State and Religion

Instruction:
Even if you know little else about Medieval history, you have likely heard of the Crusades, a series of major military struggles between the European kingdoms and the rising Islamic powers for the control over the Holy Land (modern-day Israel, and especially, Jerusalem). But were the Crusades entirely about religion? And what was the impact of the Crusades on Europe, the Byzantine World, and the Islamic World both in the short term and in the long term? This essay is an opportunity for you to consider the origins of the First Crusade and its subsequent development in more detail through the eyes of eye-witnesses and subsequent medieval historians.
Please select TWO sources from this collection of primary sources about the First Crusade: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook1k.asp#The%20First%20Crusade
Based on your sources and their chosen topics of focus, please write an essay considering 1-2 of the following questions:

1. What were the causes of the First Crusade? What was the role of Pope Urban II in causing the Crusade?
2. Who attacked the Jews living in Europe during this period, and why? How were these attacks connected to the Crusade?
3. According to the different historians, what were the aims and motivations of the Crusaders? Were their motivations entirely religious?
4. How do different historians present the events of the First Crusade? Do they see the events as praise-worthy or problematic, and why?
5. How do the European historians of the First Crusade describe their Muslim opponents?
   Writing Guidelines:
   • Your completed assignment should be 2-3 pages in length (500-750 words)
   • You must write in complete sentences and paragraphs. Bullet points or lists will not be accepted.
   • Your essay should have a clear introduction and thesis statement that provides your proposed answer to the question prompt; body paragraphs; and a conclusion.
   • Please cite your sources internally using parenthetical citations or footnotes, and include a complete bibliography at the end of your paper.
   • Please see the format guidelines contained in your syllabus. There are also links to formatting information for APA, MLA, Chicago Style, and Turbian.
   • Be original - All papers submitted in this class are reviewed via Turnitin.com, a proprietary software database that identifies unoriginal material in papers. Please review the syllabus statement regarding the penalty for plagiarism.
   • Refer to the GUIDELINES FOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT on the syllabus for additional writing assignment criteria. Please keep in mind, however, that where syllabus instructions seem to disagree with the instructions for this specific paper, please follow the instructions for this paper.
   • Submit your citations and bibliography within your paper. Everything should be saved and submitted in one document.
   File Submissions: Please submit your file as a .docx
   lease use the following guidelines for writing your essays:
6. Essays should be typed in 12-point font. Please use a simple, clean font such as Times New Roman or Palatino. Use 1" inch margins on all sides. Refer to the individual assignment directions (in the Dropbox tool) to determine the minimum length for each essay. The length may vary for each assignment.
7. Essays are to be written following the rules of correct grammar and spelling, both of which will be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the essay. Be sure to proofread your essays as grammar and spell checks typically do not catch words used in incorrect contexts.
8. Essays must be original and analytical and must be careful to include wellthought-out responses to the questions posed in the assignment. Make sure to address ALL parts of the question.
   o Introduction which does ALL of the following: states the purpose of the essay; frames the era by providing pertinent dates for the subject; provides a solid historical background moving from general statements about the subject to increasingly more specific ones; introduces the author of the document by providing some specific information important for better understanding why the author wrote what he or she did.
   o A thesis which specifically explains how the primary and/or secondary sources (as directed by the instructor) reflects the issues and developments of the historical period when it was produced.
   o A body of evidence, this is the main part of your essay and it is where you defend your thesis by referring to several major aspects of the primary and/or secondary sources, explaining how they reflect the concerns and issues of author in the context of the period when it was written. You rely on direct analysis of the primary and/or secondary source material to back up your assertions.
   o A conclusive summary that briefly reiterates your main points, but more important, suggests how the primary and/or secondary source points to later historical developments. How might it be a bridge to a later time in Greek history--do not just jump to the present and make a superficial remark about how everyone was better.
9. You must cite your sources in text and provide a complete bibliography at the end. REMEMBER: Any information or idea that is not your own MUST BE CITED.