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[[Image:Crusader.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A returning [[Crusader]]]]
[[Image:Crusader.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A returning [[Crusader]]]]
'''The Crusades''' (1095-1291) were a series of wars conflicts fought between European Christians and [[Muslims]] to regain the [[Holy Land]]. They were the military responses made by Christians from western Europe to the pope's pleas to free the Holy Land from Islam. The '''First Crusade''' was a success and created up new Latin states in the Holy Land. Subsequent crusades were less successful except when they attacked Byzantium. Other medieval movements against heretics and infidels also were called crusaders, and they had permanent success. The crusades ended with the Islamic recapture of all the Holy Land in 1291, when the the last city controlled by crusaders, Acre, fell.
'''The Crusades''' (1095-1291) were a series of European Christian campaigns into the Middle East, fought during the middle ages. They were the military responses made by Christians from western Europe to the pope's pleas to re-capture the Holy Land from Islamic influence, leading to the common comparison between these campaigns and modern day Jihad. The '''First Crusade''' created new Latin states in the Holy Land. Subsequent crusades were less successful except when they attacked Byzantium. Other medieval movements against heretics and infidels were also called crusades. The crusades ended with the Islamic recapture of all the Holy Land in 1291, when the the last city controlled by crusaders, Acre, fell.
The crusades comprise a major chapter of [[Middle Ages|Medieval History]]. Extending over three centuries, they attracted every social class in western Europe. Kings and commoners, barons and bishops, knights and commoners—even teenagers—all participated in these expeditions to the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The motives of the crusaders were numerous: some sought riches; many sought adventure; most were moved by faith alone. Historians stress the central role of religious fervor, while mentioning as well the socio-economic factors crucial in enticing larger contingents. For example, crusaders often were fulfilling their feudal obligations. There were strong links between the papal reforms, the social necessity of violence and the exploitation of this inherent revivalistic imagination of the age of the Papacy.<ref> Douglas James, "Christians and the First Crusade," ''History Review,'' (Dec 2005), Issue 53</ref>
The crusades comprise a major chapter of [[Middle Ages|Medieval History]]. Extending over three centuries, they attracted every social class in western Europe. Kings and commoners, barons and bishops, knights and commoners—even teenagers—all participated in these expeditions to the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The motives of the crusaders were numerous: some sought riches; many sought adventure; most were moved by faith alone. Historians stress the central role of religious fervor, while mentioning as well the socio-economic factors crucial in enticing larger contingents. For example, crusaders often were fulfilling their feudal obligations. There were strong links between the papal reforms, the social necessity of violence and the exploitation of this inherent revivalistic imagination of the age of the Papacy.<ref> Douglas James, "Christians and the First Crusade," ''History Review,'' (Dec 2005), Issue 53</ref>