The Crusades Begin

The Crusades where a sequence of wars starting in 1095, and ending in 1291. A total of nine Crusades. It was a battle between the Christians and the Muslims, both sides having the same goal of taking the holy land (Jerusalem). The cause of the crusades was in 1095; the Arabs took control of Jerusalem, and shut off all the Christian and Jewish pilgrims from entering. Of course, different religions have different beliefs, and they both had different views on Jerusalem. For the Christians, it was where Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected. On the other hand, the Muslims believed it was where Muhammad ascended into heaven and was given the five pillars of Islam from Allah. From the first crusade about 30,000 men volunteered and left Western Europe to fight in Jerusalem. Much was gained from the crusades including scrolls of language and architecture. It gave Europe a leap of faith as they were able to construct greater churches and monasteries and improve weapons and strategies, hoping it would lead them to victory. Men were urged to fight with priests explaining that if they would be granted immediate entry into heaven if they died for the crusades.

The design of boats during the time wasn’t very effective so many died from sinking, diseases, storms or sickness. Many of the soldiers could not afford a boat as they were peasants, so they were forced to walk. Their supplies ran low from walking and fighting so they were forced to eat and drink things such as blood, wee and dead bodies. The soldiers would get an old crone or hag to go with them on their travels so they would have their clothes and hair washed and their meals prepared for them. Yet, sometimes the meals weren’t the best, as the old crone would find grain in animal droppings to make bread, or cut up body parts of the enemy to eat, such as the backside. The Red Cross on the crusaders armour and shields resembled that it didn’t matter about the persons background, they appeared as a united army, and it prompted that they were fighting for a holy cause. After two years of extremely harsh conditions, the first crusaders finally reached Jerusalem. The battle lasted two months and resulted in the crusaders being victorious. Some soldiers stayed at Jerusalem to defend whilst the others returned with new spices and different types of culture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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