THE CRUSADES
1095 - 1272

The Crusades (from the Latin word for cross) were a series of wars between European Christians and Muslims fighting for the Holy Land (Palestine, especially the city of Jerusalem.)

Regaining control over the Holy Land was not the only objective. Christians were also concerned by the speedy Islamic expansion in general.

Other than that, the history of the Crusades is one of the most terrific examples of hypocrisy. The Church tried to sell two centuries of massacre as God's Will.

The eight Crusades took place between the years 1095 - 1272:

1095 - 1099 First Crusade - Jerusalem recaptured (July 1099), four
                  Latin states established: Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch
                  and Tripoli. (Some say the First Crusade started in 1096,
                  instead of 1095.)
1144           Muslims reconquer Edessa
1147 - 1149 Second Crusade
1155           Carmelite Order established on Mt. Carmel in Palestine
1187           Muslims recapture Jerusalem and drive Crusaders out
                  of all but three cities
1189 - 1192 Third Crusade
                  July 1191 Richard I the Lionheart and his army take
                  Acre
                  Sept 7, 1191 Battle of Arsuf
1202 - 1204 Fourth Crusade - Looting of Constantinople
1209           Francis of Assisi establishes the Franciscan Order
1215           Domingo de Guzmán establishes the Dominican Order
1217 - 1221 Fifth Crusade
1228 - 1229 Sixth Crusade - Recapture of Jerusalem
1240           Jerusalem falls to the Muslims
1248 - 1254 Seventh Crusade
1270 - 1272 Eighth Crusade

Background
In 637 AD, Jerusalem was taken by the Muslims and slowly but surely it became obvious that Christians weren't very welcome anymore.

Parallel to this, the power and the influence of the papacy in Europe weakened. How could the church get back to power? 

War unites, or so figured Pope Urban II in 1095 and delivered a fiery speech at Clermont, France. Everyone was energized, packed their knapsacks, and off they went to slaughterville.

Participants
Godfrey of Bouillon was one of the leaders in the First Crusade.

One of the most cheerful Crusaders was Richard the Lionheart. He took part in the Third Crusade.

Louis IX was leader of the Seventh Crusade.

CRUSADES TRIVIA
Here is the timeline of the Crusades.

And here is the map

1097 Europe and the Mediterranean Lands
Click map to enlarge

This map shows the routes of the fourth crusade, the crusade of Frederick II and the crusade of Louis IX:

THE CRUSADES
Click map to enlarge