Although the Crusades caused great material losses to eastern and western European countries, they had a long-term impact on European civilization, not just finding an outlet for the civil war in the Christian kingdom of Europe. The Crusade made the European continent embark on the world road and made Europeans aware of the broader external world. The veterans saw what they would never see in their own villages, and the stories they brought back ignited the spark of European creation.
From the 12 century, that is, after the first Crusade, literary poetry in the form of memoirs and songs flourished. After the silence of the dark ages in the Middle Ages, the development and spread of the Crusader epic was called "/kloc-the revival of the 0/2nd century" by some scholars.
Many people have never been back to Europe, especially those who have no chance to inherit land in Europe and are not the eldest son. Those who stayed established military, cultural and commercial outposts in the Holy Land. The fortresses they built after the first crusade were often transplanted from the feudal system in Europe. However, with the passage of time, the contact with many libraries in the Arab world has opened up a new world for closed scholars in Europe, and they have gradually seen the rich ancient Greek classics preserved in Arabic for centuries. Economic and cultural exchanges are accompanied by violent interaction. To some extent, the positive role of the Crusades in spreading knowledge exceeded its negative impact.
The Crusades also merged European travelers and businessmen with developing countries. The growing demand for luxury goods in the Middle East means that Europe must exchange its own goods, thus promoting the development of European wool and textile industry. The Crusades and the end of the Latin Kingdom in the Middle East meant that it was more difficult to obtain Asian trade goods, but the demand did not decrease. Some historians speculate that the closure of the Middle East to European businessmen in the15th century accelerated the pace of maritime exploration and eventually led to the discovery of the new continent.
Akbar Ahmed, director of the Center for Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, said: "The Crusades created a historical memory that we can't get rid of, a memory that Europe was attacked for a long time." Its influence is far-reaching: for the Muslim civilization, which was probably the most powerful and dynamic in the world at that time, the Crusade and its destruction hit the Islamic world and shook the confidence of Muslims; For Europe, the Crusade was a starting point, which pushed Europe from a dark and isolated era to an open modern world.
For centuries, going to the holy land to worship has been the most common activity of European Christians. Although important religious centers are in Europe, many important holy places are in Palestine. The rise of Seljuk Turks has greatly increased the danger of going to Jerusalem and other Middle East regions. Turks are not good for non-Muslims, and they also end the peaceful relationship between Arabs and Christians. At the same time, Turks occupied the precious land of Asia Minor, which brought great pressure to Byzantium. 1095, in response to the Byzantine emperor's request for assistance, the Pope called a crusade composed of Christian fighters in an attempt to recapture Palestine from Muslims.
The recruitment of Crusaders aroused the enthusiastic response of European knights. On the one hand, this is out of their own strong beliefs. On the other hand, the Pope also promised that as long as he died for jihad, he would get the reward of going to heaven. In addition, another incentive is the opportunity to seize land and wealth overseas, and the profit is much stronger than that of competing with relatives in hometown or nearby areas.
By 1097, an army of 30,000 people, including pilgrims and religious believers, had crossed from Constantinople to Asia Minor. Although the leaders have been fighting and the commitment between the Crusaders and Byzantine supporters has broken down, the Crusaders are still stumbling forward. In this process, the Turks were only invaded to a small extent. Frank's heavy knights and infantry had no experience in fighting Arabian light cavalry and Gong Bing, but their endurance and physical strength enabled them to win a series of completely successful battles. Antioch was occupied by internal rebellion in 1098, and Jerusalem fell in 1099 because the defenders were unable to resist the attack. Christians often slaughter residents regardless of age, belief and sex after victory, so their reputation is very bad. Although many Crusaders returned to their homes after the war, some powerful legions remained to establish feudal kingdoms similar to those in Europe.
The crusader rulers in Palestine lagged far behind the Muslim population they tried to control, so they controlled Muslims by building castles and hiring mercenaries. However, Frank's culture and religion have won the favor of the residents in this area. The Crusaders set out from their safe castle base to attack and intercept the invading Arabs. For more than a hundred years, both the enemy and ourselves have been fighting typical guerrilla warfare. Although Frank's knights are very strong, they move slowly, while Arabs can't resist the impact of these heavy cavalry, but they can surround them with light cavalry, making their troops lose their fighting capacity, so they can ambush them in the desert. Although the kingdom established by the Crusaders controlled the coastal areas, there was no shortage of materials and reinforcements, but regular invasions and people's dissatisfaction showed their economic failure.
A fighting group composed of Christian monks with fighting ability, aiming at fighting for the holy land. The members of the Knights Templar and the Ambulance Corps are mainly Franks, while the members of the Teutonic Order are Germans. Although these crusaders are brave and decisive, their numbers are never enough to maintain regional stability.
Some Crusader kingdoms existed for some time, because they learned to negotiate, compromise and provoke different Arab nations to kill each other. However, the emergence of a great Arab leader unified all Muslim ethnic groups. This leader became Saladin in Egypt and Sultan in Syria in 1 174. 1 187, defeated the crusaders in the desert and occupied Jerusalem again.
In another century, with only a rare short-term success, many Europeans vowed to regain control of the holy land and Jerusalem. As many as eight or more Crusades, most of them can only be defeated by counterattacks if they make some progress in coastal areas and inland areas. The fourth Crusade didn't even reach Palestine, but under the leadership of the Governor Venis, it plundered Constantinople and dealt a merciless blow to Byzantium. The most tragic crusade was the children's crusade launched in 12 12. Thousands of European children came to Alexandria, Egypt, where they were sold into slavery.
The Crusaders left behind not only the new hostility between Christians and Muslims and the deterioration of feudal system, but also the exposure of new culture. In addition, because many lords went bankrupt one after another and left the land to the king after their death, the feudal system declined, and many serfs never came back after becoming crusaders. With the eastward expedition, new words were added to European languages, such as cotton, muslin, sofa bed, sofa bed and market. Europeans also brought back many novel textiles, food and spices. The demand for these fresh goods has accelerated trade activities, and the commercial city-states of Italy (especially Genoa and Venice) have also developed. This demand has promoted the era of great discovery since14th century. The gold and silver treasures brought back by the Crusaders increased the local money supply and greatly promoted economic growth.