The crusades were a bloody and turbulent period
in history.
They were a series of religious wars between
Christians and Muslims during the medieval
period orchestrated by the Catholic Church.
The Crusades took place between 1096 and 1291
across Europe and asia.
Ther main purpose were to regain control of
religious sites that were taken during the
expension of islam by the turks.
Christians intended to regain control of sites
that were sacred to both Muslims and Catholics,
as well as to fight against paganism and heresy.
many lost their lives.
But in 1291, The crusades lost the city of
Jerusalem and the city of Acre, and this marked
their downfall.
The crusades, did not necessarily fail, but
their purpose failed to remain successful
over the course of history.
Today, Life’s Biggest Questions asks, what
would have happened if the crusades did not
fall, and continued on?
Hello And welcome back to LBQ, I’m charlotte
dobre.
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The crusades was a long, turbulent period.
So in order to understand what would have
happened if the crusades fell, I will first
generally explain the state of Europe at the
time of the crusades.
In 1096, Pope urban the 2nd called for a war
against the invading turk armies after Byzantine
Emperor Alexios asked for military aid in
response to the expanding turks.
This was known as the first crusade.
At the time, the turks were expanding their
territory across Europe, and the Christians
were determined to regain the control they
had in the first few centuries after Christ.
By 732 AD, Christians lost their strongholds
in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa,
Spain, Much of Asia Minor, and southern france.
Italy, was also under threat from muslim invasion.
The first crusade was successful for the Christians,
they captured the holy city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was sacred to Christians because
it was a place where Jesus Christ ministered.
He died and rose again in Jerusalem.
Many churches exist there that celebrate the
significance of Jerusalem to Christians, so
its only natural that the crusaders would
want control of it.
But at the same time, Jerusalem was a jewish
city, something the Christians failed to recognize.
Christians believed their religion had become
more important than judaism, even though their
leader, jesus Christ, was jewish.
When the city of Jerusalem was taken in 1099,
Christian soldiers pillaged the city, and
massacred its civillians.
Christian soldiers killed every woman and
child who was muslim on the temple mount.
They killed many jews as well.
The reputation of Christian soldiers was likened
to barbarians from this point forward.
Many muslims tell this story to this day,
and experts say it contributed to the growing
hatred of Christians in the muslim world.Some
say it also may have influenced the muslim
extremists of today.
The crusaders lost the holy city of Jerusalem
in 1187 to the muslim empires Under Saladin.
The loss of Jerusalem and the fall of acre
marked pivotal turning points in the crusades.
Acre was a crusader controlled city, and a
major stronghold in the kingdom of Jerusalem.
For some time, they kept control of a fortress,
engaged in some raids, but continued to fail.
The Crusaders did not control any part of
the holy land any more.
So then, What if the crusades did not fail
and the christians kept control of Jerusalem?
For the time being, The Christians would have
continued with their policy of conversion
or execution, where whomever did not want
to convert to Christianity, would be executed.
The jewish population would have been depleted,
and Judaism might not have been as widespread
in Europe.
Who knows how this could have affected history
further down the line.
Maybe world war 2 would have unfolded differently
than it did.
If the crusades didn’t fall, it is likely
that the kingdom of Jerusalem would have endured
many more wars between Christians, muslims
and jews.
The city was, of course, sacred to all three
religions, but jews, muslis and Christians
had occupied it.
There would have been uprisings and millions
more would have lost their lives.
One can assume that if the christens had kept
control of Jerusalem, Christianity would likely
have been far more widespread as well, perhaps
throughout the middle east and asia.
Remember, at the time the turks were invading
Christian occupied territory.
The crusades were a response to the invasion.
It is safe to say that Islam would not have
been as prominent in the middle east if the
crusades pushed onward and the Christians
gained back control of their lost territories.
The Christians could have also expanded further
into asia.
The middle east would cease to exist as we
know it today.
Furthermore, when the Mongolians invaded the
middle east, it would have been occupied by
far more Christian Europeans than muslims.
The mongol invasion of the middle east would
have been fought against Christian Europeans.
The cursades were a long period in history,
it is difficult to say how history would have
been affected if they had continued on.
Please, if we missed anything, continue the
discussion and let us know, What do you think
would have happened if the crusades did not
fall?
For now I’m charlotte dobre and you’ve
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