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Crusades
Christianity
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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Date:
- 1095 - 1571
- Participants:
- Christianity Islam
- Context:
- Council of Clermont
Top Questions
How many Crusades were there, and when did they take place?
What was the purpose of the Crusades?
Who were the leaders of the Crusades?
Were the Crusades successful?
Were there lasting results from the Crusades?
Crusades, military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th century, that were organized by western European Christians in response to centuries of Muslim wars of expansion. Their objectives were to check the spread of Islam, to retake control of the Holy Land in the eastern Mediterranean, to conquer pagan areas, and to recapture formerly Christian territories; they were seen by many of their participants as a means of redemption and expiation for sins. Between 1095, when the First Crusade was launched, and 1291, when the Latin Christians were finally expelled from their kingdom in Syria, there were numerous expeditions to the ...(100 of 20434 words)