The Roman Empire fell in A.D. 476. For almost six hundred years thereafter, Rome and Constantinople —the seats of the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity, respectively—vied with each other for dominance. Each wanted to become the...

The Crusades were a series of eight military campaigns between the years 1096 and 1270 in which Europeans attempted to wrest control of the Holy Land from the Muslims who ruled the Middle East. The Crusades failed to achieve their objective and cost...

military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th century, that were organized by Western Christians in response to centuries of Muslim wars of expansion. Their objectives were to check the spread of Islam, to retake control of the Holy Land, to conquer...

. The long series of military campaigns that aimed to expand the borders of Latin Christendom against international Islam and to defend Europe against residual paganism and resurgent heresy on the local scene. Drawing inspiration from earlier western...

Military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th century, that were organized by Western Christians in response to centuries of Muslim wars of expansion. Their objectives were to check the spread of Islam, to retake control of the Holy Land, to conquer...