The Crusades Dbq

The Crusades were a series of historical events that were holy wars and pilgrimages fought against the Seljuk Turks and the Fatimid Caliphate. Both of these Caliphates were of different sects of Islam which meant they would not assist each other in case of an invading force.Although the Crusades were not successful militaristically, they were successful in other ways. In 1095 at the Council of Clermont Pope Urban II called for a Crusade to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem, which at the time was held by the Sunni Seljuk Turks. In 1098, one year before the Crusaders began the siege of Jerusalem the Shiite Fatimids took over the city of Jerusalem from the Seljuks. The Shiites saw an opportunity to weaken their rival and so, offered control of Syria to the Crusaders with Jerusalem staying in their control. The …show more content…
In the Eastern front of the Second Crusade it was an absolute disaster with the fall of the County of Edessa and other failures of the military. However, on 13 April 1147 a Papal Bull was issued to invade the Wends which caused the complete Christianization of the Holy Roman Empire. Also in the Second Crusade, Crusaders assisted the Iberian Christian kings in retaking the Iberian Peninsula. In the spring of 1147, the Pope authorized the crusade to expand into the Iberian peninsula to fight with the Christian kings to complete the Reconquista. The Crusaders agreed to assist the king in attacking the city of Lisbon, with an agreement that would allow the Crusaders to loot and pillage the city. The siege lasted four months until the Moorish leaders surrendered because of the lack of food. Many Crusaders settled the city but some also sailed onward to fight in the Holy