Historiographical Essay – The First Crusade
At the end of the 11th century, Western Europe had emerged as a great power, not yet as strong as the Byzantine Empire or the Islamic Empire of the Middle East and North Africa, however, it had substantial growth in political and religious influence during the Middle Ages. At this time the Byzantine Empire was under constant attack from the Seljuk Turks and many losses had lead to a significant decrease in the Byzantine territories. After the wars with the Turks, years of civil war and chaos followed until Alexius Comnenus, a general in the Byzantine army seized the throne in 1081 and took control of what was left of the Byzantine Empire. On November 27, 1095, in Clermont, France, Pope Urban II
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It consisted of five separate forces, each with its own nationality and leader. Hugh of Vernandois, from France, Godfrey de Bouillon from Germany, Bohemond of Taranto, Raymond of Toulouse, and Robert of Flanders were the leaders of the five crusading armies. They were led by Bishop Adamar, who was assigned by the Pope to lead the crusade. However, Godfrey, who was in possession of the largest army, is often considered the true leader and force behind the first crusade. Leaving their homes either by land or sea, the five forces arrived in Byzantine. The crusaders had expected support from the Byzantine leader, Alexius Comneus, however, because of the previous “People’s Crusade,” there was an attitude of great distrust. When the crusading army arrived expecting assistance with food and supplies they were met with suspicion for their motives. Comneus eventually agreed to assist the crusaders, however in return for their assistance they had to pledge that any lands that were captured originally owned by the Byzantine empire, would be returned to them (Madden, …show more content…
The intentions were to recruit young men and nobles to fight in the name of the church, but as all previous pilgrimages had been open to anyone of any status, this was not how things went. Among the populous of Europe, there were certain monks who claimed to be under the inspiration of god and gathered the common people together to join the crusade. These groups consisted of some trained low ranking knights, children, women, the elderly and the ill. The most famous group was led by Peter the Hermit, who was a reclusive monk who claimed he was compelled by the influence of god (Krey,
The Crusades were a number of military expeditions by Europeans of the Christian faith attempting to recover the Holy Land, Jerusalem, which was then controlled by the powerful Muslim Empire. In his book People of The First Crusade, Michael Foss an independent historian tells the story of the first Crusade in vivid detail illustrating the motives behind this historic event, and what had really occurred towards the end of the eleventh century. The Christian lands of Western Europe were slowly deteriorating from invasions of the North, and the passing of corrupt laws from within the clergy and the high lords. However, these were not the only challenges those of European Christian faith had to face. Islam strengthened after the conversion of the
Saladin’s forces took Jerusalem from Christian control which resulted in a call for another crusade. Three kings, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, King Phillip II of France, and King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) led this crusade but accomplished little.
The First Crusade was called in 1096 by Pope Urban II. The reasons for the First Crusade was to help obtain Jerusalem known as the holy land. During this time period the Muslims were occupying Jerusalem. First Crusade contained peasants and knights’ whose ethnicities consist of Franks, Latin’s, and Celts which were all from the western part of Europe. To get peasants and knights to join Pope Urban II objectives in return of a spiritual reward called “remission of all their sins” which was to be redeemed of any sins the individual has committed. When sins are redeemed Crusaders believed that they will escape the torment of hell. When lords and knights joined the crusade they were known as military elites. Crusaders were known as soldiers of Christ.
The Military Orders, including the Templars and Hospitallers, were created to protect pilgrims on the route to Jerusalem, but grew into ranks of professional soldiers with a great presence in the East, answerable to the Papacy. These orders “grew rapidly and acquired castles at strategic points in the kingdom and northern states. […] They were soon established in Europe as well, they became international organizations, virtually independent, sanctioned and constantly supported by the papacy” (Madden). The Pope possessed, for the first time, a dedicated military force in Europe. These two outcomes indicate the growth of the Church’s power as a result of the First Crusade, and support the proposition that the Papacy intended it as a way for advancing its political and economic position.
The first crusade was held only in order to fulfill desire of the Christians of the recapturing the center of the Christian faith-Jerusalem, which has been controlled by the Muslim nation for more than 400 years. This military campaign was followed with severe cruelty and harsh actions against Muslims which cannot be justified with anything but religious and material interest.
While expanding his empire across Europe, Charlemagne did remember that he was indeed a Christian, and converted many of the tribes he conquered, to Christianity. However, when 4,500 Saxons resisted, they were slaughtered ("Charlemagne"). But, for better or for worse, by 1000 AD Christianity had spread like wildfire throughout most of Europe, and the Catholic Church, who had crowned our friend Charlemagne the Emperor, had risen to power. Meanwhile, the Seljuk Turks had taken Jerusalem and were threatening Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire (“Crusades”). Near the end of the eleventh century, Emperor Alexius wrote a letter to Pope Urban the II that called for the assistance of his fellow Christians in West (“Crusades”). And, Pope Urban, was more than happy to assemble an army for such a worthy cause, and he also hoped that it might improve the relations between the two
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.
In 1095, Pope Urban II called the first crusade. Happening between 1096 and 1099, the first crusade was both a military expedition and a mass movement of people with the simple goal of reclaiming the Holy Lands taken by the Muslims in their conquests of the Levant. The crusade ended with the capture of Jerusalem in July 1099. However, there has been much debate about whether the First Crusade can be considered an ‘armed pilgrimage’ or whether it has to be considered as a holy war. This view is complicated due to the ways in which the Crusade was presented and how the penitential nature of it changed throughout the course of the Crusade.
This lack of unity between the two groups caused problems to arise. Under Louis VII of France, a noble named Lord Patrick of Tours served as a vassal. He obtained a large majority of land in Tours, France from Louis VII and in return supplied him warriors for the crusade. Louis VII demanded for more knights then Lord Patrick could provide, so he sent peasants of his to fight. Amongst the unskilled peasants was a young man called Luke by the fellow peasants. He was hopeful for the Second Crusade after hearing stories from the previous crusade and their success. Here is Luke’s account of the Second Crusade detailing his experiences and adventures.
The word crusade means “take up the cross.” Christians were encouraged to take a stand for God during the Crusades, a series of holy wars beginning in 1096 and lasting for almost 200 years. These battles were the first time in history that an army was assembled for strictly religious reason (Jewish History). King Richard I of England led the Christian army during the Third Crusade, while Sultan Salah-al-Din led the Muslims. The two had similar personality traits and style of rule, and their respect for each other earned them a reputation of being two of the bravest and overall best leaders throughout history.
The First Crusade was established in 1095 in a council of the Church in Clermont. Alexius I Commenus, emperor of Byzantium, wanted to control Asia Minor and Northern Syria after losing to the Turks. He needed more Western troops and looked towards Pope
...f knighthood. The idea of the crusade, and the affiliated pilgrimage came to be regarded as temporary, adopted, migratory monastic life. Although none of the ideas of Robert, Guibert, and Baldric were new, in fact they were derived from the accounts of those who survived the first crusade, they romanticized the idea of the holy war and knighthood, making it more appealing to the common person, and more morally acceptable in religious circles.
Those that answered the call were peasants, beggars, the poor looking for riches, and the unknown looking for glory. What started out as a pilgrimage to help fellow Christians secure their borders and repel foreign invaders soon became the first of many Holy Wars for the Kingdom of God. During The First Crusade, peasants and knights alike fought for God and glory, travelling east towards Jerusalem. In 1099, Christian forces reached Jerusalem and prepared for recapture. The western crusaders attacked the city and gained control of it.
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
Its fall is a gradual process which had both reasons of external invasion and internal decay. One of the greatest strengths of the Byzantine Empire was the sheer size and organized of its military. But two civil wars which happened between 1321 to 1328 C.E and between 1341 to 1347 C.E. destroyed a very efficient military system, lost significant population, and distrusted its trade network and economy, therefore severely diminished the power of whole Empire. On the other hand, the rise of Arabs and Turks threatened the survival of Byzantine Empire. Along with few hundred year period of military challenges from outside invaders, the Byzantine Empire became weaker and weaker.