Quiz on The Crusades

Which city was the main target the First Crusade aimed to capture?

• Jerusalem ✓ (Correct answer)
• Bethlehem
• Athens
• Cairo

Source: Jerusalem, sacred to three faiths, was the burning objective of the First Crusade.

Which symbol did Crusaders sew onto their clothing as their badge?

• A crescent
• A cross ✓ (Correct answer)
• A star
• An eagle

Source: The very word "crusade" comes from the Latin for cross, worn as a fabric badge.

Which English king became famous for fighting in the Third Crusade?

• Henry VIII
• William the Conqueror
• Richard the Lionheart ✓ (Correct answer)
• King Arthur

Source: Richard I fought so fiercely on the Third Crusade he was nicknamed "the Lionheart."

Which Muslim leader famously recaptured Jerusalem in 1187?

• Genghis Khan
• Suleiman
• Attila
• Saladin ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Saladin's recapture of Jerusalem in 1187 stunned Europe and sparked the Third Crusade.

During which historical period did the major Crusades take place?

• The Middle Ages ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Renaissance
• Ancient Rome
• The Industrial era

Source: The great Crusades unfolded across the medieval centuries, roughly 1095 to 1291.

Which order of warrior monks was founded to protect Crusader pilgrims?

• The Jesuits
• The Knights Templar ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Samurai
• The Praetorian Guard

Source: These warrior-monks grew so rich they effectively pioneered early international banking.

Which sea did Crusaders usually cross by ship to reach the Holy Land?

• The Atlantic Ocean
• The Red Sea
• The Mediterranean Sea ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Black Sea

Source: Crusader fleets crossed the Mediterranean, sailing from Italian ports toward the Levant.

Which empire asked Western Europe for help, helping spark the First Crusade?

• The Roman Empire
• The Ottoman Empire
• The Mongol Empire
• The Byzantine Empire ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: A Byzantine emperor's request for mercenaries snowballed into a vast holy war.

How many major Crusades to the Holy Land are traditionally counted?

• Nine ✓ (Correct answer)
• Seven
• Five
• Three

Source: Historians traditionally count nine numbered Crusades to the Holy Land.

Which Italian city's fleet famously transported many Crusaders by sea?

• Florence
• Venice ✓ (Correct answer)
• Milan
• Naples

Source: Venice's mighty navy made it the prime launch point for Crusaders heading east.

Which 1187 battle crushed the Crusaders and opened the road to Jerusalem?

• The Battle of Hastings
• The Battle of Tours
• The Battle of Hattin ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Battle of Agincourt

Source: At Hattin, heat and thirst helped Saladin destroy the Crusader army in a single day.

The Fourth Crusade notoriously ended up sacking which Christian city?

• Antioch
• Rome
• Thessalonica
• Constantinople ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: In 1204 Crusaders sacked Christian Constantinople, a betrayal that doomed Byzantium.

Which Latin battle cry is most associated with the Crusaders?

• Deus vult ✓ (Correct answer)
• Carpe diem
• Veni vidi vici
• Pax Romana

Source: "Deus vult" — "God wills it" — became the rallying cry of the Crusaders.

Which Holy Roman Emperor drowned in a river while leading the Third Crusade?

• Charlemagne
• Frederick Barbarossa ✓ (Correct answer)
• Otto the Great
• Maximilian I

Source: Barbarossa drowned crossing a river in 1190, and his leaderless army fell apart.

Which famous Crusader fortress in Syria still stands as a great castle today?

• The Alhambra
• Neuschwanstein
• Krak des Chevaliers ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Tower of London

Source: Krak des Chevaliers in Syria is one of the best-preserved Crusader castles on Earth.

Which crusading military order later became known as the Knights of Malta?

• The Teutonic Knights
• The Order of Santiago
• The Order of Calatrava
• The Knights Hospitaller ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: The Hospitallers outlived the Crusades and later ruled Malta as the Knights of Malta.

Which Crusade was led by King Louis IX and ended with his capture in Egypt?

• The Seventh Crusade ✓ (Correct answer)
• The Third Crusade
• The First Crusade
• The Ninth Crusade

Source: Louis IX was captured and ransomed in Egypt, yet was later canonized as a saint.

Which pope launched the First Crusade with a famous 1095 sermon?

• Gregory VII
• Urban II ✓ (Correct answer)
• Innocent III
• Clement V

Source: Urban II's 1095 sermon at Clermont promised heaven to those who took the cross.

The fall of which port in 1291 marked the end of major Crusader rule?

• Tripoli
• Tyre
• Acre ✓ (Correct answer)
• Jaffa

Source: Acre's fall in 1291 ended nearly two centuries of Crusader rule in the Holy Land.

Which preacher led the disorganized People's Crusade ahead of the main army?

• Bernard of Clairvaux
• Godfrey of Bouillon
• Bohemond of Taranto
• Peter the Hermit ✓ (Correct answer)

Source: Peter the Hermit's ragtag People's Crusade marched east and was quickly wiped out.