The Events of the 4th Crusade, and Common Misconceptions About the Crusades

"What are some common misconceptions about the Crusades, and why are they incorrect?"


There are many misconceptions about the crusades, but I would like to focus on two for today, as I am short on time.

The first misconception that I would like to mention, is how the Crusades were done out of unprovoked aggression.  This is simply not the case once you consider how the Muslims had already invaded and conquered these Christian lands.  The Crusaders were actually attempting to regain control of them.

The second misconception that I would like to speak of is how the Crusades resulted in the resentment by some Muslims, which led to the 20th and 21st-century terrorist attacks.  In fact, the Crusades weren't really even thought of by Muslims as a big deal until far later.  The irony is that it seems that Westerners were actually the ones to make it into a big deal.  The Crusades were mostly failures and hence, past Muslims seem to have seen the Crusades as rather insignificant episodes in their history.

Please note that I am in no way trying to condone some of the horrific things which took place during the Crusades.  I am simply trying to bring to light the truths and put out the misconceptions.




"Describe the events of the fourth Crusade."


The events of the fourth Crusade didn't actually include much Crusading once it was launched.  The reason for this is that the Crusaders had become sidetracked by an ownership dispute over the throne of Constantinople.  They had gotten to know a man named Alexis who claimed to be the rightful holder of the throne, but that another had taken his place by unjust means.

Alexis told them that he would pay them great riches so that they could pay their bills back home if they were to help him.  Of course this seemed like a good deal to them considering that they would be helping out a man to get what he deserved, but they would also be able to obtain the money necessary to their monetary well-being away from the crusade.  Eventually Alexis gained his place on the throne, but he was having difficulty obtaining the money that he needed to repay the Crusaders.

In the end, the Crusaders basically waged a war on Constantinople, which caused countless destruction when they had sacked the fellow christian city.

As you can see, the Crusade was not what had been intended in the slightest.  I hope that my essay has been helpful, and please let me know what you think!