The Crusades

Paper Summary:

The Crusades refers to a series of nine separate military campaigns, which took place during the Middle Ages, and were generally considered to be religious in nature. The paper shows that when the Crusades began, they were a Roman Catholic effort against the Muslims and were aimed at recapturing the Holy Land. However, later Crusades were directed against other Europeans. The paper argues that the only Crusade that accomplished its stated goal was the First Crusade. While later Crusades met with varying success, they also created a strong anti-West sentiment in much of the world.

From the Paper:

"In fact, the First Crusade was characterized by a tremendous religious fervor. Not only were the Crusaders set to attack the Muslim occupants of Jerusalem, but they also violently attacked non-Christians on their way to the Holy Land. For example, Jews were massacred by mobs of Crusaders passing through Europe and Orthodox Christians were subjected to violence by Western Christians. However, these Crusaders were successful in reaching Jerusalem. Once there, they massacred the state's Muslim population. The First Crusade was the only successful Crusade, because the Crusaders achieved their objective, which was to recapture the Holy Land."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baldwin, M.W. Editor. A History of the Crusades, Volume I. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969. Accessed online 25 Feb. 2006 <http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History.CrusOne>.
• Knox, E.L. Skip. "Second Crusade: Calling of the Crusade." History of the Crusades. 2005.
• Boise State University. 25 Feb. 2006 <http://crusades.boisestate.edu/2nd/01.shtml>.
• Wikipedia. "Crusade." Wikipedia.org. 2006. Wiki Media. 25 Feb. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_crusades>.

More papers on The Crusades :

• Book Review # 135389 : "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes"
• Essay # 124879 : "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes"
• Analytical Essay # 61835 : "The Crusades"
• Book Review # 117835 : "The Crusades" by Hans Eberhard Mayer"

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