War :: essays research papers fc

The ground that was once the place of many crucifixions is once again being covered in blood. In Jerusalem, the year is 637AD, and the world is about to witness the beginning of its own corruption. Jerusalem is the most holy of all cities in the world; it is where the Christians believe Jesus was crucified then buried and the place where Muslims believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven in company of the angel Gabriel (Wilkins 97). This place of sanctity, important to all men who believe in a higher power, is the only place on Earth that will never hold peace. The city is being surrounded by a massive army of Arab descendants, an army of the Islam religion ready gain the city unofficially under Christian control. After a year of holding out, Sophronius, the Christian bishop of Jerusalem, is forced to surrender his city. The leader of the invading force, Caliph Umar, who held the title â€Å"Commander of the Faithful† is not there to take the city to destroy C hristianity but to save the city from total disregard of its holiness with Islam. This battle of just one year is the very beginning of what will soon be a 30-year war named the Crusades; however, in truth the Crusades will never truly end. â€Å"Glory be to Islam who took the city of Jerusalem,† or so they thought. The first Crusade began in 1076 as the Muslim Turks invaded the city and took over. The Turks shunned Christian pilgrims who visited the holy land, making a holy war between Christians and Muslims. From all over Europe great nobles, clergy, and peasants began preparing for the trip to fight for Jerusalem. Over the next 30 years, Christians and Muslims made a ping pong game out of Jerusalem. The whole Eastern Hemisphere was now involved in the long, overdrawn Crusades. It had long passed the point of being a political crusade to being the People’s Crusades (Child 16-44). War is the one thing that people try to prevent; however, every generation since the wri tten time of man, people have found themselves fighting for something they believe in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  War is a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between two or more political units; it is usually fought by a militia but can and has been fought by civilians (â€Å"War†). Sometimes a war can turn into total war; this involves everybody and everything; a war in which countries or nations use all of their resources to destroy another organized country’s or nation’s ability to engage in war.