The Crusades Essay, Research Paper

Crusades Essay During the years 1095 to 1204, there was a series of campaigns led by the Christians to rid the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Holy Land was the area around Modern Day Jerusalem and Israel, which both Christians and Muslims considered to be rightfully theirs. Many battles and many lives were lost due to this terrible war. The Holy Land was supposed to be a place of worship and peace, the end of the Crusades turned it into a slaughterground. The Christians, arrogant and cocky, rallied troops to go and fight. The Muslims were fanatics who would stop at nothing to gain the Holy Land. With attitudes like these, war was inevitable. There were many solutions to this conflict, but both sides were too ignorant to see the light. It was a cool autumn day, just outside a French city, Clermont-Ferrand. On that fall day, Pope Urban III was preaching a plan that for a Crusade, to regain the Holy Land (Encarta 97 deluxe: China). The first Crusade was fought between 1096-1099(Across the Centuries pp. 298), and was fought between the Christians and the Muslims. The Christians plan was to have several, self funded groups with their own leader, and make their separate ways to Constantinople, then the groups would meat up and travel to the holy land in sight of larger things, in site of the Holy Land. After 3 bloody brutal years the Christian army had achieved their goal, the army regained the Holy Land. (Encarta 97 Deluxe)

The 2nd Crusade was a 2 year long bloody brutal expedition that ended up killing many innocent men. This Crusade began with high hopes in 1147 and ended with low heads in 1149. The second Crusade attracted many people. Among them were King Louis VII of France and the Roman Emperor, Conrad III (Encarta 97 deluxe). Conrad III and King Louis army s set out for Jerusalem in early 1147. During Conrad III s army s crusade they were ambushed and almost their entire army were brutally attacked and killed but France did not run in to those Anatolia ambushers. In 1148 the remaining part of the army made it to Jerusalem (Encarta 99 deluxe). The Crusade failed and the remaining Crusaders traveled back home.