Crusades Essay -- essays research papers

In the year of 1095, Pope Urban II started what we know as the Holy Wars or the Crusades. Over the period from 1095-1464, a series of military expeditions were fought to take back the Holy Land, Jerusalem, from the Seljuk Turks. There were eight crusades, which were spurred for many different reasons by many different people that left a lasting effect to the world. These years of bloodshed were led by men of power to gain control over the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was extremely important to the Muslims and Christians at this time. Many religious events had happened there, and many of the landmarks of both religions were located in Jerusalem. The Crusaders failed to regain the Holy Land, but the Eastern connections opened Europe to a brighter understanding of optimistic ways of living and thinking. There have been many arguments as to what fuelled the Crusades, and religious fanaticism is one of them. Jerusalem is a holy city to both the Muslims and the Christians because many historic religious events have taken place there. In Jerusalem there is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands of the hill where Christ was believed to have been crucified, died, buried, and where he rose again. Now if Jerusalem was so important to both the Muslims and Christians of course they would fight to keep it or gain control of it. Pope Urban II called for the first crusade to free the Holy Land from the Seljuk Turks that took over in 1070. In his speech he said, â€Å"Seize the land ...