Title: Why were the Crusades unsuccessful? - Quora
Headings: Why were the Crusades unsuccessful?
Why were the Crusades unsuccessful?
Anonymous

Content: The First Crusade was remarkably successful as they captured Jerusalem and it was returned to Christian control. This remained the case for some time, however over the next few centuries these gains were not only lost but reversed. In 1453 the Ottomans captured Constantinople, a significant Christian city, and swept into Eastern Europe. They remained there until the break-up of the empire after the First World War (1914-1918). So again, short-term, there was some success but long-term it was disastrous. When we consider the power of the papacy the picture is not much better. The power of Rome waxed and waned during the Medieval period, and while today the Pope has unrivalled power in the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation rent Western Christendom asunder. To this day both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Protestant churches are in schism with Rome. Personal Motivations
Individual crusaders went for a variety of reasons. Some left for material gain, such as Bohemond of Taranto.