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The Crusades were a series of campaigns undertaken by several European monarchs in conjunction with the Papacy with a view to invading and capturing Palestine which was at that time under the control of various Muslim overlords. The First Crusade started in 1096 and was successful in capturing Jerusalem and establishing kingdoms in what is now Israel, Lebanon and Syria under the rule of various European soldiers of fortune. These kingdoms lasted until about 1300 when Acre, the last of the cities held by the Crusaders, was retaken by Muslim forces. During those 200 years there were in all nine different crusades, the last being in 1272.

Although spurred by religious rhetoric by the Papacy, the Crusades although ostensibly for religious goals in fact were a pretext for looting, violence and self-aggrandizement.

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13y ago

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