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Nov 11, 1093
In 1093, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus sent an appeal to Robert, Count of Flanders
The emperor asked for help against the Muslim Turks. -
Period: Nov 11, 1093 to Nov 11, 1492
The Crusades **IGNORE THE MONTH AND DAY!**
IGNORE THE MONTH AND DAY! -
Nov 11, 1096
In 1096, between 50,000 & 60,000 knights became Crusaders
Few would return from the journey. Kings & the Church saw the Crusades as an opportunity to get rid of quarrelsome knights who fought each other. -
Nov 11, 1097
By early 1097, three armies of knights & people of all classes had gathered outside Constantinople
They were ill-prepared for their holy war. They didn't have a grand strategy. They didn't know anything about the geography, climate, or culture of the Holy Land. The nobles couldn't agree on a leader either, -
Jul 15, 1099
On July 15, 1099, they captured the city
The Crusaders had won a strip of land that stretched about 400 miles from Edessa in the North to Jerusalem in the South. -
Nov 11, 1100
In Spain, Muslims had controlled most of the country until the 1100s
The Reconquista was a long effort to drive the Muslims out of Spain. -
Nov 11, 1144
In 1144, Edessa was reconquered by the Turks
The second Crusade was organized to recapture the city. But its armies straggled home in defeat. -
Nov 11, 1187
In 1187, Europeans were shocked to learn Jerusalem itself had fallen to the Muslim leader Saladin
His own people considered him a most devout man. Even the Christians regarded him as honest & brave. He wished to chase the Crusaders back into their own territories. -
Nov 11, 1198
In 1198, the powerful Pope Innocent III appealed for still another Crusade to capture Jerusalem
Saladin promised the Muslims that unarmed Christian pilgrims could freely visit the city's holy places because Muslim still controlled Jerusalem, until further notice. -
Nov 11, 1200
In the 1200s, Crusades became increasingly common & unsuccessful
The religious spirit of the first Crusade faded, replaced by a search for personal gain. -
Nov 11, 1204
They ended up looting the city of Constantinople in 1204, ending the fourth Crusade
The knights who took part in this fourth Crusade became entangled in Italian & Byantine politics. -
Nov 11, 1212
The Children's Crusade took place in 1212
Thousands of kids set out for the Holy Land, armed with only the belief that God would give them Jerusalem. Many children died from the cold & from starvation on their march south to the Mediterranean. One group turned back & the rest drowned at sea or were sold into slavery. -
Oct 11, 1450
By the late 1400s, the Muslims held only the tiny kingdom of Granada
Granada fell to the Christian army of Ferdinand & Isabella, the spanish monarchs. -
Nov 11, 1460
Many Jews (& Muslims) converted to Christianity in the late 1400s
To unify their country under Christianity & to consolidate their power, Isabella & Ferdinand made use of the Inquisition. -
Nov 11, 1492
Eventually, in 1492, the monarchs expelled all practicing Jews & Muslims from Spain
Once they confessed of heresy, they were often burned at the stake.