Crusades were Christian military expeditions organised mainly to recapture Palestine durring the Middle Ages . Palestine, also called the Holy Land, was important to Christians because it was the region where Jesus Christ had lived . The crusaders, who came from Western Europe were expanding its economy and increasing its military forces .
Kings , nobles and thousands of knights, peasants, and towns people took part in the crusades . They had two stated goals , to gain permanent control of the Holy Land and to protect the Bysantine Empire . But many crusaders also fought to increase their power, territory, and riches . Large numbers of poor people joined the expeditions simply to escape their hard lives .
The crusaders won some battles , but their victories had no permanent effect. However , the crusades increased already existing contacts between the East and the West .The crusaders were originally called armed pilgrimates . How the crusades began .
In the 600’s, Arab Muslims conquered Palestine, and most of the new Arab rulers allowed the Christians to visit the Holy places. However when the Turks crushed the Byzantines, in 1071, and became Muslims they made it difficult for Christian pilgrims to reach these places .
In 1095, the Byzantine Emperor asked Urban 2, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church , for assistance to fight the Turks. He agreed, he wanted to defend Christianity against Muslims and to recover holy places. Urban 2 gave a sermon urging European Christians to recapture holy land from Muslims, thus thousand of people joined the cause.
A-Comrehension
1-Are these statements True or False ?
a- The crusades expeditions aimed mainly to gain territories
b-The crusaders were King, peasants, nobles ……etc
c-Christians pilgrims were not permited by Arab Muslims to visit sacred places
d- All the crusaders joined the expeditions to fight for Christianity
2-In which paragraph is it mentioned that the pope ordered the Christians to defend Christianity ?
4-What do the underlined words refer to in the text ?
5-Answer the following questions according to the text
a-Why was Palestine called the Holy Land ?
b-What did the crusaders take part in the expeditions for ?
c-When did the pope give his sermon ?
B-Text Exploration
1-Find in the text words that are synonyms to
Spreading – took part in
2-Connect each pair of sentences with one of the words given . Make any necessary change
As soon as – although –
*I took the book back to the library . I read it
*Summer was a great civilisation . It collapsed
3-Classify these words according to the pronunciation of their final "ed"
Placed – ruined – pushed – lasted
4-Fill in each gap with words from the list
Best – leaders – at – money
The Islamic ……..took care of scientists , and provided them with …………to look for the ……ways to enlighten people thoughts . Leaders themselves were good ……mathematics, physics and astronomy.
Part Two Written Expression
Choose one of the following topics
Topic One
In a well written paragraph explain what are the main reasons of collapse of great civilisations ?
Wars – Natural catastrophs – Diseases – Selfishness of rulers
Topic Two
What would you do to eradicate corruption if you were the President ?
Best of luck
merci 