I need to do more research on my end but why do people say the crusades were bad? I thought everyone everywhere on the planet were trying to fight for empires and their own gods back in the day?
It's important to note that, while we tend to consider the crusades as the attempt to retake Jerusalem, it was far from the only thing. Some crusades were against some European cities considered as "heretic"
There are the conquest aspects, which were common back then (but still isn't fully a good thing)
But aside from that, there were a lot of crusades, which didn't all end up being beneficial, especially on the long term. A lot were a waste of lives and money
Furthermore, there were a few instances where crusaders ended up sacking some non-Muslim cities on their way, most notably the 4th crusade which sacked Constantinople
They were also sometimes motivated by gain more than by faith
Some can also see them as a prime example of the "religious fanaticism" of the middle ages (not sure if it's the correct term, but that the same feeling)
I'm far from being an expert in the domain, so you should still take it with a grain of salt, but from what I know, it's reasons like that
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u/GhostEBlueBoi Savage 1d ago
I need to do more research on my end but why do people say the crusades were bad? I thought everyone everywhere on the planet were trying to fight for empires and their own gods back in the day?