The Crusades have been hailed as the driving force that brought Western Europe out of the Middle Ages—and condemned as the beginning of European imperialism in the Muslim Near East. But how are they best understood?

This course follows the causes, events, and effects of one of history’s most protracted periods of conflict. It examines the purposes and outcomes of the eight "canonical" Crusades that were called to retake the Holy Land for Christendom. You will study some of history’s most colorful and renowned figures, including Eleanor of Aquitane, Saladin, and Richard the Lion-hearted.

You will see how the Byzantine Empire collapsed, how Western Europe began its rise to global power, and how the Middle East became predominantly Muslim.