Title: The Crusades: Consequences & Effects - World History Encyclopedia
Headings: The Crusades: Consequences & Effects
The Crusades: Consequences & Effects
Article
Middle East & Muslim World
The Spread of The Crusades
The Catholic Church
Byzantine Empire
Europe
Into the Modern Era
Advertisement
Bibliography
Translations
About the Author
Mark Cartwright
Support Our
Non-Profit Organization
Recommended Books
License
Advertisement

Content: the use of a religious historical precedent to justify colonialism, warfare and terrorism. Middle East & Muslim World
The immediate geopolitical results of the crusades was the recapture of Jerusalem on 15 July 1099 CE, but to ensure the Holy City stayed in Christian hands it was necessary that various western settlements were established in the Levant (collectively known as the Latin East, the Crusader States or Outremer). For their defence, a steady supply of new crusaders would be needed in the coming decades and military orders of professional knights were created there such as the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller. These, in turn, inspired the formation of chivalric orders like the Order of the Garter in England (founded 1348 CE) which advocated the benefits of crusading on their members. Remove Ads
Advertisement
Despite the militarised presence in the Holy Land, the continued recruitment drive in Europe, and increased involvement of kings and emperors, it proved impossible to hold on to the gains of the First Crusade and more campaigns were required to recapture such cities as Edessa and Jerusalem itself after its fall again in 1187 CE. There would be eight official crusades and several other unofficial ones throughout the 12th and 13th centuries CE, which all met with more failure than success, and in 1291 CE the Crusader States were absorbed into the Mamluk Sultanate. Travel became more common, initially in the form of pilgrimage to the Holy Land & there developed a thirst to read about such journeys which were widely published. The Muslim world had, prior to the crusades, already embarked on jihad - often translated as 'holy war ' but meaning, more accurately, a 'striving' to both defend and expand Islam and Islamic territories. Despite the religious significance of Jerusalem to Muslims, the coastal Levant area was only of minor economic and political importance to the caliphates of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. The Muslim world was itself divided into various Muslim sects and beset by political rivalries and competition between cities and regions.