The Crusade to the East

Originally, ancient Rome was a republic, but after Caesar's death, his niece's son Octavian defeated Antony and Rabinda, becoming the carrier of Rome. This is not enough. Octavian prevented Caesar from making the same mistake and simply drove away those disobedient members of the Senate. The Roman Empire was established in this way.

The territory of Rome is so vast that the emperor cannot control it at all, so the emperor works too hard every day! In 286 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian had a lazy idea: to divide Rome into two parts, east and west, and establish a pair of emperors.

What do you mean? That is to say, from this time on, four emperors emerged in the Roman Empire. Now, do you know why there are four kings of different sizes in two sets of playing cards?

In theory, it is not impossible to continue like this, but the key is that if one of the emperors dies, who will take over his position, which will become a big problem. For this reason, the four emperors refused to compromise with each other and wanted to subdue each other. Don't mention how busy this day is.

In 324 AD, Emperor Constantine couldn't bear it anymore. He waved his hand and subdued several other emperors, completing the unification of Rome once again. Next, everyone should know that this day has not passed yet, and the territory is too large. Even if the emperor works day and night, he is too busy.

Therefore, in 395 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius I felt too tired. Before leaving, he divided Rome in half and handed it over to his two sons for rule. From then on, the Roman Empire was officially divided into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire also had a very interesting name: the Byzantine Empire.

With the division of Rome, faith also split.

We all know that Westerners believe in Christianity, but few people know that there are many branches of Christianity. There are three main branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism.

With the division of the Roman Empire into two, the beliefs of the two major families also underwent a qualitative change. No one obeyed anyone and considered themselves orthodox Romans, so Christianity split into Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy at this time.

Actually, you can tell from the name that Catholicism is in Western Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy is in Eastern Rome. After the split between the two factions, it will be very lively.

The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded itself as a Christian clique, thus accusing the Eastern Orthodox Church of its unethical practices and expelling its bishop (equivalent to an archbishop) from Christianity.

The Eastern Orthodox Church in Rome was also not convinced. We occupied Grand Constantinople (now Istanbul, Türkiye). Do you dare to say that we are not authentic? Therefore, they expelled many religious representatives of Catholicism from Christianity.

Thus, starting from 395 AD, the Roman Empire was divided into two and the struggle between the two factions never ceased.

How to say it? Do you think they really have differences in understanding of doctrine? Of course not! At that time, the Roman Empire belonged to a theocratic ruling group, and religion symbolized power.

So, only by separating oneself from the other can we know whose rule is more legal. No wonder, everything is for the sake of power. What kind of doctrinal dispute is pure nonsense.

A master once said that religion is embellishing 1% of lies with 99% of truth. This is not at all false. Doctrine is basically truth, but the purpose of the rulers behind it is a lie.

Secondly, as Muslim soldiers approached the city, the two major religions temporarily made peace.

To be honest, Catholics are still relatively new. Why? Due to bad luck in Western Rome, there was a group of impolite neighbors, namely Germans, next to the allocated territory.

As is well known, the Romans were civilized earlier, so everyone thought they were barbarians. So the Slavic, Germanic, and Celtic peoples of Northern Europe were referred to by the Romans as the three great barbarians.

Barbarians are barbarians. When the Western Romans were still in Ethiopia, their barbaric neighbors, the Germanic people, were already under tremendous pressure. In 476 AD, Western Rome was destroyed by the Germans!

Boy, this is definitely a shocking moment for the Christian world. Those Catholic gentlemen have no idea where to go: who am I? Where am I?

Finally, the Pope will fool. They appropriately accepted Germans and even made them believe in Catholicism. Good guy, experts are different. In their view, as long as the status of Catholicism is guaranteed, anyone can rule.

As a result, Catholicism barely managed to maintain its face after the fall of Western Rome, and continued to strengthen on the path of curved salvation, even determining the emperor's choice. Of course, at this time, Western Europe also entered a medieval period of constant warfare.

The Byzantine Empire's eastern Rome was relatively stable. For over a thousand years, people have been living very well, so during this period, the Eastern Orthodox Church has steadily developed and lived very well.

After 1054, both sides expelled each other's religious leaders and even threatened to die, but soon slapped each other in the face. Why? Because the Muslim group is coming!

In 1071 AD, the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine army and occupied most of their territory. The Byzantine Empire was overwhelmed. They immediately approached the Western Catholic Pope and requested their help.

The Pope was also startled, and then he calmed down and hid under the covers for a long time. It wasn't until then that he managed to stay calm and said, "What else can I say?"? It's over!

In 1096 AD, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy shook hands and made peace, jointly fighting against the Muslim community in the Islamic world, known as the Crusade.

Thirdly, there were approximately 9 Crusades to the East, lasting nearly 200 years.

Why is Catholicism so generous? Do we have to help the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church? In fact, the Pope has his own considerations.

Firstly, at that time, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church were at odds, and all Catholic churches in the Byzantine Empire were sealed off. This led to a complete rupture between the two sides. If we want to restart the church, we must shake hands and make peace.

Secondly, the Pope believes that this Crusade can be used to expand the influence of Catholicism on the East. After all, from the Pope's perspective, the capture of the brain far outweighs the capture of the body.

Furthermore, Islam has a significant influence in the East, and Muslims harass the Christian world for more than a day or two. So we can take this opportunity to clean up these Muslims.

After careful consideration, the Pope ultimately decided to embark on a Crusade with the aim of reclaiming the holy city of Jerusalem, which had been seized by Islam. Because soldiers wear cross symbols to show that they are devout Christians, this Crusade is historically referred to as the Crusade.

Phase 1: The First Crusade to the East, from 1096 to 1099.

Ordinary people are easily incited. This time, the Pope said a few words, which moved everyone to tears. They didn't care about anything and rushed towards the battlefield holding a cross sign.

The Byzantine Empire was in a state of confusion: what situation? Pope， Why are there so many mobs when you request support?

It is obvious that the combat effectiveness of ordinary people is too poor. In just one month, they were eliminated by the Seljuks (Turks).

Fortunately, a year later, the regular army arrived and defeated the Seljuks. In 1099, the regular Crusaders (the army of the Frankish Kingdom) invaded Jerusalem and achieved a complete victory.

During this time, there was another conflict between the two sides. Why? Because the Byzantine Empire only wanted to reclaim the territory of Asia Minor, they dared not place their hopes on Jerusalem. And he was worried that the Seljuks would counterattack, so he did not participate in the upcoming Crusade.

Afterwards, they established a series of small countries representing Catholicism on the east coast of the Mediterranean, with the most representative being the Kingdom of Jerusalem. I don't know, Muslim organizations are already planning revenge.

Phase 2: The Second, Third, and Fourth Crusades to the East, from 1147 to 1204.

After about 50 years, the Muslim revenge plan has been completed, and they are crazily attacking these Catholic countries on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

After a while, these people didn't even know how to fight. The Muslim groups basically crushed each other and completed the plan to recapture Jerusalem.

Those who escaped quickly ran to King Louis VII of France and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III to seek help.

And France and the Holy Roman Empire are also unequivocal. They quickly organized a group of troops to support them. As a result, the Seljuks waiting for them in Asia Minor were beaten to pieces. The Second Crusade was a disastrous defeat.

In 1187 AD, the Islamic leader Saladin of Egypt defeated the Catholic countries on the east coast of the Mediterranean, almost eliminating the local defenders and capturing Jerusalem.

Upon hearing this news, the people of Europe couldn't sit still. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, King Philip II of France, and King Richard I of England jointly organized the Third Crusade.

As a result, on the way, Frederick I (commonly known as Barbarossa) drowned in the Sarev River! Naturally, the German Crusaders had to go home to hold a funeral for their king.

The relationship between Philip II and Richard I was also not good. They argue all day long. In a fit of anger, Philip II turned back with his troops. This may be very troublesome. Only King Richard I of England remains.

Richard I defeated Saladin multiple times and regained some land, but was unable to capture Jerusalem. So the Third Crusade can only be said to be painless. But in this signed treaty, it is stipulated that Christians can also make pilgrimages and preach in Jerusalem, which is very important.

The Fourth Crusade was the most dramatic. Why? Because in 1202, Pope Innocent III dispatched crusades to conquer Muslim occupied Egypt.

As a result, the Crusaders actually started doing business with the Venetians halfway and attacked the city of Zara, which betrayed Venice. Good guy, the Pope was almost furious: he didn't listen, did he? I will expel all of you from the church.

The Crusaders themselves were foolish. When they came, they were still fine. Can't go back? So they simply cooperated with the Byzantine royal family Angus, conquered the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, and personally destroyed the Byzantine Empire.

It's really speechless. The Byzantine Empire, which the Turks had fought for so many years but could not conquer, was actually defeated by their own people. The Crusaders only established the Latin Empire here. The Turks spread out their hands: How is your crusade going?

The third stage: Five to nine expeditions, from 1217 to 1272.

In 1217, during the Fifth Crusade, the main target was Egypt. We didn't take the wrong path this time, but when we entered Cairo, the Muslim army cut off the path of the Crusaders with Nile water, and at the same time turned the tables and defeated the Crusaders.

In 128 AD, the Sixth Crusade was led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and aimed at the Holy City of Jerusalem. This march went very smoothly with almost no casualties, and Jerusalem was captured.

Of course, in 1244, Jerusalem was recaptured by the Turks again, even without any precaution.

The 7th and 8th Crusades were launched by King Louis IX of France. After the failure of the Seventh Crusade launched in 1248, Louis IX was even captured by others. Finally, a large ransom was paid to save his life.

In 1270, Louis IX seemed to have forgotten the shame of being captured and launched the Eighth Crusade to the East. As a result, Louis IX was killed by an infectious disease on the way! The army had to hastily retreat.

In 171, Prince Edward of England planned to save Louis IX, but he passed away before he arrived. His invasion was a Crusade, and this Crusade never came to fruition again.

After the last land stronghold of the Crusaders, Aka, was captured by Muslims in 1291, the Kingdom of Jerusalem established by Christianity on the east coast of the Mediterranean was completely declared extinct.

Summary: The Crusade and its impact on modern times.

In the second stage of the Crusade, Catholics once captured the gathering place of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Constantinople, so the conflict between the two sides remained unresolved. To this day, Western European countries that practice Catholicism and Eastern European countries that practice Eastern Orthodoxy still do not handle it.

The Crusades, which lasted for nearly 200 years, led to an increasing conflict between the Islamic and Christian worlds, until it could not be resolved. So the contradiction between Arab countries and European countries is irreconcilable.

But since the end of the Crusades, the Pope's ability to control the country gradually weakened, and kings rose one after another, replacing the patriarch's dominant position over the country. The gradual rise of secular forces laid a solid foundation for the Renaissance and religious reform many years later.