Crusades: History, Perspectives, and Lasting Impacts
The Crusades: Origins and Early Interpretations
Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254) was the first to name the Crusades as such. He was the first to write a comprehensive history of the Crusades, labeling the events as ‘Crusades’.
Key tenets of the Crusades, according to Pope Innocent IV:
- They had to be initiated by the Pope in Rome.
- Participants were promised forgiveness for their sins, offering Christians an opportunity to enter Heaven.
The Crusades were presented as a defensive war against an aggressive Muslim threat.
- Defensive War: Justified.
- Aggressive War: Unjustified.
Christians believed they had a right to own Jerusalem because Jesus lived and died there, and it is a sacred site in Christianity.
The Pope argued that Christians had a right to take the Middle East.
Primogeniture, the custom where the oldest son inherits the bulk of the family’s property, left many younger sons with nothing. This encouraged participation in the Crusades.
Muslim Perspectives on the Crusades
Muslims have not written anything positive about the Crusades. They believe they were the innocent victims of Christian barbarism.
Christian Europeans are seen as the aggressors, completely unprovoked. The Crusades are considered a disaster for Islam.
From this point on, many Muslims distrusted Christians. Islamic culture adopted policies of isolation, separating themselves from the rest of the world due to this lack of trust.
The Crusades are viewed as the beginning of a thousand years of Christian aggression against Islam. Modern conflicts, such as the war in Iraq, are sometimes viewed through this historical lens.
Greek Historiography
Greeks view the Crusades negatively.
In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, Latin Venetian merchants, without plans to go to Jerusalem, attacked and took Constantinople for a long period.
By 1204, Venice was operating as an independent country with its own army. It directed its army to take over Constantinople, stealing many artifacts and transporting them to Venice.
Constantinople was the home of the Greeks. The Greeks feel that the Venetians stole everything of value. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks (Muslims) conquered Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire.
The Greeks say that the Fourth Crusade contributed to the destruction of their empire and culture. They also claim that Venetian merchants stole so much money that it was used to fund the Italian Renaissance.
Anti-Semitism and the Crusades
During the First Crusade, when Pope Urban II made the call to arms, there was widespread chaos.
Crusaders caused chaos on their way to Jerusalem, encountering Jewish communities and engaging in acts of genocide. They attempted to wipe out several Jewish communities.
Anti-Semitism became intertwined with the Crusades. This was the first organized attempt by Christians to kill large numbers of Jewish people.
In the German town of Worms, a large Jewish population had their synagogues destroyed. Historians argue that this was the first instance of what would later become the Holocaust.
A common justification used was the claim that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.
This was a significant early instance of large-scale, religiously-motivated violence against Jews.