Crusader is a knight who fights against infidels

It is difficult to imagine the history of the Middle Ages withoutThe Crusades, which in the XI – XIII centuries shook the entire Middle East. In these mass invasions took an active part as representatives of European nobility, and commoners who tried to clean the land from the wicked Muslims.

Crusaders. Who are they?

People who so called themselves professedChristianity. Hence the name of the campaigns, as well as the warriors who were involved in them. Dedicated to the blood they spilled, simple peasants quickly became professional fighters. Crusader is a knight. Such warriors took up arms and went on the wrong for various reasons: some because of their thirst for adventure, others for material enrichment, others were really notorious religious fanatics. The participants of the first campaigns called themselves pilgrims, while their military raids called the sacred road or pilgrimage acceptable to God.

Knights dressed accordingly.The Crusader is a religious warrior who placed crosses on his armor and clothes: before the march they were on his chest, after a successful return - on his back. Knights' long journeys have always been shrouded in a halo of grandeur and romance. Despite heroism and valor, courage and courage, they did not manage to complete the holy mission. Muslims continued to dominate the East, moreover they became the full rulers of Palestine.

First Crusades

It all started with Pope Urbana, who in March 1095year clearly articulated the economic reason for 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, which are unjustly occupied by Muslims. As for the religious motive, they have become an indisputable fact: The Holy Sepulcher, an important shrine of their faith, is kept by the infidels, and this is fundamentally unacceptable.

Crusader is a simple person, inspiredcalls dad. He, like his other brothers, did not hesitate for a minute, threw his fields and went to the East. It was not difficult to gather a crowd: in those days, Europe worshiped the church and was embraced by religious fanaticism. The first campaign, aimed at Constantinople, ended in failure. Most of the volunteers died on the way from disease, hunger and cold. That miserable handful of tired people that reached the destination, the Turks destroyed.

results

Despite the defeat, the conquerors did not surrender andgradually increased forces. Within a few years, the warriors broke into Asia. Here they destroyed the cities and organized local crusading powers. They managed to capture Jerusalem and Byzantium, but the main goal, the Holy Sepulcher, remained in the hands of the infidels. Someone started a false rumor that only children's hands can free him. As a result, an army was organized, the core of which was the young knights of the Crusaders. Their age did not exceed 14–15 years. The result was tragic. Half of the minors died, the other part was sold into slavery.

Крестоносец – это человек, находившийся в полном submission to the Church. Listening to the priests' sermons, people justified their losses and sought new conquests. A total of eight crusades were committed. Their results are mixed. First, the Catholic Church expanded the zone of influence, enriched with new lands. Secondly, the tension between the West and the East has intensified, and the counter threat from the infidels - jihad - has emerged. In addition, Christianity itself was finally divided: into Orthodoxy and Catholicism.