How Many Crusades Were There?: A Detailed Summary

  • Last Updated: February 28, 2026
  • Publisher: History Crunch
How Many Crusades Were There
'Siege of Acre' from French Manuscript. Depicts events from the Third Crusade.

Table of Contents

How many Crusades were there? Historians disagree on the exact number of Crusades but they began with the outbreak of the First Crusade in 1096 CE.  What followed was a series of further Crusades which altered history for people throughout both Europe and the Middle East. This article details the main nine Crusades.

There were a total of nine major Crusades between 1096 and 1272 CE. Each of these nine Crusades was launched by European Christians hoping to reclaim the Holy Land or defend Christian territories in the Middle East. In addition to the main nine, there were several smaller crusading efforts and related campaigns throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.

WHAT WERE THE CRUSADES?

The Crusades are one of the most significant events in the history of Europe and the Middle East.  They were a series of religious wars carried out by Christian crusaders from Europe during the timeframe of the Middle Ages.  Beginning in 1096 CE, the Crusades saw European knights and noblemen travel to the Middle East in an attempt to capture the Holy Land away from Muslim people that had controlled the region for the previous centuries.  The term crusade means ‘cross’.  Therefore, the Europeans that became crusaders viewed themselves as ‘taking up the cross’.  In fact, many of the crusaders wore crosses on their clothing and armor as they made their pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Crusades
Battle of Dorylaeum (1147), a battel from the Second Crusade. (Estoire d’Eracles)

HOW MANY CRUSADES WERE THERE?

Historians disagree on the exact number of Crusades but they began with the outbreak of the First Crusade in 1096 CE.  What followed was a series of further Crusades which altered history for people throughout both Europe and the Middle East.  Some historians combine several of the Crusades while others do not, and most historians agree that the first four Crusades were the main ones historically.  With that said, it is generally agreed that there were nine main Crusades which occurred over a period of two centuries.  More specifically, the First Crusade began in 1096 CE and the events of the Ninth Crusade, which was the last major event of the Crusades, occurred in 1303 CE.  As such, historians consider the Crusades to be a significant historical event because it played such an important role in both European and Middle Eastern history for over two centuries.

How Did the Crusades End
‘The Return of the Crusader’ by Karl Friedrich Lessing (1835)

NINE MAIN CRUSADES

Below is a list of each of the nine major Crusades.  Click on the links for each to read more detailed information about each individual Crusade.

First Crusade Map
First Crusade Map created by History Crunch
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Picture of Elias Beck

Elias Beck

I'm a passionate history and geography teacher with over 15 years of experience working with students in the middle and high school years. I have an Education Degree with a focus in World History. I have been writing articles for History Crunch since 2015 and love the challenge of creating historical content for young learners!
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