`the Crusades` the movie

The Crusades

THE CRUSADES ' PAGE 1

The 1935 classic film The Crusades ' is a film about the third crusade of the Holy Wars . Set in the 12th century AD , the said film depicts the war launched by the Western Christian world against the Arab Saracens from the East . The armed forces of France , England , Germany , Russia , and Hungary all purposely united to reclaim the Holy Land , Jerusalem , from the Muslims and the Egyptian sultan Saladin . The movie treats its viewers in a historical lesson that is fairly easy to comprehend

The

crusades started when the Roman Catholic Church decided that it was duly right to reclaim ' the Holy Land from the Arabs and give it back to Christianity where it truly belonged . The Catholics felt that it was just right that the Land of Jesus be theirs and that it was their duty to take care of it . In the 10th century Pope Alexander II issued a papal blessing to the Iberian Christians in to legitimize the war against the Muslims and they called this Holy War ' to justify the violence and atrocities that the Crusaders will eventually have done This resulted in an extensive all-out war against the Muslims Subsequently , Pope Urban II gave an impassioned sermon to reclaim the Holy Land to the Council of Clermont thus igniting and stirring up the Holy War 's popular cause . He is credited with the first massive PR campaign because he instigated a religious propaganda . He , perhaps inspired by his own personal interests , fervently advocated Just War and he also preached that soldiers who would participate in the Holy War would receive a offer to Catholics who wanted to escape eternal damnation . As a result so many people participated and became Crusaders , making the Crusade successful

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The above mentioned indulgence offered by the Catholic Church was the major driving factor for the people , especially the poor , who joined the Crusades . This is exactly why the poorpeople from France dropped everything and walked a very long journey to Jerusalem . For them , that kind of hardship was definitely worth it . They believed that if they reached the Holy Land , all their previous sins would be wiped out and that they would be awarded a clean slate . And dying while fighting for this holy cause was even better- one would go straight to heaven

Even though the crusaders ' primary mission was to take back the city of Jerusalem , they also ransacked and destroyed Christian cities that they passed through . The reason behind this was the conflict between the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Christians who resided in the East . The crusaders wanted to eliminate the Jews taking refuge inside these cities ' churches and other Christian buildings . The Orthodox Christians were protective of the Jews , and that 's why the Crusaders had to raze the Christian cities

Byzantine , located in the East , was threatened by the Islamic world by that time . The empire had lost territories in Asia Minor to the Arabs Wanting to reclaim these profitable territories , its leader , Alexios appealed to Pope Urban II for help . Pope Urban in return saw this as a perfect opportunity to justify the launching of an all-out Holy War Basically , Byzantine saw the Crusades as a form of help in advancing its own interests . Likewise , the Crusades saw Byzantine as an effective aid in carrying out its battle as Byzantine supplied additional army to them THE CRUSADES ' PAGE 3

There were small crusades that were done before the Crusaders reached Jerusalem but they successfully reached the Holy Land during the First crusade . The Turks were one of the enemies of the Crusades . They took the county of Edessa from the crusaders ' control . War against them remained a problem for Eastern Europe in the centuries to follow

In the attack at Antioch , a man opened the city 's gates thus enabling the Crusades to successfully break into Antioch 's walls . This secured the attacker 's victory . It can be said that , yes , one man can definitely change history forever . If not for that man , history might have taken a very different course from what it is today

After the Crusaders marched into Jerusalem , a few Christian leaders claimed Kingship over Jerusalem . The people of Jerusalem were starved and virtually tortured . They (crusaders ) wanted to eliminate the Jews Saracen , as well as the other Arab people . Other Arab countries were complacent about this because King Richard made a three-year truce with Saladin

The statement "As long as there were independent Emirs the Crusades were safe ' is true . I agree with it . As long as the Arabs were fighting with each other , they could not form a strong and effective army that is able to defeat the Crusaders . One example of this is the fall of Edessa

Zengi suceeded in reclaiming the county of Edessa . He focused on defeating his Arab enemies first . He also focused in amassing wealth to fund his forces . After finishing with his Arabic rivals , he tried to conquer Damascus but he failed . A year later , he again tried for the second time but again , he was thwarted . Failure happened to him again on the third time . By

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that time , the ruler of Edessa neglected the city 's security . Zengi saw this as an opportunity and ransacked Edessa . Finally , on the fourth attempt , he was victorious

Salah Eddine was triumphant in mobilizing several communities and in retaining support for him as a leader because he used Islam as a uniting force for his subjects . He was a good and at the same time , cunning leader and this enabled him to secure victories for his army

It is said that when Richard left the Holy Land in 1192 , he ended the crusades . But other crusades still followed

In my opinion , the Crusades is definitely not yet finished . The Crusades , when taken its popular mission , aims to strengthen the Catholic power . It aims to amplify the Roman Catholic voice- and to spread God 's word to the unenlightened ones . This , today , is still happening . The Catholics have their missionaries who travel to various remote areas in the hope of converting people to Christianity . Also , the war between Muslims and Christians is very much happening right now . We hear news of horrific violence being done to Christians by Muslims and vice versa almost everyday coming from different parts of the world It 's as if this kind of war will never end for the Christian and Muslim ideologies are at the opposite ends . In my opinion , this will go on and on . Truly , these two opposing ends are clashing , resulting in a useless waste of lives . The Crusades has just changed its face , but is forever here to stay

REFERENCES

Harris , Jonathan (2003 . Byzantium and the Crusades . London , Hambledon Continuum

Ripperton , Lisa (2000 . Of the Taking of Antioch . Retrieved May 17 2007 , from http /www .mainlesson .com /display .php ?author church book crusaders story antioch

Jaspert , Nikolas (2006 . The Crusades . Oxford : Routledge

Regan , Geoffrey (1999 . Lionhearts : Richard I , Saladin , and the Era of the Third Crusade . New York : Walker Company

Riley-Smith , Jonathan (2005 . The Crusades : A History (2nd ed . New Haven , CT : Yale University Press

Riley-Smith , Jonathan (ed (1995 . The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades . New York : Oxford University Press

Setton , Kenneth (ed (1989 . A History of the Crusades . Madison

France , John (1994 . Victory in the East : A Military History of the First Crusade . Cambridge , MA New York : Cambridge University Press

Asbridge , Thomas S (2004 . The First Crusade : A New History . Oxford Oxford University Press

Ellzey , Lisa (Producer Scott , Ridley (Director (2005 . Kingdom of Heaven (Motion picture . 20th Century Fox , Hollywood , Ca ...