Crusading And Manipulation: The Crusades

Crusading and Manipulating
The Crusades were holy wars with the goal of securing Jerusalem for Christian control, rather than Muslim control. After Pope Urban II gave a legendary speech in 1095, Christendom was galvanized into retaking the holy land, Jerusalem. People were so excited to conquest, that a large force, consisting mostly of peasants, could not wait to assist the main force that Pope Urban II was organizing. This impoverished, poorly prepared force attempted to march to Jerusalem. This group would lead what was to be called the People’s Crusade (Murray). This movement was an unadulterated disaster of epic proportions. These peasants pillaged towns of their own and towns of their allied countries, then attacked supporting guards
Tancred boasted to the garrison of the city that he was but a sample of a much larger, well-trained force that would capture the city and slaughter its inhabitants the next day. Surprisingly, the bluff worked. Since Tancred never swore fealty to Alexios I Komnenos, he claimed the city as his own without technically breaking any promise. However, Baldwin came later and was astonished that Tancred thought of such a plan to capture the city and claim it as his own. In fact, Baldwin praised Tancred for thinking of the plan, then promptly demanded control of the city. Tancred begrudgingly handed over control of Tarsus to Baldwin, since Baldwin had thousands of more troops than Tancred. However, Baldwin had broken his sacred oath, and when Alexios I Komnenos heard what had happened, Komnenos became wrathful
The besieged crusaders defended Antioch against Turkish reinforcements. Since the citizens of Antioch had eaten all of the food in the city while being sieged, the crusaders had no nourishment. Lack of nourishment weakened the already outnumbered crusaders. The crusaders had little hope of escaping from the countless Turks that surrounded Antioch. However, a local mystic claimed that the Lance of Longinus, the holy spear that purportedly pierced Jesus’ side during his crucifixion, was located under the floor of the Church of St. Peter. The curious, hopeful crusaders unearthed a chunk of iron resembling a spearhead. They believed it to be authentic, but Bishop Adhemar was more skeptical. He knew that Byzantium already owned such an object, but he exploited the crusaders again by not being vocally skeptical. He may have known that morale would receive more of a boost by him staying silent than by accusing the relic of being false. The crusaders were swept up in the awe and religious fervor of the event. The crusaders, believing that God was on their side, stormed out of Antioch with newly found hope and determination. Although outnumbered and undersupplied, the crusaders drove off the Turks and successfully defended Antioch. Only later was the hoax exposed and morale declined