The impact of the crusades

The Crusades is considered as one of the most important historical events in the world witnessing a fight between two dominating religions of the world. The documentary “ The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross” narrates that history and how the two religion shaped up against each other in one of the longest and fieriest battle history of the world. One of the key impacts of the war was the obvious loss of life of millions of people on both sides and war continued to keep Europe and Middle East in turmoil for over two centuries. What is critical to note however, is the fact that it increased the influence of Catholic Church and further strengthened its influence on monarchs and kings? It was also because of this that the hold of aristocracy loosened and people started to become more empowered. It also increased the commerce and the trade between the countries as Crusaders had to pass through many countries before they reach Jerusalem. Especially the cities of Italy got biggest boost in terms of the benefits received due to trade and commerce.
Intellectual development during this period was another significant impact of crusades as people from Europe, for the first time, witnessed large cities, met with people having more knowledge and experience than them which ultimately contributed towards the intellectual development of West at that time. It was because of this that great travelers such as Marco Polo were able to make new voyages and find new countries through sea routes.