Introduction
Expansion and military conquest are activities synonymous with empires of the past. However, Europe did not limit these conflicts to political ideology since the popes had significant influence. Christianity and Islam were integral in shaping European culture through the Crusades and their subsequent consequences, as evidenced by the trade and expansion efforts experienced in that period.
Role of Religion in the Crusades
The Crusades were a series of wars initiated by Western European Christians to curb the growth and spread of Islam in Europe. These military expeditions occurred between 1095 and 1291, when religious figures such as popes had vast political influence (Madden et al., 2023). Religious idealism and the weakening of the Byzantine Empire heralded the push to retake the Holy Land, the Middle East, from Muslims. These ideals were motivated by pilgrimage and the imminence of the world’s end.
Pope Urban II promoted the First Crusade through a motivating speech. On November 27, 1095, the Pope called on all Christians in Europe to wage war against Muslims in an endeavor to reclaim the Holy Land (Madden et al., 2023). The church’s war cry of ‘God Wills It’ motivated European nobles to contribute to the cause. Christian doctrine and teachings also assured that Crusaders gave willingly and freely to the church.
Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties
The Abbasid Dynasty favored expansion through trade and diplomacy, whereas the Umayyad Dynasty expanded through military conquest. The Muslim armies of the Umayyad caliphate invaded parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe (Riyadi & Putra, 2022). However, the Abbasids invested in international trade and constructed dependable sea routes in Asia. Furthermore, they promoted arts, industry, and science, coupled with a strategically located city, Baghdad. Their missionary activities ensured the spread of diplomacy through their empire and reign.
Both dynasties had a policy of religious tolerance. However, the Umayyad dynasty slightly regressed in facilitating that outcome. The Umayyads favored old Arab families and Muslims over non-Arab Muslims and gave them preferential treatment regarding the law (Riyadi & Putra, 2022). However, the Abbasid dynasty sided with the non-Arab Muslims, dubbed mawali. This latter dynasty favored Persian bureaucracy over Arab aristocracy, which is evident in their decision to move the capital to Baghdad after their conquest of the Abbasid caliphate.
Significance of the Silk Roads
The Silk Roads is an ancient Eurasian road network that significantly linked China in the East to Rome in the West. Despite aiding the continent in flourishing trade and spanning over 4,000 miles, the network boosted the spread of diseases and epidemics (Carey, 2022). Notably, parasites such as fleas, transmitted along the roads, contributed to the spread of the plague, killing roughly 200 million individuals.
A popular theory of the 14th-century ‘Black Plague’ emergence rests on infected rodents, merchants, or traders transported across trade cities. The plague’s transmission was exceptionally effective due to minimal knowledge regarding the containment of sudden disease outbreaks. Fleeing was the most reliable preventative measure most people sought out, which only increased the spread of infections. The disease peaked between 1347 and 1351 CE, as civilizations and societies mixed along the trade routes and sought to expand their territories (Carey, 2022). Nonetheless, the Silk Roads facilitated the spread of fleas, parasites, and diseases.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Crusades were a series of military conquests between Muslims and Christians over the Holy Land. The church primarily used motivating speeches and religious idealism to rope in support from nobles and commoners. The Umayyad dynasty expanded primarily through military conquest, whereas the Abbasid caliphate depended on diplomacy. Despite the benefits the Silk Roads brought regarding trade, they also contributed to the spread of the Black Plague.
References
Carey, P. (2022). The origin of the Black Death was pinpointed to Silk Road in the mid-14th century. The National. Web.
Madden, T. F., Baldwin, M. W., & Dickson, G. (2023). The First Crusade and the establishment of the Latin states. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web.
Riyadi, A. S., & Putra, M. H. (2022). Dearabization of Islamic government during the Abbasid dynasty. Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript, 1(1), 53–68. Web.