WHI-Chap20-Crusades
Crusades- The Crusades were expeditions mounted by the Roman Catholic Church to recapture Palestine, especially Jerusalem. Pope Urban II launched them in 1095 at the Council of Clermont as a response to the Byzantines' plea for help in stopping the Saljuk Turks. Christians participating in the Crusades were promised salvation if they fell in battle. Peter the Hermit initiated the people's crusade where he managed to travel to Palestine with a group of poor knights and peasants without any proper training, which resulted in a complete disaster. The first crusade took place in 1096 in which the crusaders managed to capture Edessa, Antioch and Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin in the 1100's. The rest of the crusades were unsuccessful in recapturing Palestine. The fourth crusade in 1202 headed by Pope Innocent III went awry when the crusaders were not able to pay Venice for the construction of their ships. As payment, the Venetians commanded the crusaders to capture Zara, a rival port city in Italy, and Constantinople, the most important commercial center of the area. The crusade ended after the sacking of Constantinople; they never even made it to Palestine. See also: WHI-Chap20-Frederick Barbarossa, WHI- Chap20-Obj5, WHI-Chap20-Obj6
Created by: Elise Foote
