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To combat the Vikings and other invaders, many European rulers enlisted the aid of nobles under system known as feudalism. The nobles pledged their military assistance and their loyalty to the rulers in return for land and protection. The land a noble received was called a manor. Each manor was a self-sufficient estate, which included a manor house, pastures, fields, and a village. Most of those who lived in the manor were serfs, men and …

…by the series of wars known as the Crusades. Between 1096 and the late 1200s, waves of Christians crusaders fought Muslims for control of the Holy Land, an area of Southwest Asia sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Various groups of Muslims had held the Holy Land since the 600s. in 1071 the area fell to the Seljuk Turks, Muslims from Central Asia. Unlike earlier groups, the Turks prevented Christians from visiting the holy city of Jerusalem.