Over time there have been many debates as to whether the Crusades made a large impact amongst European society, socially, politically and economically. Throughout the following essay it will be argued as to why Europe needed the crusades to transition out The Dark Ages. The Crusades were great military expeditions undertaken by the Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of rescuing the holy places of Palestine from the hands of the Muslims. The reason for the crusades was a war between Christians and Moslems which centred around the city of Jerusalem.
The City of Jerusalem held a Holy significance to the Christian religion. There were a total of nine crusades. The first four crusades were seen as the most import and insufficient reference …show more content…
It was Christians' eagerness to suffer horrible violence in the name of their God that inspired so many to convert to Christianity (Biblical Archaeology, 2015). Once Christianity became the state religion of Rome, it adapted to allow for the violence necessary to build and maintain an empire. Pope Urban II called the First Crusade in an attempt to reduce violence among Christians, by redirecting that violence toward Muslims. Unfortunately for the Pope, his plan to redirect did not work. To whatever his intentions in doing this, Urban had not only justified violence, he'd commanded it and the holy warfare became a will of god in which was the role for all Christians to follow. Western Europe's literacy rate was dismal compared to the highly literate Greeks. Western European culture was primitive and violent compared with the refined civilizations of the East. Arabs and Greeks could relax in heated baths or shower beneath running water, while Western Europeans rarely bathed at all. When the Europeans returned from the Crusade full of new desires and ambitions, the Western aristocrats developed a taste for Eastern luxuries, and Western scholars began to embrace a philosophical tradition, which had begun with the Greeks and had flourished under Islam. These impressions the East Conquest was instrumental in shaping the civilization of the …show more content…
The taxes aristocrats and the ministry levied during this time provided the template for future taxation throughout Europe (History online “The Crusades”, 2015). The popularity of financing crusades through borrowing resulted in the formation of the continent's first institutions, stimulated the European economy and led to the growth of the middle class. The aspect of this would then lead to the destabilization of the Feudal System. The demand for trade caused the recurrence of the town, which led to the creation of unifications. Unifications created standardized practices and the regulation of trade that would become centre pieces of modern economics.The economic impacts of the crusades began to come together mainly in the 4th crusade between Italy and their new Eastern marketplaces lay the ancient and powerful Byzantine Empire. Byzantines had an excellent navy, and for centuries they had let down the efforts of the Italians to gain domination on Mediterranean trade. The Venetians solved this problem by leading the crusaders to attack the capitol of the Byzantine Empire, in the Fourth Crusade. With this empire out of the way, there was unchallenged power over the Mediterranean Sea. As if the profitable trade in luxuries were not enough, the Italian city enjoyed another huge windfall from the Crusades. European monarchs did not just want to bring Eastern luxuries to the West; they wanted to bring
The City of Jerusalem held a Holy significance to the Christian religion. There were a total of nine crusades. The first four crusades were seen as the most import and insufficient reference …show more content…
It was Christians' eagerness to suffer horrible violence in the name of their God that inspired so many to convert to Christianity (Biblical Archaeology, 2015). Once Christianity became the state religion of Rome, it adapted to allow for the violence necessary to build and maintain an empire. Pope Urban II called the First Crusade in an attempt to reduce violence among Christians, by redirecting that violence toward Muslims. Unfortunately for the Pope, his plan to redirect did not work. To whatever his intentions in doing this, Urban had not only justified violence, he'd commanded it and the holy warfare became a will of god in which was the role for all Christians to follow. Western Europe's literacy rate was dismal compared to the highly literate Greeks. Western European culture was primitive and violent compared with the refined civilizations of the East. Arabs and Greeks could relax in heated baths or shower beneath running water, while Western Europeans rarely bathed at all. When the Europeans returned from the Crusade full of new desires and ambitions, the Western aristocrats developed a taste for Eastern luxuries, and Western scholars began to embrace a philosophical tradition, which had begun with the Greeks and had flourished under Islam. These impressions the East Conquest was instrumental in shaping the civilization of the …show more content…
The taxes aristocrats and the ministry levied during this time provided the template for future taxation throughout Europe (History online “The Crusades”, 2015). The popularity of financing crusades through borrowing resulted in the formation of the continent's first institutions, stimulated the European economy and led to the growth of the middle class. The aspect of this would then lead to the destabilization of the Feudal System. The demand for trade caused the recurrence of the town, which led to the creation of unifications. Unifications created standardized practices and the regulation of trade that would become centre pieces of modern economics.The economic impacts of the crusades began to come together mainly in the 4th crusade between Italy and their new Eastern marketplaces lay the ancient and powerful Byzantine Empire. Byzantines had an excellent navy, and for centuries they had let down the efforts of the Italians to gain domination on Mediterranean trade. The Venetians solved this problem by leading the crusaders to attack the capitol of the Byzantine Empire, in the Fourth Crusade. With this empire out of the way, there was unchallenged power over the Mediterranean Sea. As if the profitable trade in luxuries were not enough, the Italian city enjoyed another huge windfall from the Crusades. European monarchs did not just want to bring Eastern luxuries to the West; they wanted to bring