Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

The "Crusades Student Panel," organized by the History Society of our university, took place on 23 May at 14:00 in the Block A 15 July Milli İrade Conference Hall. The program began with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem. The session chair, Research Assistant Necmettin Ayan from the History Department, briefly discussed the significance of the Crusades for the Middle Ages and the political and social consequences for the East and West.

The first speaker, Muhammed Emin Koçak, presented his paper titled "Anna Komnena and the First Crusade." The speaker began by talking about Princess Anna Komnena and her life, then discussed the importance of her work "Alexiad" for the First Crusade. Before diving into the Crusades, Koçak touched on the historical background of the word "Crusader" and its modern-day usage. Finally, he provided a historical background for the First Crusade, presenting the events chronologically and concluded his speech.

The second speaker, Yüksel Çakırca, in his paper titled "The Orthodox Church in the Crusades," started by addressing the division between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He summarized the experiences of the Orthodox community during the Crusades, their struggles with the Catholics, and pointed out that the main goal of the Crusades was to capture Constantinople. He ended his talk by discussing the conflict between the two religious fellows, referencing examples from the Bible.

The third speaker, Gülşen Demirci, presented her paper titled "Women in the Crusades." She began by discussing the perception of women in both the East and West before the Crusades. She touched on the political and social positions of women in Eastern and Western societies during the Crusades. She concluded her talk by providing information about the women affected by the wars conducted by modern-day Crusader states in the Middle East.

The fourth speaker, İzzet Gökhan Şimşek, presented his paper titled "East-West Interaction in the Crusades," where he discussed the cultural, commercial, and religious interactions between Eastern and Western societies throughout the Crusades.

The panel concluded with Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kankal presenting participation certificates to the attendees, Prof. Dr. Vedat Gürbüz gifting books to the participants, and a group photo.