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Christian knights waged a religious war against the Muslims in Jerusalem in an attempt to reclaim the Holy Land.
The Crusades formed an important part of the transformation of European society in the 12th and 13th centuries. They were part of the expansion of Europe and laid the foundation for the Age of Discovery. The Crusades also introduced new ideas and goods to Europe.
By the late 11th century the population of Europe had grown significantly. Over the next two centuries large numbers of people would need to find more living space. They found this in Europe and in the Middle East. The Crusades opened up trade contact with the East, and new foods and textiles began to appear in the markets and fairs of Europe. The new products included spices, cane sugar, buckwheat, rice, apricots, watermelons, oranges, limes, lemons, cotton, damask, satin, velvet, and dyestuffs. Europeans also learned the art of papermaking from Muslims.
The Crusades introduced western Europe to the great civilizations of the Islamic and Byzantine worlds. The reconquest of Spain helped introduce Western Christians to Arabic science and philosophy. Crusades to the East exposed Europeans to the great cities and culture of Islam and to new forms of castle building, and contact with the Byzantine Empire provided access to ancient Greek learning. The Fourth Crusade, however, also seriously worsened relations between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
The Crusades ultimately failed to regain the Holy Land, but they succeeded in creating new religious orders and shaping religious practices in Europe. They also prepared the way for a later wave of European expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries and the European discovery of the New World.
