Renaissance Art.

Renaissance art, to this day, is the carriage of some renown works. Equppied with artists such as Donatello and Leonardo Da Vinci, it has inspired both artwork and artists. Also, art at this time had a very distinct style.

"The Renaissance patrons wanted art that showed joy in human beauty and life’s pleasures." (source)

Renaissance art was used to portray beauty and is known as life-like Medieval art. The artists at this time were also known to observe perspective. They noticed the different levels, plains, and things like that. When the artists would reflect that on to a canvas, it seems to give the pictures depth. This style was first started by an artist from Florence. His name was Giotto.
One other distinction in art of this time is the mannerisms of the characters painted. They were painted in odd or distinct poses. This caused that figure to be the entire center of the piece. Also, most pieces seemed to have a religious or spiritual aspect to them.
For this reason, churches were the main galleries for art pieces. The church used them to display characteristics such as emotion or passion. (source) Also, in churches, we see alot of Gothic style architecture. Large, grand cathedrals and buildings. They also had certain types of columns they'd use. They would also use pilasters.
We see some of these styles in paintings done today. Also, in modern architecture, some of these styles are recreated. All of these ideas are passed down through time and modified slightly to fit the time period. Even Renaissance art had it's own unique beginning, just as the style before it.

The First Crusade.

The First Crusade, one of the many, began on November 27, in the year 1095. This became ome of the many Crusades in the name of religion. This also started one of the most popular and widely misunderstood spiritual movements of all history.
Pope Urban II proclaimed this crusade through a document given to the church clergy and lay folk at the time. This took in a field at Clermont in Central France, and we don't exactly know what the pope said.

"There are no records of exactly what Urban said, but it seems he began with a general denouncement of the continual warfare which plagued the Europe of his day. He then described in lurid detail the attacks of the Turks upon the Christian Byzantine Empire, and begged the soldiers present to travel to the east to attack the Muslims, rather than their fellow Christians." (source)

Pope Urban wanted it the expedition to the Eastern region to be as military-like as possible.

"Pope Urban had wanted the expedition to the East to be a military one, undertaken by soldiers and controlled by clerics. But such was the appeal of his call for the liberation of the Eastern Church that soon tens of thousands of ordinary people were on the People's Crusade."
(same source)

There were many true and devoted Christians who were anxious to reclaim Jerusalem. In the name of their religion, they wanted all Muslims to leave their city. The Christians said that the Muslims were committing sins and they would be forgiven as a result of the Crusade. They also told the pope that if they were to be killed, their souls would automatically be sent to Heaven because they were fighting in the name of the Lord. (source)
The journey to the Eastern regions was a very difficult one. The Crusaders were unable to cross by sea, therefore, they were forced to cross by land. They fought through armies, battled weather, and even struggles with diseases. By the year 1097, about 10,000 people had gathered at Constantinople. They were ready for their journey into the Holy Land, Jerusalem, sparking the crusades to come.

Jihad.

One of the worlds most popular religions is Islam. Founded by Muhammad around 620 A.D., Islam contains ideas, rules and concepts different than most. These concepts include the hajj, the Hegira and jihad.
Jihad is literally defined as "struggle in the way of God". This word can sometimes be translated as "holy war". This principle basically says that Muslims are to fight against all people who use idolatry and do not worship Allah. Daniel Pipes wrote an article on jihad for New York Post saying, "It means the legal, compulsory, communal effort to expand the territories ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non-Muslims." (source)
The jihad grew out of the Arabic tradition of tribal rampages. Islamic followers would raid certain regions and countries in the name of Allah. These raids went on for over 100 years. It was finally stopped n Tours, France. They would raid these regions attempting convert anyone from another religion to convert to the Islamic religion.
Most Muslims believe that jihad is an everlasting war. They believe that it never ends. They may not be physically fighting for their religion, but they in a religious war to convert other religions to worshiping Allah. The jihad will continue until the end of existence, they believe.
Islam, being the number one religion in the world, is mainly this widespread because of jihad. They forced their ways and converted thousands upon thousands of people to the way of Allah. The jihad is not over, and I personally believe that as time goes on, the Islamic will only get pushed even more and become more widespread through the world.