You might have read about the Holy Crusades in history books, but all that most of us remember is that they were a kind of religious war. Do you know what sparked the holy Crusades, and why they were fought?
The Crusades were a series of military campaigns over a span of 200 years. The war happened in the Middle East during the time of Medieval England, starting around 1076. The Muslims had captured Jerusalem, which was considered a sacred place to both the Muslims and the Christians.
Jerusalem has long been considered the most holy of places. Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, which was very close by, and had spent the majority of his life in Jerusalem. Calvary Hill, the site where Jesus was crucified, was also in Jerusalem. The place was considered so Holy that instead of calling it “Jerusalem,” many Christians called it the “City of God.”
But Jerusalem mattered a great deal to the Muslims, too. The prophet Mohammed had spent time in Jerusalem. In fact, the rock where he had sat and prayed was considered so Holy that no one was allowed to touch it or walk upon it. A beautiful dome, called “The Dome of the Rock,” was built over it to protect the rock, and it became a place of Muslim pilgrimage.
The Muslims laid claim to Jerusalem. The Christians wanted it back for their own. Therefore, the Crusades began. The First Crusade consisted of more than 10,000 people marching over the land of France and Italy to reach Jerusalem. Many of the people died along the way, for the journey was a very difficult one to make. When the Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem, they were unprepared for the walls that surrounded the city, but soon they figured out how to scale them and get inside. The result was a battle that, according to a monk named Fulcher, left the streets of Jerusalem “ankle deep” in blood.
The Christians took back Jerusalem. The Muslims claimed over 70,000 people were killed, and the Dome of the Rock was pillaged for treasure.
But it wasn’t over. The Christians decided to drive the Muslims out of the land altogether – they wanted them out of the entire region. This desire to eradicate the Middle East of the Muslim population led to other holy Crusades. In the end, the holy Crusades failed…but it would be a war that raged for 200 years before the final decisive battle.
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