The city of Jerusalem was the

center of faith for three major world

religions. For people of the Jewish
faith, it was their homeland. It was
part of the Promised Land that
Jehovah gave to Abraham and his
descendants. To Muslims,
Jerusalem was the location where
the Prophet Muhammad ascended
into heaven. After Mecca and
Medina, Jerusalem was Islam’s
third holiest city. Christians saw
Jerusalem as the location of Jesus
Christ’s birth and death. It is also
the location of much of the New
Testament. Jerusalem lies within
the historic region of Palestine.
Jerusalem and much of Palestine was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate by 637 CE and would remain in
Arab control for centuries. In 1095, Pope Urban II called for volunteer knights to travel to Jerusalem and win it
back from Muslim control. He called their mission a crusade. The word “crusade” comes from the word Crux,
which means “cross” in Latin and meant a “holy war.” Those who volunteered for the Crusade would be called
crusaders, meaning that they took the cross of Jesus upon them.
While Pope Urban surely wanted Christians to be able to visit the Holy Land of Jerusalem, some historians
think he had another goal as well. Urban’s strategy may have been to unite the Eastern and Western branches of
Christianity and to establish himself as head of the unified Church. The Great Schism of 1054 divided
Christianity into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths. Pope Urban headed the Roman Catholic
Church while the Eastern Orthodox church was based in the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople.
Crusaders were promised eternal life if they died while fighting non-Christians. Because of this rhetoric,
Christians killed thousands of non-Christians, including Jews and Muslims, as they traveled to Jerusalem. The
crusades also offered economic advancement and social status for younger sons, who might not be guaranteed
the land of their fathers. Others might have sought adventure or were simply forced to go by their feudal lords.
After two years traveling the desert, the crusaders reached Jerusalem. The city was guarded by a defense wall 2
½ miles long, 15’ thick and 50’ high. They surrounded the city and laid siege upon it for over a month. Finally,
the city fell, and the crusaders entered, killing almost all the non-Christians inside: men, women and children.
Europeans established the Kingdom of Jerusalem and three other Crusader States in the region. Over the next
100 years, Muslim empires made slow but steady efforts to regain control over Jerusalem. Six more crusades
followed as both Muslims and Christians fought over control of the region. In 1291, the Mamluk Sultanate
captured the last European stronghold in the area after the Siege of Acre. European leaders lost interest in the
area, and the crusades came to an end.
In the end, the unsuccessful Crusades lessened the power the Pope and increased the power of Europe’s kings.
They did have the positive effect of increasing trade between Europeans and those in the Middle East. Greater
cultural diffusion and travel benefited the populations of both regions. However, the Crusades did increase
tension between Muslim and Christian groups.
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated and supported by the Roman Catholic Church with the
objective of recovering the Holy Land from Islamic rule. These included:
The First Crusade (1095-1099): The First Crusade was the most successful. Armies from Europe drove out
the Turks and took control of Jerusalem after a month-long siege in the oppressive heat of July 1099.
The Second Crusade (1147-1149): In 1146, the city of Edessa was conquered by the Turks. Edessa was a
"Crusader state" created after the First Crusade. Most of Edessa's population was killed during the siege on the
city or in the aftermath. The second Crusade was launched to take back the city, but it was unsuccessful.
The Third Crusade (1187-1192): In 1187 Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, recaptured the city of Jerusalem from
the Christians. The third Crusade was launched by Emperor Barbarossa of Germany, King Philip Augustus of
France, and King Richard the Lionheart of England. Richard the Lionheart fought Saladin for several years. In
the end he could not conquer Jerusalem but did win the right for pilgrims to visit the holy city once again.
The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204): Pope Innocent III formed another crusade with the hope of taking back the
Holy Land. However, the Crusaders got sidetracked and greedy and ended up conquering and plundering
Constantinople instead.
Children’s Crusade (1212): Started by a French child named Stephen of Cloyes and a German boy named
Nicholas, thousands of children gathered to march to the Holy Land. This ended in total disaster. None of the
children made it to the Holy Land and many were never seen again. They were likely sold into slavery.
Name:

Definitions:
A crusade:

The Crusades:

Goals of the Crusades:

The Main goal of the Crusades was:

What were 2 other reasons that people joined the crusades?

•
•

Purpose Important Events & People Results

What were Pope Urban II’s goals for the Crusades?
1st Crusade

What difficulties did the crusaders face in their quest to

conquer Jerusalem?

Who conquered Edessa from the Christians?

2nd Crusade

Who was Saladin?

3rd Crusade

Which 3 powerful European kings fought in the 3rd Crusade?

 What were the effects of the Crusades?
• Political:

• Economic:

• Social:

• Religious:

On the above map, complete the following:

1. Shading – indicate the lands controlled by Muslims and by Christians. Remember to create a key.
2. Crusade Routes – Choose one sea route and one land route. Map the crusade.
3. Label the following cities:
• Jerusalem • Constantinople
• Venice • Paris
• Rome • Edessa

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 Name: _____ Answer Key/Teacher’s Guide________

The Crusades
Definitions:
A crusade: a “Holy War”

The Crusades: a series of religious wars in the middle ages between Christians and Muslims

Goals of the Crusades:

The Main goal of the Crusades was: to claim the Holy Land (Palestine) and reunite Christendom

But, what were 2 other reasons that people joined the crusades?

 Pope Urban promised that anyone who fought forgiveness of all their sins.
 Adventure, economic advancement and social status for younger sons

Purpose for Result of the

Important Events AND People
going to war Crusade
What were Pope Urban II’s goals for the Crusades?
The city of
Jerusalem was
The purpose Pope Urban wanted to reconquer the Holy Land and also might
finally captured
was to regain have wanted to reunite the Catholic Church after the Great Schism.
1st Crusade

on July 15, 1099

the Holy
after a week
Lands and What difficulties did the crusaders face in their quest to conquer
long siege. The
especially to Jerusalem?
crusaders then
capture the
The city was guarded by a defense wall 2 ½ miles long, 15’ thick and massacred the
city of
citizens of
Jerusalem. 50’ high. It was also the middle of July in the Middle East, so they
Jerusalem
faced oppressive heat.
inside the city.

To capture Who conquered Edessa from the Christians? The Crusaders

Crusade

Edessa, were
2nd

which had The Turks conquered Edessa in 1146. unsuccessful in

been taking back
reconquered Edessa.

Who was Saladin?

No winner
The Sultan of Egypt and leader of the Muslim opposition against
Agreed to a
3rd Crusade

the Crusaders.
truce in 1192.
Saladin Jerusalem
Which 3 powerful European Kings fought in the 3rd Crusade?
recapturing remained
Richard the Lionheart of England, Philip II of France, and
Jerusalem Muslim, but
Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor
Christian
pilgrims could
visit holy sites.
What were the effects of the Crusades?
• Political: The Crusades lessened the power the Pope and increased the power of Europe’s kings.
Economic: The Crusades increased trade around Europe and the Middle East.
Social: The Crusades allowed greater cultural diffusion and promoted travel.
Religious: The Crusades increased tension between Muslim and Christian groups.

Paris

Venice

Rome Constantinople

Edessa

Jerusalem

Muslim Lands
Christian Lands

On the above map, complete the following:

1. Shading – indicate the lands controlled by Muslims and by Christians. Remember to create a key.
2. Crusade Routes – Choose one sea route and one land route. Map the crusade.
3. Label the following cities
• Jerusalem • Constantinople
• Venice • Paris
• Rome • Edessa

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