The Crusades: History's First Jihad

2702 Words6 Pages

For centuries, religion has been a key underlying concept that has had the power to unite many individuals, and give them a sense of belonging. For thousands of years, polytheism was a widely popular religious affiliation until the transition into monotheism. The belief in only one god was a major shift in history, especially when looking at Christianity. The unity of faith for Christians has been an ideal from the beginning. On the other hand, Islam, and its followers the Muslims, are united in belief and practice because of Allah, or the God.

Since the early days of Christianity, the primary pilgrimage destination has been the Holy Land, and one of the most sacred is Jerusalem—it is said that this is where Jesus was crucified and buried. After the Arabs captured Jerusalem from the Byzantines in 638, Christians were still allowed to travel to the land as Muslims were rather tolerant of their visitors. However, by the eleventh century, things took a turn for the worse and Christians set out to recapture their Holy Land. In turn, the First Crusade took course to take back what was theirs.

In 1095, Pope Urban II received a letter from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I Comnenus, asking for assistance against the Seljuk Turks who had seized land in Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine. Even before Urban had received the plea for help, he had heard that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher had been destroyed by a Muslim leader of Jerusalem. The church was later reconstructed around 1040. False tales of mistreatment of the Christians spread throughout the West quickly. However, the Muslims actually profited from Christians who came to worship in the holy land and were impelled to leave them in peace. Nonetheless, the pope believed t...

... middle of paper ...

...itnesses and Participants. Princeton, 1921.

"Letters of the Crusaders Written from the Holy Land." In Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History. Dana Carlton Munro, tr. and ed., vol. 1, no. 4. Philadelphia: Department of History of the University of Pennsylvania, 1900.

Marcus, Jacob. The Jew in the Medieval World: A Sourcebook, 315-1791. New York: JPS, 1938.

Munro, Dana C. "Urban and the Crusaders." Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History. Vol 1:2. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1895.

Phillips, Jonathan. Holy Warriors: a Modern History of the Crusades. New York: Random House, 2009.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. "The State of Mind of Crusaders to the East, 1095- 1300." In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, edited by Jonathan Riley-Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Show More
Related

  • Assess the value of Fulcher of Chartres’s account of the council of Clermont for understanding Urban II’s message.

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dana C. Munro, "Urban and the Crusaders", Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:2, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1895), 5-8

    Read More

  • Book Review: Armies Of Heaven By Jay Rubenstein

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    For instance, the city was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD, which destroyed most of the city's important religious artifacts. Later, the city was completely destroyed and covered in 135 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Rubenstein delves deeply into the background of the crusade, as many of the events and ideologies that inspired it are critical to understanding its reasoning and justifications. This sets Rubenstein apart from the Madden textbook, which begins at the council at Claremont and does not provide essential background information. Rubenstein's book serves as an excellent introduction to the history of the Crusades.

    Read More

  • The First Crusade Sparknotes

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foss explains, “What Urban needed was an enterprise, clearly virtuous in serving the ends of Christiandome… in these moments of reflection, the popes mind turned towards Jerusalem.” Urban II reflects back on the first taking of the Holy City after the defeat of the Byzantine Empire in 1071, and begins to question what his people know about the Turkish race and really the ideology of Islamic thought. Foss goes on to examine the ignorance of westerners and needed to be “reminded [by the pope] of the infamous heathens, their cruelty and hatred of Christians,” hoping this would justify the first Holy Crusade. However, Foss identifies the creativity of the Pope’s language to persuade the knights and army of the people to embark on the Holy Crusade based on the Muslims cruel actions turned onto their fellow Christians. Claiming the Muslims “Killed captives by torture…poor captives were whipped…and others were bound to the post and used as a target for arrows.” Foss examines the Popes words as an effective effort of persuasion in creating an army of crusaders to help clean “…Holy places, which are now treated with ignominy and polluted with Filthiness” and any sacrifice in Jerusalem is a “promise of a spiritual reward… and death for

    Read More

  • Usama, The Middle East, and The Crusades

    1516 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cobb, Paul. "Introduction." Ibn Munqidh, Usama. Book of Contemplation Islam and the Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. xv-xlii.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Pope Urban II

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.

    Read More

  • The Crusades Argumentative Essay

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Among some of the largest conflicts in the world stand the Crusades; a brutal conflict that lasted over 200 years and was debatably one of the largest armed religious conflicts in the history of humankind. Since this is so clearly an event of importance, historians have searched vigorously for the true answer as to why the crusades began. Ultimately, because of accusatory views on both the sides of the Christians and of the Muslims, the two groups grew in such hatred of each other that they began to act in deep discrimination of each other. Moreover, Christian motives seemed to be driven mostly by the capture of Jerusalem, the dark ages of Europe and the common-folks desperation for land, wealth, and a spot in heaven. What seems to be continually

    Read More

  • Pope Urban II and The Crusade

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Crusades were the first tactical mission by Western Christianity in order to recapture the Muslim conquered Holy Lands. Several people have been accredited with the launch of the crusades including Peter the Hermit however it is now understood that this responsibility rested primarily with Pope Urban II . The main goal of the Crusades was the results of an appeal from Alexius II, who had pleaded for Western Volunteers help with the prevention of any further invasions. The Pope’s actions are viewed as him answering the pleas of help of another in need, fulfilling his Christian right. However, from reading the documents it is apparent that Pope Urban had ulterior motives for encouraging engagement in the war against the Turks. The documents and supporting arguments now highlight that the Pope not only sought to recruit soldiers to help but also to challenge those who had harmed the Christians community and annihilate the Muslims. He put forth the idea that failure to recapture this lands would anger God and that by participating, God would redeem them of their previous sins.in a time of deep devoutness, it is clear this would have been a huge enticement for men to engage in the battle. Whether his motives were clear or not to his people, Pope Urban’s speeches claiming that “Deus vult!” (God wills it) encouraged many Christians to participate and take the cross.

    Read More

  • The Crusades: Really a Holy War?

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crusades were one of the most prominent events in Western European history; they were not discrete and unimportant pilgrimages, but a continuous stream of marching Western armies (Crusaders) into the Muslim world, terminating in the creation and eventually the fall of the Islamic Kingdoms. The Crusades were a Holy War of Roman Christianity against Islam, but was it really a “holy war” or was it Western Europe fighting for more land and power? Through Pope Urban II and the Roman Catholic Church’s actions, their proposed motivations seem unclear, and even unchristian. Prior to the Crusades, Urban encouraged that Western Europe fight for their religion but throughout the crusades the real motivations shone though; the Crusaders were power hungry, land coveting people who fought with non Christian ideals and Morales.

    Read More

  • The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, by Amin Maalouf

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since this paper is my reflection, I will be honest by stating that I am nineteen years old, white, a male, and have been raised in a Catholic family just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. Now why is this important? This is important because the only viewpoint of the crusades that I have studied, prior to my experience with Maalouf, has been from the Christian point of view. Until now, I have yet to place myself in the shoes of those on the opposite end of the sword, shields, and Jihad. History is a touchy subject for me because I have come to learn there is always another side of the story to learn from. This fact leads to the first main thesis of Maalouf’s adventure.

    Read More

  • God's Battalions

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark, will cause readers to question much of what they know about the Crusades, the Crusaders themselves, and the formidable Muslim forces they encountered along the way in liberation of the Holy Land. Stark gives compelling reasons for the Crusades, and argues that readers should not be too quick in following the lead of historians who cast the Crusaders in less than positive light. Stark makes his case supported by evidence that vindicates the valiant struggles of the Crusaders who accomplished the task of keeping Christianity alive through troubled times.

    Read More

  • First Crusade: The First Crusade

    1510 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Middle Ages: Dark or Not?

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    McFall, J. Arthur. "Ill-Fated Crusade Of The Poor People." Military History 14.6 (1998): 26. MAS

    Read More

  • The Crusades and the Israeli Palestine Conflict

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Crusades, the Pope’s aspiration for power originated from political reasons. In 1095, there were many problems in the Christian land the Pope couldn’t do much about. For example, there was a great deal of fighting between knights and nobles, and the Pope had very little power (Visual, NA). When the Church tried to reform it by ordering a truce, it did not work. So when the Pope saw the holy land was controlled by Muslims that did not allow them to go there, he decided to use that as a way to restore order in the Church (Crusades, NA). He knew it would solve the problems he was faced with because it would send all the fighting knights away to war, and if they captured Jerusalem he would have control over the most sought out land, giving him power (Crusades, NA). He knew that many knights won’t want to leave the land when they can claim the land that another knight left when they went to war. So to ensure more knights’ participation, he promises remissions from all sins committed. However, the Pope knew he must convince more people than just knight to win Jerusalem and that reason is what Urban states in his speech. “Or rather the Lord, beseech you as Chris...

    Read More

  • Anti Semitsim

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1096 the zealous Christian Crusades began in Europe. The Church wanted to have the Holy Land, ...

    Read More

  • First Crusades: The First Crusades

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Crusades: History's First Jihad

Open Document