First Cruscade

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The First Crusade was a military invasion with the idea of spirituality used to help guide and influence the crusaders. When examining the events that took place over the time period of the First Crusade, there is clear evidence of this being a military campaign. Evidence from when Alexius I, the Byzantine emperor, asked Pope Urban II for help, all the way through the conquering of Jerusalem. There are significant examples during these events that recognized that the majority of the actions that took place had a military influence behind them. Spirituality was just a thin cover that was used to encourage the crusaders. The actions of the leaders of the First Crusade show that their inspiration for going was based on a military campaign. They wanted to conquer, gain land, and prestige for themselves. To be able to accomplish their military campaign they had to use a thin veil of spirituality to gain support and have men follow them.
The events that led to Pope Urban II calling for the crusades indicate that he knew this was going to be a military invasion of the holy land. He wanted to bring power and control back to the papacy. There is evidence that many events that took place had a military or conquering aspect involved in them. During this time in European history the Pope was struggling to recover his supreme power. There had just been the Investiture Controversy and Pope Urban was trying to figure out how to reestablish the papacy’s power. “In Rome ruled Pope Urban II, a man distinguished in life and character, who always strove wisely and actively to raise the status of the Holy church above all things” (Peters, 49). Along with the pope trying to reestablish the power of the Holy Church there was also the issue wit...

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... (Peters, 281). This shows that many of the crusaders did not return home. They took the area that they conquered and now made it their home. This shows that the First Crusade was a military invasion that led to a new group of people now inhabiting this area.
The first crusade was a military invasion. Spirituality was just the tool that was used to unite men with a collective goal. Society during this time was about gaining power mostly through violent means. The crusade was the perfect opportunity to unite ambitious and fierce men together for a common goal. Since spirituality played an important role in the lives of people during this time, it was the perfect impression to use to force these men to unite in a military invasion of a foreign land. Overall, a military invasion and reconquering of a previous Christian land was the purpose behind the crusade.

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