The first crusade 1096-1109 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The first crusade 1096-1109 - Essay Example Visiting places that were thought to be sacred was a common practice upheld by early Christians. Of particular importance was the city of Jerusalem. Since the time of Emperor Constantine, pilgrimage to Jerusalem was highly embraced by most economically able Christians. According to Khalidi, this city was thought to be holy due to the fact that it was the place where most events surrounding Jesus’ nativity, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection took place (Khalidi 82). Therefore, for Christians, visiting Jerusalem was a blessing than just a mere experience. The city of Jerusalem was under the rule of the Saracen Caliphs, a Moslem Jihad group, since 638 AD. However, up to the tenth century, Christians could still be allowed to visit the Holy city. The caliphs encouraged the Jerusalem pilgrimage and made it one of the main sources of their revenue. At the dawn of the eleventh century, everything changed. A serious Muslim group comprising the Seljukian Turks from the ancient kingdom of Persia fought the Caliphs out of the region. Unaware of the change in power, about three thousand pilgrims to Jerusalem were caught unaware and persecuted. Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks in 1065 and all its holy and important places were destroyed (Al-Athar 109). This news was sadly received by Western Europe Christians. At the same period, the Normans had permanently settled in France and conquered England and the entire Roman Empire. The next step for them now was to conquer more kingdoms in order to satisfy their insatiable desire of expanding their territories. Therefore, their leaders began to strategize on how to conquer the entire Mediterranean region and take away Jerusalem from the hands of the Islamic Fatimids and the Seljuk Turks... This essay discusses that when the First Crusade broke out, most of the Islamic countries and the ruling powers of the time were disunited. They fought one another and they had been weakened by the time the crusade was launched. They could not combine their forces against the common western enemy. For instance, the Fatimids and the Seljuks attacked the Latin Christians separately. On the other hand, some cities under the control of Muslims had traitors who betrayed their fellow Muslims. A good example is Firouz who accepted a bribe to leave some gates of Antioch open for the enemy (Khalidi 363). The crusader armies were many in number. The army comprised of more than 35, 000 crusaders. Whenever this army was starving of hunger, good Samaritans came to their aid. For instance, Baldwin supplied them with enough food when they were planning to attack Antioch. Moreover, the revelations made by some of their priests encouraged the crusaders and gave them hope of victory against their oppo nents. The First Crusade is considered by many as the most successful of all the nine crusades. This is due to the fact that it enabled the West to set up a power base in the city of Jerusalem for the very first time since the collapse of the Roman Empire. The crusade was really advantageous in that apart from enhancing the Latin Christians’ grip on the Holy City-Jerusalem- it opened several international trade routes between Europe and the Middle East. The First Crusade led to the emergence of four new crusade states.

Critically examine the international expansion strategy for an Essay

Critically examine the international expansion strategy for an organisation of your own choice during a specific period of its e - Essay Example The clothing and accessories offered often depict young male and female models with aesthetic facial and body features in order to gain marketing interest in their target market of 18-35 year old buyers. This exclusive mentality positions them differently from main competition, such as the Gap and H&M, allowing them to retain considerably high market share among the competitive environment both in its home country of the U.S. and its new expansion locations internationally. This essay describes the current strategic management functions and principles at A&F related to their current, ongoing expansion strategy. A&F statistics and sales At the end of 2010, Abercrombie & Fitch operated 1,069 stores. These included 316 A&F stores, 502 Hollister Co. stores, and 181 Abercrombie stores dedicated to children and adolescent youths (euroinvestor.co.uk, 2011). The company has adopted many different strategies in an effort to gain more customer interest and improve market share. However, it has never lost focus on its core competencies and core products, which are often provocative and always exclusive fashions that are heavily branded with the Abercrombie & Fitch name and/or logo in order to help customers identify with their name and reputation. In previous years, from 2007 to 2009, A&F experienced considerable losses in profitability that came from a variety of factors, including economic downturns in the international economies and changing buyer behaviours. However, through aggressive advertising and downsizing of underperforming stores, Abercrombie & Fitch has managed to regain its competitive edge and just recently experienced a 7.6 percent increase in sales for the last quarter of 2010 (Stothard, 2011). Again, this is due to a strategic focus on remaining dedicated to the core brand philosophy of exclusivity, a series of short-term pricing reductions and the closing of non-performing stores internationally (especially in the United States where the economy has bee n poor). Strategic focus and intention In order to fully understand the international expansion strategy of Abercrombie & Fitch, it is necessary to identify with the concept of strategic management and leadership. â€Å"Strategic management is based on the belief that an organisation should continually monitor internal and external events so that timely changes can be made as needed† (Aluko, Odugbesan, Gbadamosi & Osuagwu, 2004, p.44). There is a need to be adaptable to change and be trend-focused so that their product offerings and values can shift along with changing environmental, economic and consumer behaviour trends related to retail buying. Strategic management, then, is a â€Å"continuous process of administering operations with an emphasis on overall corporate purpose and future opportunities† (Stone, 2010, p.S215). Abercrombie & Fitch is a very strategic-focused business that is always operationally-adaptable in the face of these conditions, however it never loses focus of its core mission and core competencies related to marketing and branding which are their most priority revenue-building strategies. Abercrombie & Fitch is currently closing underperforming stores in the United States and abroad, based on same-store sales and economic conditions in their current operating environment. However, these closings offer the