Eastern Crusades: briefly about the main

Crusades briefly describe quite difficult. They were not united at all by a single military campaign, but continued for two centuries of European history, when Christian knights, commoners and even separate children went on hikes to the eastern lands.

Crusades: briefly on how it all began

And the beginning was laid in the autumn of 1095, when the Pope Urban delivered his famous sermon. He called on the Christian soldiers to liberate the Holy Land and the Holy Sepulcher, located in Jerusalem and occupied at that time by Muslims. Actually, this was the first and main declarative goal of the Crusades. Of course, at their core, they had more significant reasons, rather than a desire to free the Holy Sepulcher.

Crusades: briefly about the premises

The territories of Jerusalem and Palestine were in the hands of Muslims since the VII century. However, for several centuries this did not particularly embarrass Europeans-Christians. The fact is that until the XI century, these lands were under the control of the Arab caliphs, who not only did not interfere, but also encouraged the travel of Christian pilgrims to their Holy
The Earth. Among other things, this had a positive effect on trade and cultural exchange of the two civilizations. However, in 1076, Syria and Palestine were captured by the Seljuk Turks - more barbarous than the Arabs and less sensible people. Very soon, rumors began circulating in Europe about the desecration of the Temple of the Lord. Moreover, the growing power of the Seljuk state began to threaten the security of Byzantium - the eastern stronghold of Christianity. Thus, the crusades to a certain extent became the defensive reaction of Europeans. Actually, it was the request of the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnin for help and protection and anticipated the crusades. To put it briefly about the prerequisites of these campaigns, it is also important to mention that they were promoted by the economic and political processes within Europe itself. The feudal struggle led to the appearance of a considerable number of landless feudal lords (younger sons), who sought to conquer their lands in the far east. The townspeople and peasants were driven by general aggravation of the situation of the mob (serfdom , etc.) in these campaigns

Two-hundred-year campaign of religious adventures

The first crusade was started in 1096. In 1099, Jerusalem was taken, and the first states of the Crusaders appeared on the occupied lands. In the following two centuries there were eight more hikes. Often they were headed by European kings. Perhaps the most famous for the general public is the English monarch, Richard the Lionheart. Often the campaigns were of a predatory nature. With varying success, members of the Crusades expanded and lost land holdings of knightly orders in Palestine. However, the two-hundred-year-long confrontation ended in the fact that in 1291 the last knight's fortress in the east, Akra, fell. One of the most important factors of the final defeat was the tough policy of the Crusaders and constant attempts to impose on the local population an alien feudal socio-economic system that caused constant opposition from the latter and deprived Europeans of the necessary to consolidate the economic base.