Impact of Church through History: The Crusades

For a two-century period between 1095 and 1270, a succession of European armies set out to recover the Holy Land from occupying Muslims. These expeditions took place at the height of the period famous for European chivalry, and succeeded in establishing "Crusader kingdoms" in the area where Israel and Lebanon are now. These kingdoms came under periodic attack by Muslims who dominated the area, and eventually the last Crusade leader, King Louis IX of France, died en route to the eighth and final Crusade.

From 1096 until the end of the Middle Ages, Christian warriors from Europe undertook a series of military campaigns, or Crusades, designed to take back from the Muslims control of the Holy Land (in the region of Palestine). After centuries of wars of expansion, Muslim powers had conquered some two-thirds of the ancient Christian world, including Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia. Christian Crusading expeditions were also undertaken against Muslims in Spain, pagans in eastern Europe, and perceived enemies of the church in Christian Europe.

The crusades of the 11th to 15th century CE have become one of the defining events of the Middle Ages in both Europe and the Middle East. The campaigns brought significant consequences wherever they occurred but also pushed changes within the states that organised and fought them. Even when the crusades had ended, their influence continued through literature and other cultural means and, resurrected as an idea in more modern times, they continue today to colour international relations.

IF THERE is one thing that everybody knows about the Crusades, it is that they were a Bad Thing. In the eyes even of most Christians, let alone others, the Crusades were a crime against humanity, one for which apologies are due, especially to Muslims.

It was the fall of 1187, and an emissary from the besieged city of Jerusalem had come to beg Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, for mercy. After barely four days of assaults, the Christian defenders saw that Saladin had them hopelessly outmatched. Waiting in his tent outside the city's walls, the Muslim ruler knew both sides had a lot riding on the outcome of this battle.

October 2, 1187. On the anniversary of Muhammad’s ‘Night Journey’ from Jerusalem to Heaven, Saladin made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Following victory at the Battle of Hattin in July, Muslim forces had swept throughout the Crusader States, systematically recapturing Latin Christian settlements, and dismantling the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. This piece aims to examine the political and military factors behind the Kingdom’s disintegration.