According to my research there were 8 crusades in total. The first 4 were principal Crusades. Where as the last 4 were referred to as minor crusades<span />
Due to strong rulers in different countries in Europe, Italy had to develop strong defenses and had to also be strong country itself or perish and be anhiliated by other strong rulers. They partially did this by becoming a state of trade that was valuable to anyone who traded with them.
