THE CRUSADES: POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Sarah Allen

OVERVIEW

The Crusades provided an opportunity for the Western Europeans to experience live outside of their own narrow sphere.

Most Muslims regarded the Westerners as uncouth and uncultured.

Crusaders definitely gained more from the Crusades than the Muslims did, due in large part to the fact that the Muslims already had a strong, efficient, structured economic and social system in place while the Westerners were only just discovering civilization.

POLITICAL IMPACT: CRUSADERS

The Crusades helped to break down feudal aristocracy by giving a certain import to the kings and the people.

Many wealthy landowners who went on the Crusades were never seen again, and often their estates and fortunes went to the Crown. This provided revenue for the central

government.

POLITICAL IMPACT: MUSLIMS

The Muslims did not view the Crusaders as particularly threatening, so much so that even as the Crusaders marched toward Jerusalem the Muslim princes continued to quarrel amongst themselves.

Eventually, in response to growing Western aggressions, one man – Salah-ud-Din (Saladin) – united the empire.

Under Saladin’s leadership, the Muslims quickly and easily drove the invaders out of Jerusalem.

Saladin’s empire collapsed shortly after his death in 1193, returning Arabia to its previous state of disarray.

SOCIAL IMPACT: CRUSADERS

Crusaders returned from the Holy land bearing radical new Muslim ideas and concepts.

Westerners mastered Arabic numbers and the decimal system. They benefited from the advances made by Arab and Persian

thinkers in science and mathematics. Muslim influences affected both the popular and elite cultures

of Western Europe. These included chess, chivalric ideals, troubadour ballads, dates, coffee,

and yogurt.

The reign of Saladin led to a brief period of truce between the two groups in which European Christians were allowed to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

SOCIAL IMPACT: MUSLIMS

The Muslims were briefly shaken by Western intrusion into the Holy Land.

However, the Crusaders had very little real impact on Muslim society.

Many Muslims viewed Westerners with scorn and disdain.

ECONOMIC IMPACT: CRUSADERS

New trading connections were established between Western Europe and Arabia.

Westerners borrowed many ideas from the Muslims, such as the famous damascene swords and techniques for building fortifications.

European demand for Arabian and Persian textiles was huge.

ECONOMIC IMPACT: MUSLIMS

The Muslims did not find much use in the Western Crusaders.

They did import some manufactured goods – such as glass and textiles – and raw materials from Western Europe.

Muslim economy experienced a brief flash of prosperity during the reign of Saladin and while the country combatted the Crusaders.

WORKS CITED

"Effects of the Crusades." middle-ages.org n. pag. Web. 28 Oct 2011.

<http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/effects-of-crusades.htm>. Stearns, Peter N. "The Impact of the Christian Crusades."

World

Civilizations: The Global Experience. 5. Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.

Print. Stearns, Peter N. "The West's Expansionist Impulse."

World Civilizations:

The Global Experience. 5. Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. Print.