The “Crusades” (with a capital “C”) were a series of
military campaigns launched by the Christian countries of
western Europe in the late eleventh century. During these battles
tens of thousands of people went to war in the Middle
East. Their goal was to recapture the Holy Land, or Palestine,
from the Muslims and restore it to Christian control. The
focus of the Crusaders was the holy city of Jerusalem, now
part of the Jewish nation of Israel on the eastern shore of the
Mediterranean Sea and still a holy site to three religions: Judaism,
Islam, and Christianity. But the impact of the Crusades
was felt throughout that region of the world and in Europe.