What were the Crusades?

What were the Crusades?

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God".

However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome.

Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years

A Time line of the Crusades

Some History books do slightly vary with their dates regarding when the Crusades started. The problem seems to be on deciding whether the date a crusade was called for is the date it started, on or whether the date troops actually left for a crusade is the date it started.

The First Crusade : 1096 to 1099

The Second Crusade : 1147 to 1149

The Third Crusade : 1189 to 1192

The Fourth Crusade : 1201 to 1204

The Fifth Crusade : 1218 to 1221

The Sixth Crusade : 1228 to 1229

The Seventh Crusade : 1248 to 1254

The Eighth Crusade : 1270

In 1212 what became known as the Children’s Crusade also occurred.

Homework: Read the text and answer briefly the question: What and how were the Crusades? Writes in your blog