The Crusades: A Holy War
The Crusades were a set of wars that happened between 1095 and 1291 A.D. The war came about as a result of the conflict between two religious groups: Christians and Muslims.
There were a total of seven major Crusades that lasted over a span of 174 years. The Christians started the Crusades to take back the land that was a part of the history that created their religion. “Christianity as a faith and a culture had to defend itself or be subsumed by Islam,” (Madson). The Jews, Muslims, and Christians were struggling to coexist while maintaining the countless religious sites: the Holy Sepulchre, the Wailing Wall, Mount
Zion, Mount of Olives, Via Dolorosa, and the Temple Mount are just among a few of the holy sites. All of these sights encouraged the Crusades. After eight total Crusades, almost all which were unsuccessful, the Crusades came to an end in 1291 A.D. The Islam gained total power of the Holy Land. Christians lost hope and interest in fighting for their previously thought to be noble cause. Europe was experiencing an age of change known as the Renaissance. With this development Europe quickly became indifferent towards what the Muslims did with Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The Holy Wars indirectly produced this Revival of Learning in Europe. It was an,
“important factor in the history of the progress of civilization,” (Effects). Coming back after seeing the wonders of the east many were inspired to create a new commercial enterprise. Europe
gained new ideas and technologies created by the Arabian and Asian cultures introduced to
Crusaders during their pilgrimages. One example of this was the knowledge they discovered to improve techniques in castle building. They brought this back and it affected the way many western castles were built afterwards. Some other ideas and technologies they discovered were algebra, chemistry, pain killing drugs, water wheels, and ship compasses. The