Crusades Dbq

The First Crusade (1095-1099) had a successful outcome in which the crusaders gained entry to Jerusalem unlike the Second Crusade (1145-1149), where the crusaders didn’t get anywhere near the Holy Land. To an extent, I do believe the difference in the leadership of the two crusades did contribute to their different outcomes. However, I also believe that there were other factors which were more responsible for the outcome, such as the difference in motivation of both the leaders and the main crusading army. Both the crusades, had strong leaders and weak leaders, but it was their motivations that varied, and it was possibly this reason why their outcomes varied.

The leadership of The First Crusade was partly responsible for its success. From

Firstly the People's Crusades in 1096 was a failure due to lack of discipline amongst the crusaders this resulted in giving Kerbogha an impression that the later crusading army in 1096 would be as disorganised and therefore as easily beaten. Hence, Kerbogha’s response to the main crusaders was more delayed and lacked a united army, which increased the success of the First Crusade. For example in March 1098, after Baldwin's success in Edessa, instead of continuing on to Antioch to stop the siege by the crusaders, Kerbogha attempted to recapture Edessa first. This showed that the crusaders weren't a big enough threat to make stopping their siege of Antioch a priority. Another factor responsible for the success of the First Crusade was the desires of wealth by the Princes. Due to many of the princes looking to establish their own power, this became a common aim between them which ultimately led to the success of the crusade as wealth became the motivation behind them working together. For example, the siege of Antioch was a success due to the competition between Bohemond and Raymond for its possession meant they needed a united front for the siege to succeed in the first place. Indulgence was also responsible for the success of the First Crusade, as in 1095; Pope Urban II developed the first form of indulgence. In this form of indulgence it meant that the crusaders had to succeed in crusading and reach Jerusalem in order for them to gain access to heaven by having their sins cleared. For example six months after the capture of Antioch, Raymond and Bohemond was still fighting for possession of the city. However, the majority of the army had joined the crusade because of the indulgence idea wanted to get to Jerusalem and were tired of waiting. The fighting between the two princes was a huge stand still in the progress of the