The Advancement of the Crusaders and the Church - Research Paper Example

? THE ADVANCEMENT OF Crusaders and the Church (COLLEGE) Table of Content I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………….2 II. THESISSTATEMENT……………………………………………2 III. THE HISTORY OF CRUSADES………………………………..2 IV. CRUSADES AGAINST CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES…………..6 V. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………7 THE ADVANCEMENT OF Crusaders and the Church Introduction Crusades from 11th to 13th century still remain as a blemish in the history of the Church despite repeated apologies. The crusades were a series of wars by Western European Christians to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims, which lasted till late 13th century1. Though there were various subtle factors behind the crusades, the first and the most noticeable one was the aggression by Islamic rulers. A look into the factors behind crusades makes it evident that they, in no way, advanced the cause of Christ because they were against the Christian worldview. The history of crusades As far back as in the third century, Christians used to visit the Hold Lands to see the places of Christ’s life. Though the place was conquered by Muslim rulers, pilgrimages continued without my disruption as Caliph Harun al-Rashid accommodated Christian pilgrims. However, the situation went wrong when the Egyptian ruler of Palestine in the 11th century, known as Hakim, started torturing the Christian pilgrims. He destroyed Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher and declared himself as God incarnate2. The Turks were advancing with enormous power. By 1050, they had a state in Persia and within five years, they reached Baghdad and up to Aegean in Anatolia. Soon Byzantine was defeated at Manzikert and a new sultanate was started at Nicaea. In the year 1071, Jerusalem became a part of the new Seljuk state of Syria. It was in this disorder and anarchy that General Alexius I Comnenus came to power in Byzantine. As already known, there was a split between the Eastern and Western churches. So, Pope Gregory VII found it a good opportunity to unite the Churches by spreading the holy war to Asia. So, he offered to send an army of western knights under his own leadership to Byzantine. Similarly, Pope Urban II offered military help to Byzantine against Turks. Pope Urban II pointed out in his speech at the Council of Clemont in 1095 the hardships faced by the Eastern Christians and the pilgrims to Jerusalem. He declared that God would assist those who would fight for their brothers. Another declaration was that the sins of those who died in the work of God would be forgiven. Thus, enormous numbers of people joined the Crusade. Seeing the great Crusader armies, Turks surrendered Nicaea without a war. The crusaders advanced through Dorylaeum and soon, Edessa, a strategically important imperial city, was conquered and it became the first crusader state3. Soon, Jerusalem and Antioch were conquered by the Crusaders, and Baldwin of Edessa became the first king of Jerusalem. Within no time, the crusader states grew wealthy with the local resources. Admittedly, it was not the military order of the crusaders that helped them, but it was the lack of unity among the Muslims that allowed the crusader survival there. Soon, the Muslims united and a re-conquest was the result. Thus, in 1144, Edessa was captured by Muslims. At this point, St. Bernard preached the second crusade. As he managed to attract masses, King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany reached the East in what is called the Second Crusade. However, this time, the Crusade was destined to fail. First lf all, the local lords feared that the newcomers would take away their kingdoms and hence, the newcomers were in conflict with the local lords. Thus, the crusaders failed to conquer Damascus in 1149. The Muslim re-conquest continued undisturbed. Saladin of Egypt was a great ruler who managed to bring Syria and Mesopotamia under his control. By 1183, his brother was the ruler of Egypt and his sons were the rulers of Damascus and Aleppo. Thus, the only Christian footholds were the port of Tyre and some castles. Thus, a Third Crusade became a necessity. Thus, Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire moved to the Holy Land but drowned midway. However, the remaining troops moved to Palestine and were joined by Philip Augustus of France and Richard the Lionhearted of England. The Crusaders managed to capture Acre in the year 1191. Though they failed to capture Jerusalem, Saladin agreed to sign a treaty allowing Christians free visits to the city. However, things were only turning more and more violent and restless. Innocent III who became the pope in 1198 called for the Fourth Crusade. His call was answered by a large number of powerful lords, and Venetians offered transportation and food on the condition that they would get equal share in conquests. Later on, Venetians offered to forgive the debt if the crusaders conquered Zara, a town that revolted against Venetian domination. Thus, the Fourth Crusade had an ironic beginning with the capture and torture of a completely Roman Catholic Town. The pope who called for the Crusade excommunicated the crusaders immediately. Despite the criticism from pope, Crusaders seized the city of Constantinople twice and elected a Latin emperor. A lot of libraries and art collections were burned though the Venetians managed to collect some and sent back to Venice. The year 1212 saw two children’s crusades, which were the result of naive faith and superstition. The first one was started by a ten year old boy named Nicholas who managed to gather nearly 20,000 children. The group managed to reach Italy, and on reaching there, the girls were taken into brothels and the boys were sold as slaves. Very similar was the second children’s crusade which was started by Saint-Denis. The groups contained nearly 30000 children. Some of them were sold as slaves and some lost lives as their ship sank4. The Fifth Crusade was the result of the belief that the center of Muslim strength was Egypt and faced a miserable failure. The Sixth Crusade was led by Emperor Frederick II. This was rather peaceful as no armed conflict was involved. With excellent diplomacy, he managed to get a truce signed. Thus, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth were handed over to the Latin. The last two crusades were organized by Louis IX of France. Both of them were aimed at Egypt, and both failed miserably. Admittedly, the Crusades had various effects on the European community. First of all, the number of fighting knights in Europe declined as they got a chance to fight outside Europe. Secondly, the European monarchs got a chance to strengthen their hold over the people as the warring factions of the society already disappeared. Another point was the economic growth as a result of enhanced trade. Anyway, the crusades resulted in a rise in Western optimism which was down as a result of the increasing Muslim aggression. With the victory in the First Crusade, the West gained enough confidence to march into any Muslim nation. The most surprising fact is that the Crusades, in no way, were supported by Christian doctrines. What one gets is the picture of Christ who states that his kingdom is not of this world and that if he so desired he could have angels take up the cause. He said so when Simon cut off the ear of the high priest. Admittedly, one cannot believe that the so-called saints and pope were unaware of the nature of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Thus, it becomes evident that the Crusades were not intended to advance the cause of Jesus Christ but there were political, economical and psychological factors which motivated the Church and the rulers to unite to offer the most spectacular massacre in history. In fact, the Church was getting more and more lured away by power and wealth. However, as already seen, the fight in the life of a Christian is fought spiritually. The war is not enforcing one’s own interest and power on others, but denying one’s own self. Crusades against Christian principles The mere fact is that Jesus does not ask the Church to engage in worldly affairs. That means the Christian leaders are not supposed to exhibit their strength and power in physical altercations. Instead, they should show their strength by controlling their temperament. As Mathew 5:10 observes, there will be countless slanders one will take for righteousness sake. Noticeably, a Christian is not supposed to take arms and fight back. Thus, the Crusades did not advance the cause of Jesus Christ. Bibliography Jones, R. “The crusades: A brief history (1095-1291),” The Crusades and the Inquisition: Brief History, (2004) http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/crusades/crusades.pdf (Accessed 21 May 2012). Jonathan, R. M. The Crusades: A History. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. Setton, K. M & Baldwin, M. W. A History of the Crusades, Volume I: The First Hundred Year., USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. Setton, K. M., Wolff, R. L. & Hazard, H. W. A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189-1311. USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. Outline Introduction Crusades were against the doctrines of Christianity The history of crusades The crusades were intended to save the Holy Lands from Muslim rulers. Pope Urban II started the Crusades and then new and new crusades took place under different people. The European knights who reached the holy lands took control of various territories and grew wealthy. The crusades were often aimless, involved violence even against Christians. Crusades against Christian principles The crusades were against the principles of Christianity because Christ did not want his Church to engage in worldly affairs, nor did he encourage armed conflict. Read More