The Crusades - Research Paper Example

Word Count 578 Generally, the term Crusade refers to the numerous wars fought between Christian groups and non-Christians. They were often foughtagainst Muslims from the establishment of the 4th Century to the 15th Century. The Crusades were usually wars that were sanctioned by the Church or other Christian governments and were often believed to be holy wars that were backed by God. “A Crusade is a special war or military expedition carried on under that standard [Cross] as the characteristic symbol of its object either of conquest or vengeance or of the conversion of people to the Christian Faith by force of arms.” (MacIntyre 75). This provides the general definition of the term as it has evolved to become. This shows that Crusades include wars that are either sanctioned by the Church or by an armed group that has a very strong connection to Christianity and with objectives that are linked to Christianity. Historically, the term Crusade is often used to refer to the bloody massacres and conflicts by people of European origins in the country of Palestine [present-day Israel] to recover from the Muslims the possession of the Holy Sepulcher and the holy city of Jerusalem (MacIntyre 76). MacIntyre (80) goes further to state that the Saxa Ruba battle fought by Emperor Constantine, who was the first Christian Caesar was the first of such military expeditions that used symbols of Christianity in the war. On the side of Muslims, there are also commandments from the time of Prophet Mohammed that makes it imperative for Muslims to take up arms and fight infidels to convert them to Islam in holy wars or Jihads (Bonner 6). These Jihads saw the expansion of Muslim kingdoms and the spread of Islam from present day Pakistan to Morocco and from the base of Turkey down to East Africa. This made Islam a threat to Christianity since there was a chance that Muslim invaders will spread their Jihads into European lands that were considered Christian at that time. Carl Erdmann points out that 11th Century reforms in the Church was the main cause of the First Crusade sanctioned by the Catholic Church (Madden 15). This is because the reform sought to purify all elements of the European society including warriors and militants. He therefore explains the Crusades as an attempt by the Catholic Church to divert violence and military force towards sacred activities. In March 1095, Pope Urban II sent troops to go the the Eastern Church which had its headquarters at Byzantium (present-day Turkey) to help them defend themselves against a Muslim invasion (Madden 16). In the Council of Clermont a few months after that, in November 1095, Pope Urban II called for Christian armies and warriors to be sent to Jerusalem to re-take the city of Jerusalem and establish a Christian state there. From an analysis of the activities of the first Crusade sanctioned by Pope Urban II, it appears that there was the need for the Pope to defend the borders of Christian Europe. This seem to be a natural course of action any religious leader would have taken against the Muslim expansion. The Crusades were successful and the Christians took Jerusalem in July 1099 (Nicholson xxxiv). They set up the Syrian and Palestine Christian states and took the island of Cyprus as a security point. Also, they stationed troops in the Iberian Peninsular to defend the borders of Christian Europe against advancing Jihad forces from the Arab world. This went on for a while in the 1100s. However, along the line, Muslim communities became powerful and they started attacking Christian interests. In the Easter of 1119, several Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem were massacred by Muslims (Gervers 57). This led to the mobilization of troops in Europe by the Catholic Church to wage war in Palestine and the Middle East and re-establish a Christian dominance. This started the 2nd Crusade which also saw several brutalities against Muslims in the Middle East. After the Second Crusade, there were several situations where the Pope called on European states to mobilize troops for war against non-Christians, particularly Muslims. These incidents led to several other Crusades which led to massive killings and attacks against non-Christians. On the analysis of the Crusades, there are several issues in those events that really affected history and other elements of societies that are worth mentioning. First of all, the Crusades were reactive, in that it was meant to stop the advancing of Muslims in their spread of Islam. These Muslims were using force to spread their faith throughout the world. It was therefore necessary for the Catholic Church to help defend the boundaries of the Church. Although this was a genuine need, it led to another desire to use force to expand the Church. This led to so much bloodshed that brought severe hardships to people. Something that started as a defensive act ended up becoming an offensive activity that led to so many deaths. Also, the mobilization of troops by the Church created a reason for the Muslims to also mobilize troops under the banner of Islam. This led to serious wars that came with dire consequences. The Catholic Church also used the Crusades as an avenue to spread certain controversial activities. These activities led to the weakening of the Catholic Church in the 1500s. An example is the indulgence and remission of sins, that was promised by the Catholic Church to the Crusaders. The belief was that anyone who died in a Crusade had an automatic place in Heaven. This is a belief that was questioned vehemently by numerous Protestants during the Reformation. This is because the legal and spiritual position of the Catholic Church to grant such promises was not one that they could prove. It was therefore contested by many people and seen as irrational. Also, it is clear that the Crusades strengthened the status of the Papacy in terms of secular matters. This is because the ability of the Pope to sanction wars made him a very important personality throughout Europe. This led to the establishment of the concept of Christendom. Christendom gave the Pope some rights and status just like other monarchs and nobles in Europe. This obviously affected the Popes duty of remaining neutral and concentrating on religious and spiritual activities. Clearly, the Pope became more of a secular figure than a religious figure when the concept of Christendom became popular. This is because his concentration on his primary responsibilities were shifted to his involvement in religion. This potentially led to situations where the Pope might be tempted to use manipulations through religious interpretations. Additionally, the role of the Pope became the direct opposite of the Caliph in Islam. In other words, the Muslims also had to come up with a religious figure that they would look up to for military leadership. This led to the formation of a tradition of using the most powerful kingdom to wage war against Christian Europe. This seem to have grown to the present-day where most powerful Muslim states seek to attack the major Europe superpower. This can be linked to the Popes prominence in the Crusades. Also, the idea of taking over Jerusalem led to the Catholic Churchs institution of a compulsory pilgrimage for Europeans. This was later questioned in the Protestant Reformation as being more political than spiritual (France 100). This is because there seem to be no logical explanation for Christians to go to Jerusalem. The only justification for this is that if pilgrimage was made compulsory, Christians will have an attachment to Jerusalem and want to fight for its control. Thus the Crusades and the pilgrimage were seen by non-Catholics as a manipulative doctrine. However, in spite of all the negativity that surrounded the Crusades, it succeeded in protecting Christians and their spiritual systems. This is because without rising up to the threat of the Jihads, the Muslims would have conquered their lands and forced them to convert to Islam. This would have been against their freewill and their faith. So it was a necessary system to defend the land. Also, the Crusades opened up the Known World (Europe, Asia and North Africa) to trade, commerce and social interaction. This is because it enabled Europeans and Muslims to create boundaries and settlements on these frontiers that enabled the interchange of ideas and goods. This was a very important system for the safe transmission of civilization and modernization that has helped the world to this day. These views and opinions shared by other people the Europeans came into contact with helped in the Enlightenment of Europe. For Europeans, the Crusades was a made it possible for them to learn about how to spread their influences. This is because lessons learned from the Crusades made them understand that the spread of Christianity can best be done when people have a conviction about the doctrines of Christianity. After the Crusades, there was a trend of missionary works that were done through colonization and other international systems that used non-violence. This was a turning point for the use of force by the Church to convert other people. Today, the term Crusade is strongly linked with Billy Graham who first used it to describe voluntary mass conversion programs. Unlike the systems used by the ancient Crusaders, modern crusades are held through preachings and sermons to convert large groups of unbelievers. Through this, there is non-violence and people are allowed to convert to Christianity on their own accord. Works Cited Bonner, Michael. Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines & Practice. Princeton University Press. 2008. Print. France, John. The Crusades & The Expansion of the Catholic Christendom 1000-1714. New York: Taylor Francis. 2005. Print Gervers, Michael. The Second Crusade & The Cistercians. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 1992. Print. MacIntyre, James. Cross & The Crescent as Standards in War. London: Kissinger Publishing. 2003. Print Madden, Thomas. Crusades: The Essential Readings. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 2002. Print. Nicholson, Helen. The Crusades. Greenwood Publishing. 2004. Print. Read More