The+Crusades

= Kingdom of Heaven: = media type="custom" key="26119096"



The Crusades were launched by European Christians to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy sites in the Middle East from Muslims. Christians mounted these religio us wars between 1096 and 1291.

In the 11th century, Palestine came under the rule of a rising Muslim power, the Seljuk Turks.

The pope called on Christians to go on a religious war to turn back the Seljuks and win control of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. The next year, the first armies set out from Europe.

Christians feared they would no longer be able to visit Jerusalem and other sacred sites in the Holy Land. Together, with concern over the Seljuk threat to Christian lands in Europe, this fear helped pave the way for the Crusades.

Throughout the Crusades, the Christian faith inspired many to put on the red cross, worn by Crusaders as a symbol of their mission, and join the fight. But people joined the Crusades for other reasons as well. Merchants saw the chance to earn money through trade. Younger sons of nobles hoped to gain estates in the Holy Land.

A person who had fought in the Holy Land also gained respect and prestige at home.

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