Crusades (jan 1, 1095 – jan 1, 1291)

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- The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 1096 and 1291. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East.
- In November 1095, at the Council of Clermont in southern France, the Pope called on Western Christians to take up arms to aid the Byzantines and recapture the Holy Land from Muslim control. This marked the beginning of the Crusades.
- The first, second, third and fourth crusades were successful (most of the time) but the children's crusade, along with the fifth, sixth, seventh and last crusades were useless and didn't go all the way to Jerusalem.

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