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Facing Islam While the Reconquista, the centuries long fight to reconquer the Iberian peninsula from the Arabo-Barbaresque Moors (who called it al-Andalus), fills all the criteria for crusades, it is not customary to call the resulting Catholic principalities there Crusader states. The term is usually reserved for the more aggressive (and ultimately unsuccessful) crusades: In the Levant The first four Crusader states were created in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia had its origins before the Crusades, but was granted the status of a kingdom by Pope Innocent III and later became semi-westernized by the (French) Lusignan dynasty. Cyprus During the Third Crusade, Crusaders founded the Kingdom of Cyprus. Richard I of England conquered Cyprus on the way to Holy Land. The island was made into a kingdom and given to the displaced King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan in 1192. It lasted until 1489, when the last queen sold it to Venice. In Greece During the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire was conquered and divided into four states: Minor Mediterranean fiefs Even though these are so small that they usually get forgotten there have been various other feudal entities (statehood is a rather blurred concept in European Feudalism) resulting from minor crusading against Islam in the Mediterranean, such as: Today The term is often applied to the State of Israel by prominent Muslim leaders in the Middle East. In doing so, they seek to create a historical lineage between Israel and the historic Christian states by depicting them as invading conquerors occupying Muslim lands. It is also suggested that, like the original crusader states, Israel is temporary and will be reconquered in the name of Islam. Zionism and Judaism are politically, religiously and sociologically separate from Christianity and often even considered opposed to Christianity, so this terminology must be considered as highlighting the origin of Israel in the actions of Western powers. While the historical Crusader states were motivated by religious concerns, the modern Crusader state is a political construct. Facing paganism In the Baltic region Baltic tribes in the Middle Ages at first remained staunchly heathen. The Popes however approved that several religious orders of Knights invade the regions of the pagan, Baltic-speaking tribe of the Old Prussians. The Livonian Order and the Teutonic Order subjugated the Old Prussians, the Lithuanians and other tribes inhabiting Estonia, Latvia and East Prussia. See the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights for a more detailed description. | ||||||||||
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