The first Crusaders crossed
into Anatolia in 1097 and reached Jerusalem by the summer of 1099.
The fighting was fierce, but the unsuspecting Muslims were no match
for the bloodthirsty Crusaders, who killed not only fighting men,
but also women and children. The victorious Crusaders established
four colonies along the eastern Mediterranean including one in Jerusalem.
A second Crusade was launched
when the Muslims recaptured one of the Christian colonies. This
time the Muslims were prepared and defeated the Crusaders.
The Christians had recaptured
the Holy Lands by the end of the second Crusade, but a Muslim general
named Saladin
launched a jihad that managed to recapture Jerusalem. Jihad
is an Arabic word that means "struggle." Saladin
was neither an Arab nor a Turk. He was Kurdish.
The Kurds
live between the Turks and Arabs in the mountainous lands of northern
Iraq and eastern Turkey.
Saladin
recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, prompting the Christians to launch a
Third Crusade led by King Richard “the Lion-Hearted” of England.
The Christians won some battles in the Third Crusade, but Saladin
was able to hold Jerusalem for the Muslims. The two warriors
agreed to a truce that allowed the Muslims control the Holy Lands,
but Christians were free to visit their shrines.
The Muslims had recaptured
all of the Holy Lands by 1291, but the Crusades were a turning point
for Western Europe. The returning soldiers told fascinating
tales of far away lands; people became interested in other cultures
for the first time. The next two centuries would lead to exciting
advances in technology and the arts we now know as the Renaissance.
