First Crusades: The First Crusades

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The First Crusade from 1095 to 1099 has been seen as a successful crusade. The First Crusaders carefully planned out their attacks to help promote religion throughout the lands. As the First Crusade set the example of what a successful crusade should do, the following crusades failed to maintain control of the Holy Land. Crusades following after the First Crusade weren’t as fortunate with maintaining the Holy Land due united forces of Muslims, lack of organization, and lack of religious focus. 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 …show more content…

The pope recruited people from southern Italy to Lombardy, France to Normandy, Flanders to Western Germany, Denmark and other places while on his preaching tour. Despite entering a war, people joined crusades for various reasons and benefits. The reason people joined the Crusades were for beliefs such as, “the certainties of faith; fear of damnation; temporal self-image; material, social, and supernatural profit; the attraction of warfare for a military aristocracy; an unequivocally good cause…” (Tyerman, the Crusades: A Very Short Introduction, p.14). People also went on crusades to clear themselves of their sins by serving God across the territories. People participated in crusades to gain privileges. Participating in the crusades granted families privileges such as church protection, property, interest repayments on debt and more. To gain these privileges, people had to swear a vow to an adoption of a cross, be blessed by a priest, and have the symbol be shown on clothing. In total, between 50,000 and 70,000 men had reached Asia Minor in the participation of the First Crusade with the motivation to spread their religion and conquer

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