ZachB

​1. Introduction--Describe a general cause or causes of the conflict.
I believe greed was the cause of the crusades. The cause of the crusades were partly because of the Seljuks advancing in the East, alarming the christians and making Pope Urban II call for a crusade. The immediate cause of the first crusade was the Byzantine emperor Alexios I's request to Pope Urban II for mercenaries to help him fight off Muslim advances into the territory of the Empire of the Byzantines. After a while of peace between the Muslims and the Christians, the Muslims conquered the town of Edessa. This event caused a second crusade by various preachers, most notably by Barnard of Clairvaux. After a century of Christian rule, Jerusalem became controlled under the Sultan of Egypt, Saladin. =2. Background--Describe who, what when and where.= The People involved in the crusades were the Christians, Jews, Muslims, and partly the Seljuks. Pope Urban was also involved for he was the one who called the first crusade. A massive variety of commanders were deployed for battle in these crusade. These commanders range from Godfrey of Bouillin to Melisende of Jerusalem to Prince Ge'za of Hungary. These people were fighting over the official control of the "Holy Land" or Jerusalem. The Crusades lasted for nearly 200 years (1095-1291). I think the crusades were a waste of time but a big part of history and religion. There was so much blood shed for mostly the land of God when they instead could of shared.

**3. Causal Factors--Describe three factors that led to The Crusades.​ ​**One factor was definitely religion because the only reason the first crusade started was when the Sekjuks advanced in the East, scaring the Christians and then Pope Urban II told his soldiers that they would be rewarded in Heaven for fighting. Another was greed and economics because the reason the second and third crusades began was mostly just beacuase people wanted more land. A third factor was political. Distinct campaigns were forwarded because of a general "crusading spirit" sweeping all over Europe for a while.

4. Most Important Factor--Explain how one factor was more important than the others.
I think the most important factor was greed. I think this for many reasons. An example of greed was when Nur-ad Din Zingi was eager to expand his land after the failure of the Second Crusade and after he gained control of Damascus and a unified Syria. Another example was when the Seljuks kept capturing land and kept advancing in the East for even more. A third example was when the crusaders were sent to recapture the Seljuk occupied Nicaea.

5. Impacts--Explain how one religous group and an individual within that group were impacted by The Crusades.
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6. Conclusion--Explain how The Crusades could have been avoided.
I think that the Crusades could have been avoided if all those people weren't so greedy and to much into their religion

7. Works Cited--List your sources in MLA format.
1.No author. "Crusades". March 2,2010. WikimediaFoundation.org. Accesed March 1,2010. @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades 2.No author. "History of the Jews and the Crusades". February 26,2010. WikimediaFoundation.org. Accesed February 24,2010. @http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_jews_and_the_crusades