Trey+Anderson

1. Introduction--Describe a general cause or causes of the conflict.
The Crusades were wars lasting almost 200 years total. These weren’t wars of greed, power, or for no reason. These were a war of religion where Muslims and Christians wanted to have the holy city and destroy the other. They were wars for Jerusalem where Christ was crucified to the Christians and where Muhammad took his night journey to the Muslims. It was the Great prize they were all fighting for.

2. Background--Describe who, what when and where.
It may have mostly been Muslims and Christians but there was also collateral damage like the Jews being killed and there were the distractions like the Mongols. These all started in 1096 and ended in 1291 with a couple of breaks in between. In this time many things happened like Jerusalem being attacked and Toledo being captured.

3. Causal Factors--Describe three factors that led to The Crusades.
1. They didn’t really like each other. They had different beliefs and both wanted to have Jerusalem and the Christians just wanted the Muslims gone because they didn’t want an apposing religion. Because of all the slaughtering of Muslims the Christians did in the crusades, it’s only natural they wouldn’t like the Christians 2. Muslims were making big progress in their conquests which were in the name of religion. This threatened the Christians land and religion. The Christians really didn’t like that and attacked to get rid of them and capture their empire. 3. They both wanted Jerusalem. It was their holy city and was worth more to them than any other city. To them it was their place of holiness. Where Christ grew up and where Muhammad visited heaven.

4. Most Important Factor--Explain how one factor was more important than the others.
The most important factor in my opinion is that the Muslims were expanding their empire so quickly. The Christians might have left them alone if they were small or stopped expanding really soon. But the Christians attacked because the Muslims were big and strong and were a threat. Their attacked was the first Crusade and because of this, the rest of the Crusade started and caused the wars. All this is because the Muslims were a very big empire.

5. Impacts--Explain how one religous group and an individual within that group were impacted by The Crusades.
Many things happened to the Muslims from the crusades. Hundreds of thousands died and more were slaughtered in their homes. Others killed their family’s to stop from being captured. Jerusalem was constantly attacked and captured and recaptured. But those are only the negatives. Some of them were positive like how their traders became rich or how they were able to sign a treaty with the Christians in the end. For Sala-al Din, other things happened. He was born into the crusades with fighting all around. This made him brave and strong and he joined the fight. He became a famous and powerful General to the Muslims. He was also very rich. One website said “ Sala-al Din (Saladin), became engulfed in the glory of Muslim Military against the Christian kingdoms which had invaded the Holy Land.” (The crusades: Their Effect on Arab History) But he kept fighting and only stopped when his old body wasn’t strong enough.

6. Conclusion--Explain how The Crusades could have been avoided.
The Crusades could have been avoided in many ways. For one, the Pope could have met with the Muslim Empire and asked what their true intentions were instead of attacking them. If they had done this, they could have seen that the lifestyle under the Muslims wouldn’t be bad at all. They could worship how they want and the Muslims would only be extra people in their cities. Another way would be if the Muslims would have talked to the Christians before getting too big. Then they could also explain themselves like in the first example. That’s how the Crusades might have been avoided.

7. Works Cited--List your sources in MLA format.
Kipling, Rudyard "Part IV The Arab World and the Conflict in the West" The Crusades: Their Effect on Arab History Page 72 Clevendmemory.com, accesed Feb 22, 2010

Muslims Protecting city from Crusaders

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