History of the Crusades

Introduction
There were a series of military expeditions launched in the pursuit of religious goals. While the crusades were usually organized by the papacy, the military expeditions themselves were led by a mixture of nobles and monarchs, often lacking a formal leadership hierarchy. The crusades were started at the Council of Clermont where Pope Urban II called for the Christians in the west to defend their brethren in the east. This was framed as an armed pilgrimage and an act of penance through which one could earn salvation. Those who went on the crusade were said to have took the cross (sometimes literally with a cloth cross sown on their clothes) and the term crusade itself was derived from the word crucesignati which means "those signed by the cross".

Most of the crusading energy was directed toward the area known as the Holy Land, as Jerusalem was considered a sacred city. Many crusades were launched with the purpose of capturing Jerusalem from the Muslims. The first crusade succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in 1099 and establishing several independent political entities in the Levant called the Crusader States. These were the Kingdom of Jerusalem, of Antioch, County of Tripoli, and the County of Edessa. The crusaders' military presence in the region continued until the fall of Acre in 1291. There are generally accepted to be nine crusades to the Holy Land, but there were other crusades launched for religious reasons.

The Crusades

 * /The First Crusade/
 * /The Second Crusade/
 * /The Third Crusade/
 * /The Fourth Crusade/
 * /The Fifth Crusade/
 * /The Sixth Crusade/
 * /The Seventh Crusade/
 * /The Eighth Crusade/
 * /The Ninth Crusade/
 * /The Albigensian Crusade/
 * /The Northern Crusades/

quiz
{The Crusades were a series of military expeditions launched in the pursuit of ________ goals. - economic - territorial + religious - political
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. The primary motivation was not economic.
 * Incorrect. While territories were involved, the primary motivation was different.
 * Correct! The Crusades were primarily motivated by religious goals.
 * Incorrect. Politics played a role, but the primary motivation was religious.

{The crusades were usually organized by the ________, but the military expeditions were led by nobles and monarchs. - monarchs + papacy - knights - commoners
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. Monarchs were involved in leading, but not organizing.
 * Correct! The papacy usually organized the crusades.
 * Incorrect. Knights participated but did not usually organize the crusades.
 * Incorrect. Commoners did not organize the crusades.

{The crusades were started at the Council of ________ where Pope Urban II called for the Christians to defend their brethren in the east. - Rome + Clermont - Nicaea - Constantinople
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. It was not the Council of Rome.
 * Correct! The crusades were started at the Council of Clermont.
 * Incorrect. The Council of Nicaea had a different purpose.
 * Incorrect. It was not the Council of Constantinople.

{Those who went on the crusade were said to have took the ________. - sword + cross - shield - pilgrimage
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. While they did take weapons, this is not the symbolic term used.
 * Correct! They were said to have took the cross.
 * Incorrect. This is not the symbolic term used.
 * Incorrect. The crusade was framed as a pilgrimage, but they took the cross.

{The first crusade succeeded in capturing Jerusalem in ________. - 1055 + 1099 - 1123 - 1187
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. That's not the correct year.
 * Correct! The first crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099.
 * Incorrect. That's not the correct year.
 * Incorrect. Jerusalem was recaptured by the Muslims in 1187, not by the crusaders.

{The crusaders' military presence in the region continued until the fall of ________ in 1291. - Jerusalem + Acre - Antioch - Edessa
 * type="[]"}
 * Incorrect. Jerusalem fell earlier.
 * Correct! The crusaders' presence continued until the fall of Acre in 1291.
 * Incorrect. Antioch was one of the Crusader States, but it's not the answer here.
 * Incorrect. Edessa was one of the Crusader States, but it's not the answer here.