[ItalianStereotype]

Chimp-you are wrong when you say that most Europeans didn't give a shit about the Holy Land. the Holy Land was the sole focus of more than a majority of the Crusaders, they weren't involved for economic gain or the glory of their king.

the pope united the nations in the Crusades partially out of a need to protect himself. the only real state in Europe was the Germanic empire and that was a direct threat to the continued existence of the Papal seat, at least as an independent source of authority. also, by "free-for-all" and "general fuck up" do you mean the Christian states that were established in the Holy Lands that would last until the 14th century?

also, the Byzantine Empire was a mockery of its former power. they couldn't have held a single Muslim back if they had wanted to.

FS-while the Muslims couldn't have kept up their invasions with the size of their forces, it is interesting to note that the Mongols from the east indentified rather closely with Muslims, many of their "states" like the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate even going so far as to declare Islam their national religion.

and you are right about the Crusades not setting the Muslims back. a quote that I rather like comes from Mehmed II after the Battle of Lepanto and it goes something like "at Lepanto, the Christians shaved my beard....with time, it will grow back."

edit-I'm pretty sure I put the wrong sultan, but at 3:15 in the morning I don't care about dead Turkish men.