **// 5. Impacts--Explain how one religious group and an individual within that group were impacted by The Crusades. //** =

One of the three groups that were mainly recognized in the Crusades was the Christians. For the two centuries of the Crusades, estimates of about 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 lives were lost. The effects of the Crusades on the Christians were both positive and negative. One of the main yet most important positive effects on the Christians during the Crusades was commerce. Commerce created a constant demand for the transportation of men and supplies, encouraged ship-building, and extended the trading business for the eastern wares of Europe. Another positive effect was that the Crusades helped the Church and the patriarch gain wealth and power. And, like always, there were negative effects of the Crusades. One effect was the fact that the crusaders ended up doing bad things that were probably not what they believed to do. As of that, the crusaders were killed, wounded, die from disease, or died from the hardships of travel. Another negative effect was that the all the people had to spend a lot of money on the Crusades. King Richard I of England (Richard the Lion head) paid his armies from the taxes he had people pay. The result of this action caused many people to be poor. A Christian individual in the Crusades was King Richard I of England. He is also nowadays known as Richard the Lion head. His reign lasted for 10 years, but it was 10 years enough. The majority of Richard’s 10 year reign was mainly spent and focused on the Crusades. Richard was a ruthless and brave ruler who led the 3rd Crusade. As said in the text earlier, the armies’ pay came from the citizens’ heavily taxed taxes. King Richard I of England was devoted to the Christian cause and knightly ideals of courage and honor. It was later when Richard was no longer the Holy Roman Emperor and was captured when he returned back to his home. The Emperor at the time kept Richard in prison, demanding that 150,000 marks (65,000 pounds of silver) should be delivered to the Emperor until Richard should be released. Richard refused, declaring to the Emperor, “I am born of a rank which recognizes no superior but God.”

= **// 6. Conclusion--Explain how the Crusades could have been avoided. //** = <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Crusades could have been avoided had the Seljuk Turks did not want to expand their territory. That way, millions of lives could have been saved in the series of religious wars that lasted 200 years. But then what would have happened? The Byzantium Emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, would not have asked Pope Urban II to send help to aid the empire. People would not have united together to against a threat. People would not have spent a great deal of their money on the Crusades. King Richard I of England would not have been as ruthless- or maybe he would have. Or maybe the Crusades could have been avoided had there not be a schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. There are many reasons and options on how the Crusades could have been avoided. These are just some of them.

= **//7. Works Cited--List your sources in MLA format.//**  =


 * Halsall, Paul. “Medieval Sourcebook: Urban II: Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095.” Medieval Sourcebook: Urban II: Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095. March 1996. [|www.fordham.edu] . March 2nd, 2010. []


 * Author unknown. “Effects of the Crusades.” Effects of the Crusades. Date unknown. [|www.middle-ages.org.uk] . March 2nd, 2010. []


 * Author unknown. "Richard I of England." Richard I of England. March 3rd, 2010. [|www.wikipedia.org] . March 2nd, 2010. [].


 * Author unknown. "Seljuq dynasty." Seljuq dynasty. February 27th, 2010. [|www.wikipedia.org] . March 2nd, 2010. [].