Big History 3rd Quarter Projects: Each student will choose a topic from the Big History DVD and complete a tri- fold illustrating the major themes of the video. Students will be graded on their originality, content, attention to detail and creativity. Students will give me there topics no later than Wednesday February 4. Crusades After briefly regaining control of the Mediterranean, the Eastern Roman Empire was reduced to the Balkans and Asia Minor. This smaller empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, was home to Europe's greatest center of commerce, Constantinople, and to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the empire's spiritual center. Meanwhile, a permanent schism developed with the Catholic Church in Rome. The Seljuk Turk invasion prompted the Byzantine emperor to turn to Europe for help. The result was a series of European-led military expeditions known as the Crusades. Amid horrible violence, crusading armies conquered Jerusalem and established crusader states. After Saladin's Muslim forces retook Jerusalem in 1187, several more Crusades proved unsuccessful. The Crusades led to Christian violence against Jews, might have increased trade with the Eastern world, and assisted the breakdown of feudalism.
| Today's Notes: How the Crusades Began:For centuries, Jerusalem had been governed by Muslims, but they tolerated Christian pilgrims because they helped the economy. Then, in the 1070s, Turks (who were also Muslim) conquered these holy lands and mistreated Christians before realizing how useful their good will (and money) could be. The Turks also threatened the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Alexius I asked the pope for assistance, and Urban II , seeing a way to harness the violent energy of Christian knights, made a speech calling for them to take back Jerusalem. Thousands responded, resulting in the First Crusade. Crusader Motivations:There were as many different reasons for crusading as there were crusaders, but the single most common reason was piety. To crusade was to go on pilgrimage, a holy journey of personal salvation. Whether that also meant giving up virtually everything and willingly facing death for God, bending to peer or family pressure, indulging blood lust without guilt, or seeking adventure or gold or personal glory depended entirely on who was doing the crusading. Who Went on Crusade:People from all walks of life, from peasants and laborers to kings and queens, answered the call. Women were encouraged to give money and stay out of the way, but some went on crusade anyway. When nobles crusaded, they often brought huge retinues, whose members may not necessarily have wanted to go along. At one time, scholars theorized that younger sons more frequently went crusading in search of estates of their own; however, crusading was an expensive business, and recent research indicates it was lords and elder sons who were more likely to crusade. Homework: Review notes and complete assignments on USAtestprep. |
| |