The Crusades - a sequence of religious wars authorized by the Roman Catholic Church in the period of 11th – 18th centuries. The major goal was to capture the Eastern Mediterranean and other regions from Islamic rule. The wars were conducted for a variation of motives including defeating paganism and heresy, fixing conflicts among rival Roman Catholic clusters, and for political and land gain. The Crusades had a deep influence on Western civilization, as well as on Islamic civilization: they opened the Mediterranean Sea once again to trade and travel for the Europeans (enabling Genoa and Venice to reach their economic peak); they reinforced the collective identity of the Roman Catholic Church under papal control; and they established a source and standards for recognitions of heroism, gallantry, and devotion that stimulated medieval romance, philosophy, and literature. The Crusades also strengthened the linking between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism and involved the mass murder of Jews in Europe as well as Islamic defenders of the regions attacked.