Crusades
Topic: Medieval Europe: Feudalism and the Three Orders · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "An Empire Across Three Continents"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Changing Traditions"
Meaning
The Crusades were a series of wars between 1095 and 1291. In them, Christian Europe tried to take back from Muslim rule the holy places linked with Jesus Christ, especially Jerusalem. The wars were called by the Pope and fought by European kings, nobles and knights. Besides the fighting, the Crusades strengthened trade and cultural links across the Mediterranean Sea. Merchants of Venice and Genoa, Italian cities that traded with Muslim states and Byzantium, gained from them.
Example
The First Crusade was proclaimed in 1095. The crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.