Once upon a time there lived two little boys named Charles and Mike and they were both playing in the sand. " I love playing in the sand" Mike said "Me too" said Charles.

"Boys come inside for Lunch" Said Mikes mom, and inside they went but little did they know two other kids came and stole there spot in there sand pit. Once they came back they were infuriated. "Hey! get out of the sand pit" said Mike "NO we were here first" said the other kids.

So Mike and Charles went back inside to think. "I know how to get our spot back" said Mike "we chase them out our spot. "Yeah" said Charles that would work for sure". "I think I have some water guns we can use to chase them out of the sand pit" said Mike.

Just then Mike's mom comes in from the kitchen. "Whats that I here about chasing people out of the sand pit." she says "haven't you all every heard about the story of the Crusades

Well the crusades were a series of military campaigns during the middle ages where the Christian people of Europe tried to take back the holy land or Jerusalem from the Muslims. It all started when the Turks or Muslims conquered Jeruselum and mistreated the Christians and threatened the Byzantine Empire. So Emperor Alexis asked the Pope for help, and Urban II made a speech calling for a Crusade at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. 

In 1096 the Pope called the princes of Western Europe to take back Jerusalem, and the Crusaders were promised release from all sins. A group of 50,000 to 60,000 Europeans moved toward Jerusalem and retook lands that once belonged to the Christian Byzantine Empire. After this long siege the city of Antioch fell in the year 1098.

In 1099 the Crusaders were able to capture Jerusalem but of the cost of many massacred residents, including Christians, and they divided the city into four Christian states.

 In 1144 the Muslims Turks captured one of the Christian states and threatened the other three, and This resulted in the second Crusade which was led by the kings of France and Germany. However, their armies were defeated before they could reach Jerusalem. 

In 1187 Saladin the king of Egypt and Syria led a Muslim force against Jerusalem and re-conquered the city. Although the cities of Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch remained under control of the Christians and Richard III of England protected these cities. They also wanted to recapture Jerusalem and this time of fighting led to the third Crusade which was unsuccessful for both sides because the Christians never took back Jerusalem and the Muslims never took the three above names cities.