Causes of the Crusades

Question 1

What caused the First Crusade?

Answer 1

Pleas for help! - Alexius
Population - increase in Europe
Primogeniture - second sons want land & £
Pilgrimage - Holy Land wanted back
People - Violent but very religious society
Provisions and problems - famine and disease
Pope Urban - Investiture Crisis and Power, Church Reform Movement
Popularity - taking the cross, inspired by others

Question 2

What caused the Second Crusade?

Answer 2

Loss of Edessa - Zengi!
Preaching Pope Eugenius III & St Bernard of Clairvaux
Chivalric values developed and desire to imitate First Crusade heroes!
Growing Muslim unity
Genuine religious beliefs
Kings signed up so feudal obligations
Belief they couldn’t fail!
Desire to protect settlers and pilgrims.

Question 3

What caused the Third Crusade?

Answer 3

The actions of Nur ad Din and Saladin
The failure of Outremer to defend itself
The unity of Muslims
The loss of Jerusalem & much of Outremer 
Religious reasons 
Chivalric values ongoing
To take revenge on the Muslims
Kings sign up - feudal obligations
Desire to protect settlers.

Question 4

Why was the Holy Land important to Christians?

Answer 4

Where Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Where God had appeared to men and begun the Church.

Question 5

What was Just War Theory?

Answer 5

A theory made by St Augustine that suggested that some violence can be justified if done in defence of the greater good of Christendom.

Question 6

Why was Alexius worried in 1095?

Answer 6

The Muslims (Seljuk Turks) had been capturing towns and cities over which the Byzantine Empire had previously had control. Worried he couldn’t defend his borders. He was also feared for his position.

Question 7

What had happened in 1054 causing tension between East and West in the Church?

Answer 7

The Great Schism. The East refused to accept the pope’s supremacy in Church matters and created their own eastern leader the Patriarch.

Question 8

Pope Urban II delivered a speech calling for a Crusade in which city and country?

Answer 8

Clermont, France

Question 9

What did taking the cross mean people did?

Answer 9

Promised to go on Crusade during their lifetime. They wore a Red Cross on their clothing to show that they had taken the vow.

Question 10

What was the remissio peccatorum?

Answer 10

A full remission of sins given by the Church to all who fulfilled their Crusading vow.

Question 11

The Church Reform Movement was…

Answer 11

Started by clergy who wanted to reform and cleanse the Church and by so doing address the violent societal problems that existed at the time. A continuation of the Peace and Truce of God movement from the 900s. It was led by the Cluniac Monks in France and by Pope Gregory VII. It took on fiercely anyone who challenged the power of the papacy, and helped to inspire many pilgrimages and Piety amongst the population of Europe. Hence the increased desire to go to Jerusalem.

Question 12

What was Primogeniture?

Answer 12

The process by which the oldest son would inherit the family land and wealth, leaving younger siblings to fend for themselves.

Question 13

What was the Investiture Crisis?

Answer 13

Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV fell out with the pope because he thought kings should be able to appoint bishops not only the pope. He disagreed with the pope and therefore created his only antipope “Clement III” and encouraged the other political leaders of Europe to follow this new pope rather than the real pope. This damaged the pope’s power and influence in the west.

Question 14

What did the Christian people believe about sin and salvation?

Answer 14

That Jesus died for everyone’s sins but that one’s actions in life determined your ultimate fate after death. Sacraments like confession and Holy Communion could give you grace to get you to Heaven, but sin could lead you to purgatory if not worse Hell. They followed the belief that only the Church could forgive sins and so would follow what the Church said over any earthly power not wanting to damn their eternal soul.

Question 15

A cause that only applies to the Second and Third Crusades was the development of chivalric values, what was this?

Answer 15

A shift happened from knights not only wanting to be victorious and courageous but now codes of laws were written down about loyalty to one’s overlord, respectable behaviour, manners and courtesy, development of fighting skills.

Strong desire to imitate past heroes whose status had become legendary e.g. Bohemond and Godfrey.

Question 16

What had Zengi done that caused the Second Crusade?

Answer 16

Zengi rose to power in the 1120s. He earned the support of the Seljuk Sultan of Baghdad. BY 1127, he had become governor of Mosul.
1128, seized control of Aleppo. Feared by his followers as much as his enemies! Until 1140s showed little interest in attacking the Franks. He only attacked Edessa because it’s leader Joscelin II had made a pact with another Muslim group in Iraq and Zengi wanted to disrupt this and so attacked Edessa when Joscelin was absent to annoy the Iraq Muslims. Edessa fell 26th December 1144. An appeal went out from the other Crusader states who feared a domino effect, if Zengi’s power continued to grow.

Question 17

Which kings signed up to the Second Crusade?

Answer 17

Conrad III German

Louis VII French

Question 18

Which kings signed up to the Third Crusade?

Answer 18

Richard I England,
Phillip II France,
Frederick I Germany.

Question 19

What had Nur ad Din done that led to growing Muslim Unity between 1146 - 1174?

Answer 19

Secured Aleppo for himself after his father Zengi died. (His brother Saif took Mosul). NAD attacked and captured key strategic lands around the Crusader states, Harim and Apamea, and slowly captured all of the land East of the Orontes, shrinking the land of Antioch substantially!

In 1149 Saif died and NAD United Syria under his sole Muslim rule with only the religious site of Damascus left to be taken. In 1154, NAD took Damascus persuading with propaganda rather than violence for them to appoint him as their ruler.

NAD did not pursue the Franks now but turned his attention to Egypt, he sought to unite ALL Muslims under his power. He sent Shirkuh and Saladin to Egypt.

Saladin was successfully appointed vizier of Egypt in 1169, beginning of the fall out between NAD and Saladin. NAD died in 1174 before attacking the Franks.

Question 20

What did Saladin do 1174 - 1187 that caused the Third Crusade?

Answer 20

Placed family into key strategic positions to maintain his power in Egypt, created a military unit answering solely to him.

Following NAD’s death Saladin had a challenge, he only inherited Egypt, NAD’s Son took Aleppo and Damascus, and NAD’s nephew took Mosul. The Muslims were disuniting!

1174 - took Damascus and married NAD’s widow.

1183 - military victory, Saladin won Aleppo.

1186 - peace treaty, Mosul accepts Saladin’s overlordship.

1187 - invasion and successful conquest of Jerusalem! (key battles; Tiberias and Hattin)