5th August 2003, 10:07 PM
Quote:Oh, yes, let's apologize for something our ancestors did eight hundred years ago. That seems to be the "thing" to do these days. If the Orthodox want to hold a grudge it's up to them, but considering the church of Constantinople has something like fifty elderly Hellenes for a congregation, I doubt they can raise much of a ruckus.
You mean Russia, Greece, Serbia, and other nations around there, right? That's not "fifty people"...
Oh, and sure its kind of silly to hold ancient grudges, but lots of groups still do... and to them its still relevant, so you can't just ignore it as stupid.
Quote:Apart from immediate repercussions, the crusades also succeeded in reintroducing the Greek ancients (which had been preserved by the Arabs) to Europe, and giving the Westerners a knack for spices and other shiny things, inspiring traveling missionaries and merchants ala Marco Polo to head east. Eventually, this would all lead to the Renaissance and conquest of the known world by Europe; why, do you ask? Because of the Ottomans.
Mostly true. But they were still a military and strategic failure -- even at their greatest extent they never really controlled the region well enough to be secure...