Crusader is a knight who fights against infidels

It is difficult to imagine the history of the Middle Ages without the Crusades, which in the XI-XIII centuries shook the entire Middle East. In these mass invasions both the representatives of the European nobility and commoners took an active part, who tried to cleanse the land of wicked Muslims.

The Crusaders. Who are they?

People who called themselves that way, professed Christianity. Hence the name of the campaigns, as well as the soldiers who were involved in them. Devoted to the blood that they shed, simple peasants quickly became professional fighters. The Crusader is a knight. Such warriors took up arms and went to the infidels for various reasons: some because of the thirst for adventure, others for material enrichment, others were really outlandish religious fanatics. Participants in the first campaigns called themselves pilgrims, and their military raids - a sacred way or a god-pleasing pilgrimage.

Knights dressed accordingly. The crusader is a religious warrior who, in armor and costumes, placed crosses: they were on the chest before the campaign, after a successful return - on the back. The distant journeys of knights were always enveloped in a halo of grandeur and romance. Despite heroism and valor, courage and courage, they never managed to complete a holy mission. The Muslims continued to dominate the East, and they also became full rulers of Palestine.

The First Crusades

It all began with Pope Urban, who in March 1095 clearly formulated the economic cause of the raids. He said: European countries can not feed the population, which is growing every year. Therefore, in order to preserve the life of honest Christians, it is necessary to seize the resource-rich eastern territories that are unjustly occupied by Muslims. As for the religious motive, it became an indisputable fact: The Holy Sepulcher, an important shrine of their faith, is kept by infidels, and this is fundamentally unacceptable.

Crusader is a simple man, inspired by the appeals of the pope. He, like his other brothers, did not hesitate for a minute, abandoned his fields and set off for the East. It was not difficult to assemble the crowd: in those days Europe worshiped the church and was embraced by religious fanaticism. The first campaign, aimed at Constantinople, ended unsuccessfully. Most of the volunteers died on the road from disease, hunger and cold. That wretched handful of tired people that got to their destination, the Turks destroyed.

results

Despite the defeat, the conquerors did not give up and gradually increased their strength. Within a few years, the warriors broke into Asia. Here they destroyed cities and organized local crestal powers. They managed to capture Jerusalem and Byzantium, but the main goal, the Holy Sepulcher, remained in the hands of the infidels. Someone let a false rumor that only children's hands can release him. As a result, an army was organized, the core of which were young knights-crusaders. Their age did not exceed 14-15 years. The result was tragic. Half of the minors died, another part was sold into slavery.

Crusader is a man who was in full submission to the Church. Listening to the preaching of priests, people justified losses and strove for new conquests. In total, eight Crusades were committed. Their results are ambiguous. First, the Catholic Church expanded the zone of influence, enriched it with new lands. Secondly, the tension between the West and the East increased, and a counter-threat from the infidels - jihad - arose. In addition, Christianity itself was finally divided: into Orthodoxy and Catholicism.