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North Africa, Sicily, and Egypt; established Cairo.
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The Crusaders were able to conquer Nicaea, Edessa, Antioch, and Jerusalem. These acquisitions gave them control over present-day Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
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The Crusades began in November 1095, after the Byzantian Empire asked the Pope for assistance in defeating the relentless Seljuk Turk Army. Desiring to end the Muslim reign of the Holy Lands, the Pope agreed and a Christian Army was formed (Crusades, 2019). Image Source: https://www.ancient.eu/image/9023/map-of-the-first-crusade-routes/
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The Second Crusade was a major failure on the part of the Crusaders. They were unable to conquer Anatolia, Damascus, or Jerusalem due to substantial Muslim forces. A few years later, Cairo was seized by the Muslim leader, Nur al-Din, after several unsuccessful attempts by the Crusaders. Several years later, the Muslims conquered the Christian Army in Hattin (present-day Israel) (Crusades, 2019). This crushing defeat prompted the Third Crusade by French and English Kings.
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Ruled Egypt after overtaking the Fatimids.
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The English Army conquered the area of Saladin (present-day Palestine) which led to a treaty to re-establish the Kingdom of Jerusalem, however, the actual city of Jerusalem, reportedly, remained under Muslim rule (Crusades, 2019).
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The goal of the Fourth Crusade had initially been to conquer the Muslim controlled city of Jerusalem, however, after political unrest, the Crusaders decided to conquer the lands of Constantinople. Although the Crusaders were successful and amassed enormous wealth, this conquest would inadvertently lead to Muslim control of the Byzantine Empire in the future (Crusades, 2019).
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By this time, the Crusades had reportedly lost a significant amount of support and fervor. Egypt was attacked by Crusader forces, however, they were unsuccessful and the area remained under Muslim control (Crusades, 2019).
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Control of Jerusalem was established via a peace treaty, however, Muslim's took control of the area shortly after the treaty expired and reportedly destroyed many Christian sites and murdered thousands of Christian followers (Crusades, 2019). This prompted the Pope to call for the Seventh Crusade.
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The Seventh Crusade, led by the French, was a completely failed attempt to gain control of Egypt and Jerusalem (Crusades, 2019). Christian Armies were desecrated, with losses estimated in the millions.
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The Eighth, and final, Crusade was prompted by the destruction of Antioch by the Mamluks - a powerful Islamic Army formed in Egypt. The Crusaders were unsuccessful in their attempts to remain in power; this was the last major battle of the Crusaders (Crusades, 2019).
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The Mamluks conquered the last remaining Crusader area, Acre, in 1291 ultimately putting an end to the Crusades (Crusades, 2019).
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