G07: Islam - Social Studies: Events

Waves of opposition to the Roman Catholic church swept over Europe in the 13th century. The church established a tribunal called the Inquisition to try persons accused of being heretics, that is, of revolting against religious authority.

From 1096 until the end of the Middle Ages, Christian warriors from Europe undertook a series of military campaigns, or Crusades, designed to take back from the Muslims control of the Holy Land (in the region of Palestine). After centuries of wars of expansion, Muslim powers had conquered some two-thirds of the ancient Christian world, including Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia. Christian Crusading expeditions were also undertaken against Muslims in Spain, pagans in eastern Europe, and perceived enemies of the church in Christian Europe.