Crusades Notes

The Crusades began when the Seljug Turks took control of Palestine, known among Christians as "the Holy Land." They then attacked Asia Minor in the Byzantine Empire and threatened to take the capital of Constantinople, so the emporer requested help from the Pope,Urban II, in Rome. The Pope called together all the bishops and feudal lords and told them they would help retake the "Holy Land." This began the crusades, a series of military expeditions to retake the Holy Land. About 10,000 Europeans took up the cause and sewed a cross of cloth on their clothes.

The Frist Crusade lasted from 1096 to 1099. French and Italian lords led several armies of crusaders to Constantinople.The emperor was nervous about letting the crusaders into Constantinople for fear of them capturing the city. The crusaders lacked enough food oand water but after the captured Antioch the French fleets brought supplies.

The Second Crusade began in 1147 when Louis VII of France and German king Conrad III led seperate armies and met in Damascus, even with the combined forces, the crusade failed.

The third crusade began in 1189 after the Muslim lead Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. Three leaders, Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbossa, King Philip II of France and King Richard I of England led seperate armies but the Romans turned back when Emperor Barbossa drowned and King Philip turned back due to quarreling between himself and King Richard. King Richard attempted to take Jerusalem but failed and settled for a peace treaty which granted him some land and Christians access to Jerusalem.

The fourth crusade never really got started because the first crusaders attacked Zadar, a Christian city, and were excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. The second attempt resulted in the capturing of Constantinople, another Christian city, the city remained under European control for about 60 years. The Byzantine EMpire recaptured it but lost it to the Turks and the empire crumbled shortly after.

The Childrens Crusade was extremely unsucceful and resulted in the loss of thousands of children from Germany and France. The Crusades finally ended in 1291 when the Muslims captured the last Christian stronghold, Acre.

One of the main weapons was the crossbow.