Many people, including historians, now believe that the Crusades were an unjustified series of attacks on Muslim countries by Christian Europe. In reality, Islamic Empires had taken more than two thirds of the Christian world by the 11th century and had murdered, forcibly converted, and enslaved thousands of Christians. The Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Spain, Asia Minor, and Southern Europe had been violently conquered. Another common misconception is that the Crusades were all about money, but really they put the participating nations in severe financial debt after it was over. 

However, the Christian Crusaders did commit wrongful acts, and instead of trying to convert Muslim civilians, they usually just killed them (which was common practice in medieval warfare). Of course, Muslim armies did the same with Christian civilians, probably at a larger scale. 

In 1096, Pope Urban II sent out a call for men across Europe to embark on a mission to take back the Holy Land from the Muslims, starting the First Crusade (1096-1099). The initial wave of men sent were peasants who had no professional training, and never even made it to the enemy because they ran out of provisions. The second wave was made up of professional knights, and in 1097 the Crusaders took Nicea. However, the next winter, there was widespread hunger and desertion. 

In 1098, the Crusaders entered Antioch, but were quickly surrounded by a large Muslim force. The Christians started digging, looking for the Holy Spear, which was thought to be hidden somewhere inside the city. Eventually finding this Lance, they took this as a sign from God and rushed out of the city to face the Muslims while carrying the Spear. Caught off guard, the Muslims were routed, and the Crusaders took Antioch. 

The Crusader army started a siege of Jerusalem in 1099, taking the city after the English arrived with siege equipment. The Crusaders massacred most of the Muslim inhabitants, and established four Crusaders states: Antioch, Edessa, Tripoli, and Jerusalem. In the Second Crusade (1147-1149) Crusaders attempted to take back Jerusalem and Edessa, which had been conquered by the Muslims, but were unsuccessful. 

During the Third Crusade (1189-1192), Muslims united their territory and army under a Sultan, so Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, King Phillip Augustus of France, and King Richard Lionheart of England prepared a force. Byzantine Emperor Isaac II was suspicious of Emperor Frederick because the Holy Roman Empire was an ally with the Normans, who were the Byzantine’s enemy. 

Emperor Isaac II made a deal with the Muslims to not attack them since he thought the Westerners were trying to conquer Byzantium. After the German and French armies mostly went home, Richard Lionheart, possibly the best military mind of the Middle Ages, took Cyprus by himself. When the French army arrived, Crusaders were able to recapture Tripoli, Antioch, Tyre, Jaffa, and Jerusalem. 

During the Fourth Crusade (1201-1204), the Crusaders got sidetracked when they tried to install Alexius as Emperor in Constantinople. Alexius had promised them wealth, but when the people heard that he was becoming Emperor, they were unhappy. When the Crusaders realized they weren’t going to be able to make Alexius emperor, (which meant that they wouldn’t get their money) they started a siege of Constantinople. The Crusaders took the city, robbed people of their belongings and stripped gold plates and sacraments from Cathedrals. Eventually, they murdered and raped civilians, and even burnt most of the city to the ground. 

Thousands of civilians were murdered and the Westerners put in a puppet government called the Latin Empire, which would rule for 50 years until the Byzantines took power again. After the First Crusade, the Holy Land switched sides multiple times. Notably, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem single-handley kept it for the Christians until his death in 1185. In 1213, Pope Innocent III ordered another Crusade, and proclaimed that this time the Crusader’s personal debts would be paid for by the Church. 

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (r. 1220-1250) arrived with a tremendous number of men to Egypt, where Crusaders took the port city of Damietta after a siege in 1219. They even tried to convert the Sultan to Christianity. In 1221 Muslims besieged Damietta, and made a deal with the Crusaders to leave Egypt in exchange for the true Cross, but when the Christians left the Muslims didn’t give them the Cross. 

This whole time, Emperor Frederick II had not been helping, so when he delayed again, the Pope excommunicated him. Yet, Frederick went to the Holy Land regardless, even though no one was assisting him due to his excommunication. Frederick then made a deal with the Muslims to give him Jerusalem, but leave it unfortified, so he could report to the Pope that he had “conquered” the city. Shortly after the bargain was made, the Muslims entered the undefended Jerusalem and massacred the Christian inhabitants. 

King Louis IX of France (r. 1226-1270) started a Crusade again in 1248 and took Damietta in 1249. The Crusaders had setbacks, though, and returned home in 1254. After the fall of Acre in 1291, the Crusades in the Holy Land largely ended. 

Most of the turbulent Crusades were unsuccessful and had a negative impact on Christian Europe. The Sack of Constantinople also had a long-term effect on the Byzantine Empire, which never fully recovered and fell in the 1400s. Although the Crusades mostly ended in the late 13th century after the Fall of Acre, there were Crusades in other locations after. 

In Paul’s epistles, he offered an account of cause and effect, and an integrated system of sovereignty, authority, laws, sanctions, and succession. Paul rejected some of the Mosaic Laws, and preached that Jews and Gentiles were equal and would both inherit the kingdom of heaven.

In Peter’s first epistle, he reminded all Christians of their inheritance reserved in heaven. Peter told people to submit to authorities, only if they weren’t forcing you to deny Christ. Peter also described spiritual progression as attaining faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness, and charity. Peter knew that his death was coming and prophesied his end. Warning about false prophets and teachers, Peter said that judgment for sinners was coming. 

In James’s epistle, he stated that temptations will test our faith, but faith will produce patience to help fight these temptations. He advised not to rely on wealth because it will not protect you. James also proclaimed that faith without works and repentance is dead, and that a man’s tongue is his worst enemy. 

The New Testament states many times that the Church will never be completely defeated, and to always have faith that God will prevail. It is also written that Christians will be persecuted for Christ’s sake and will be hated by all non-believers. 

There were five Christian patriarchates before the Schism: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Pope was the “first among equals,” but over the years he tried to grab more power for himself, and make Western Church dominate the East. As time went on, the West and the East grew apart and even had different languages and liturgies.

Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and seat of a patriarch, was the most influential seat in the East. The Patriarch of Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor became embroiled in a power struggle with the Pope of Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor. When Constantinople attempted to become an apostolic see, Rome tried to stop them, arguing that their only reason was political. In 857, a bishop named Ignatius and Saint Photious feuded over who should become patriarch. After the Pope announced that Ignatius was the rightful patriarch, Photious claimed the Pope was a heretic, citing the filioque.

Subsequently, Photious started an anti-Latin party and wanted to distance Constantinople from the West. In 1053, the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated by Rome after he had a disagreement with the West about the Eucharist and the Filioque. As tensions continued to build, other Eastern bishops sided with Cerularius, as well as the Byzantine Emperor. A year later, in 1054, the East split from the Roman Church. 

After the 10th Century Viking invasions, France split off from the Holy Roman Emperor and formed the French Kingdom. In France, the last Carolingian king died in 987 and was replaced by Hugh Capet, the first of the Capetian kings. In order to gain more control, the Capetians put their family members in positions of local power so they could control all of France. In the 12th Century, French kings Phillip I (r. 1068-1108) and Louis the Fat (r. 1108-1137) helped France become less controlled by local dukes and more centralized. King Phillip II Augustus (r. 1180-1223) crushed the Angevin Empire and defeated King John of England, making France the most dominant power in Europe. King Louis IX (r. 1226-1270) was a peacemaker throughout Europe and was canonized as a Saint. 

After the Great Schism, the Catholic Church began different practices than the East. The Catholics believed that some sins needed to be paid for with temporary punishments. This practice was known as indulgences, with some corrupt bishops and priests even forcing people to give them money for “the forgiveness of sins.” Nevertheless, most indulgences did not involve monetary payment, but instead had the person that sinned do some sort of penance for the Church.