Introduction
The Crusades of the XI-XV centuries became one of the defining events of the Middle Ages, both in Europe and the Middle East. Crusader campaigns have had significant impact wherever they occur, but have also pushed for change within the states that organized and fought them. Even as the crusades ended, their influence continued through literature and other cultural means.
The influence of the Crusades can be broadly summarized as follows:
- the increase in the presence of Christians in the Levant in the Middle Ages;
- development of military orders;
- polarization of East and West based on religious differences;
- the special application of religious goals to the conduct of war in the Levant, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic States;
- the increased prestige of popes and the intensification of the role of the Catholic Church in secular affairs;
- the deterioration of relations between the West and Byzantium led, ultimately, to its destruction;
- strengthening the power of the royal houses of Europe;
- the emergence of a stronger collective cultural identity in Europe;
- a surge of xenophobia and intolerance between Christians and Muslims, between Christians and Jews, heretics and pagans;
- the growth of international trade and exchange of ideas and technologies;
- increasing the power of such Italian states as Venice, Genoa and Pisa;
- the use of religious historical precedent to justify colonialism, war and terrorism.
Middle East and the Muslim world
The immediate geopolitical outcome of the Crusades was the return of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, but for the city to remain in Christian hands, various settlements had to be established in the Levant (collectively known as the Latin East, the Crusader states, or Utremer).
Their protection will require a constant supply of new crusaders and the creation of military orders of professional knights such as Knights Templar and Knights Hospitallers. This inspired the formation of orders of chivalry, such as the Order of the Garter in England (founded in 1348), which promoted the benefits of the Crusades to its members.
Despite the militarized presence in the Holy Land, continued recruitment in Europe and the growing involvement of kings and emperors, it proved impossible to hold onto the conquests of the First Crusade and it took more campaigns to reclaim cities such as Edessa and Jerusalem itself after its fall in 1187.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, there were eight official Crusades and a few more unofficial ones, but they all ended in failure rather than success.
In 1291, the Crusader states were absorbed by the Mamluk Sultanate.
The Muslim world began a jihad even before the Crusades - often translated as “holy war,” but more accurately means “striving” to defend and expand Islam and Islamic territories. Despite the religious importance of Jerusalem to Muslims, the coastal region of the Levant had only minor economic and political importance to the Caliphates of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia.
Expansion of the crusades
The crusader movement spread to Spain, where in the XI-XIII centuries the so-called reconquista was begun - the return of the lands of Spain from the Muslims.
Prussia and the Baltics (Northern Crusades), North Africa and Poland, among many other places, also became places of the emergence of crusader armies from the 12th to the 15th centuries, as the ideals of the crusaders, despite dubious military successes, continued to attract kings, soldiers and ordinary people in the West. …
Byzantine empire
The Crusades caused a break in Western Byzantine relations.
First, the Byzantines were terrified of the unruly groups of warriors wreaking havoc on their territory. Outbreaks of fighting between crusaders and Byzantine troops were common.
This soon only got worse when accusations that neither side was trying their best to defend the interests of the other.
The situation culminated in the shocking sack of Constantinople in 1204 CE. NS. during the Fourth Crusade.
Europe
The power of the royal houses of Europe and the centralization of government increased thanks to the increase in taxes, the acquisition of wealth in the Middle East and the imposition of tariffs on trade. The deaths of many nobles during the Crusades and the fact that many mortgaged their lands to the crown to pay for their campaigns and those of their followers also increased royalty.
The conquest of Muslim territories in southern Italy, Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula opened up access to new knowledge, the so-called "New Logic". There is a stronger sense that they are “Europeans”, that despite the differences between states, the peoples of Europe share a common identity and cultural heritage.
The other side of the coin was the rise of xenophobia. Religious intolerance manifested itself in many ways, but most brutally in pogroms against Jews (especially in Northern France and the Rhineland in 1096-1097 CE) and brutal attacks on pagans, schismatics and heretics throughout Europe.
Trade between East and West increased significantly. More exotic goods arrived in Europe than ever before, such as: spices (especially peppers and cinnamon), sugar, dates, pistachios, watermelons and lemons, cotton fabric, Persian rugs and oriental clothing.
The Italian states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa grew rich thanks to their control over the Middle East and Byzantine trade routes, which was in addition to the money they earned from transporting the Crusader armies. The Crusades likely accelerated the process of international trade across the Mediterranean.
You can read more about the Crusades here.
