Motives of the Crusaders - Essay Example

Motives of the Crusaders In Christianity, the Crusades are considered as the expeditions of the Christian Europe in the 10th to 13th century. As Islam enforced religious and economic discrimination against those it controlled, it made the Christians second-class citizens. The rapid spread of Islam was a threat to all Christians of Europe. In response, the Christians marauded the territories invaded by the Muslims. The motives for the Crusades within Western Christendom were many, including seeking for adventure and riches, while others were moved by faith alone.

However, the core motive was religious fervor. In other words, they wanted to fulfill their feudal obligations. There were strong connections between the social necessity of violence and papal reforms, as well as the exploitation of this revivalistic imagination of the Papacy age. Even though the Crusades failed to attain permanent control of the Holy Land, their influence was both wide and deep. In their crusading fervor, they carried out succesful fights against the Muslims in Spain along with the pagan Slavs in the eastern Europe.

In some instances they engaged in the war with infidels in self-defense (Previté-Orton 282). As cited by Esposito (335), in 1095, the destruction of the Holy Sepulchure by the Fatmid caliph al-Hakim sparked the initial Crusade. Majority of the Christians viewed al-Hakim as an Antichrist. In the same way, Previté-Orton (282) notes that the Holy Sepulcher was the holiest shrine in Christianity. Another motivation for the Crusade was the Byzantine’s Emperor Alexius I plea for assistance. Most of the Byzantine Empire had been conquered by the Constantinople together with Seljuk Turks.

The Christians engaged in the war because Jerusalem, Jesus’ birthplace was also at threat. They wanted to regain the occupied territories (Madden 10). Lastly, the Crusades also had economic motives. They were responsible for the reopening of the eastern Mediterranean to Western commerce. This resulted in the emergence of great cities like Venice in addition to the emergence of a money economy in the West. Works Cited Esposito, John. The Oxford History of Islam, Oxfoed: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print. Previté-Orton, C. W. Outlines of Medieval History.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Print. Thomas F. Madden, A Concise History of the Crusades, New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 1999. p. 10. Print.