THE CRUSADES.

 

Religious wars are nothing new for the world. One such episode in World history is the Crusades fought between the Christians in Muslims in the medieval ages. Now, development of the countries involved in it was lesser than that of India at that time and in the hard conditions religious fervour was much stronger.    

During the 3 centuries after the Islamic Empire, there had been peace between Muslims and Christians except in Spain and in the Eastern Roman Empire. The Muslims conquered Syria in the 7^th century AD and were in possession of the holy land. The Muslims considered Jesus Christ to be a great prophet (lesser than Mohammed though) and they allowed pilgrims to visit and pray at the church of Saint Helena built on the holy grave by Emperor Constantine’s mother which was built over the site of Jesus’s crucifixion and burial at Jerusalem.  

However, in the early 11^th century, the Seljuk Turks have got possession of the Muslim state and tolerance has come to an end. The Turks took the entire Asia Minor from the Eastern Roman Empire and ended all trade between the east and the west.  The Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire then was Alexis and he appealed for help from his Western neighbours citing the danger which threatened Europe if the Turks took Constantinople. Terrible overblown stories of Christian suffering were reported in the area seized by the Turks and entire Europe got excited.  

Europe itself was in a bad condition then and there was constant shortage of food. There was unemployment and hunger which led to discontent and riots. Western Asia at that time was prosperous and could easily feed many people and was a good area for immigration. But of course the Turks would never allow that.

So at the council of Clermont in France, in the year 1095 AD Pope Urban II, who himself was a Frenchman rose and gave a glowing description of the horrors the Turks have inflicted on the holy land of Palestine and stating that the land is flowing with milk and honey (food) exhorted the people of Europe to leave wife and child and deliver Palestine from the Turks.

A wave of religious hysteria swept all over Europe and all reason stopped. People left their professions and took the road east to go to Palestine and kill the Turks and take the holy land. That included children as well. 90% of them could not even set their sought on the holy land, let alone liberate it. They had no money and had to beg and steal on the way. They became a danger to the safety of the people living near the highways and the country people killed them in anger.

The First Crusade was a wild mob of honest Christians, defaulting bankrupts, penniless noblemen and fugitives from Justice led by the half crazy Peter the Hermit began their campaign against the infidels by murdering all the Jews whom they met on the way. They got as far as Hungary and were then all were killed.

The church now learnt that unorganised mobs cannot do anything and some organization is required. Then 200,000 men were trained for a year and were placed under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert, Duke of Normandy, Robert, Count of Flanders and many other noblemen experienced in the art of war.  

In the year 1096 AD, this 2^nd crusade started. They crossed into Asia, killed all the Muslims who fell into their hands, stormed Jerusalem, again killed all its Muslim population and marched to the Holy Sepulchre and worshipped it. But soon, the Turks got reinforcements and retook Jerusalem and killed all the Christians there.

During the next 2 centuries 7 other crusades took place taking the total number of crusades to 8. Gradually the crusaders learnt the techniques of the trip. The land voyage proved too tough and dangerous, so they preferred to cross the Alps and go to the Italian cities of Genoa or Venice where they took a ship to the East.

For the Italian cities this was a profitable business. They charged exorbitant rates and from the many who could not afford the trip, the Italian cities extracted a service, a period for which the guys had to fight for them. That way, Venice greatly increased its territory along the coast of the Adriatic and so also in Greece where Athens, Cyprus, Crete and Rhodes became Venetian colonies.

All the 8 crusades between the years 1095 to 1270 AD, however, totally failed to settle the question of the Holy Land. After initial enthusiasm of the crusaders wore off, a short crusading trip became an education of well-bred young men of Europe. The crusaders began with a hatred for the Muslims, but they ended up appreciating their generous and fair opponents and their civilization. That was because Europe was in a very bad and backward state then while before the arrival of the Turks the Muslim Empire became much more civilised. The crusades made the European hate the Greeks who cheated them and also the Armenians. The crusades instead civilised Europe.   

From a political and military point of view the crusades were a big flop. Jerusalem and a number of cities were taken and lost.  A dozen little kingdoms were established by the Crusaders in Syria, Palestine and Turkey, but they were re conquered by the Turks. And after the year 1244 AD, the position was as before in 1095 AD when the Crusades started.  

But, as already said earlier the Crusades changed Europe. The Europeans have seen the sunshine and the beauty of the East. They have adopted many things from the East on account of the Crusades. They now wanted a broader life which neither the church nor the state could provide to them. They found their saviours in their cities for a similar civilised life.