The Crusades: Christian and World Essay Example

beyond Hollywood and internet portrayals to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these conflicts have influenced modern civilization. By analyzing themes of religious animosity and the resulting hatred between faiths, the book offers valuable insights into the lasting impacts and consequences.

Smith's work is evident in the contemporary world as religious animosity continues to increase globally.

Critique of the Main Themes

The fact is that no one had a clear understanding or fully proven interpretation of the author's work, although by the 1950s, the general concept had gained popularity. Some of the criticized aspects of the work during that time include the following. Firstly, crusading was defined based on the goals of Jerusalem and as an opposition to Muslims' welfare. Therefore, only crusades directed towards the East were considered valid. Secondly, in examining the Levant's expedition, it becomes apparent that the Crusaders faced opponents who were considered superior based on their way of life.

The Crusades were primarily driven by economic factors rather than ideology. The recruitment of Crusaders was motivated by profit, and military orders focused on economic and political cooperation rather than religious objectives. The settlement in Levant can be seen as proto-colonialist and the first European expansion, even though there was no agreement on the preferred colonial model.

Strengths of the author’s arguments

Despite the diverse intentions among the Crusaders, the author effectively convinces everyone that their response to fashion changes. The author skillfully presents the emotions, ideas, and motivations of both women and men who took part in the crusades. Their unique writing style incorporates memory, memorialization, instincts, and underlying assumptions, which significantly shapes how young crusaders are perceived and enhances credibility. Moreover,

the author's argument gains strength from the current pan-Islamism scene inspired by crusaderism that has sparked a renewed public interest in this subject matter. However, some readers may struggle to fully engage with the author's reasoning since it may come across as escapist fiction rather than scientifically proven facts despite an interesting and comprehensive content within the book.

In his approach, Riley-Smith treats all participants and crusades impartially. Towards the end of the book section, he discusses the extraordinary and fatal twist to crusade historiography, questioning the survival of outdated images and ideas in modern times. Overall, Riley-Smith summarizes much of his work on the topic and demonstrates its relevance to the contemporary world. In conclusion, Jonathan Riley-Smith is a leading scholar of crusading and the author of various works on the subject.

His work is highly praised, as evidenced by the insights in this book.

Critiques of the author's arguments

The book raises concerns about the author's arguments. Firstly, it lacks a clear definition of what constitutes a crusade, portraying it solely as warfare against Muslims without acknowledging its wider significance. Furthermore, suggesting that crusaders are culturally inferior to Muslims is unethical and unsupported by evidence.

It would be wiser to view the military orders described in the book as orders from the church, considering that the crusades were primarily religious wars. In this context, the history discussed relates to religious order. The author's proposition is challenged by the current concerns regarding post-war violence, cold-war theories, and the pursuit of justice that fuel the debate on the resurrection of human-inspired ideas.

Bibliography

• Riley-Smith, Jonathan. 2014. The crusades: A history. Bloomsbury Publishing.