Pope Urban II: The First Crusade

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It’s 1095, and the Seljuk Turks, a Muslim empire, have control of the Holy City of Jerusalem. Not only that, but they are terrorizing Christians that wish to pilgrimage to where Jesus Christ had lived. The Byzantine Empire, home of the Eastern Christians, start to fear the worst. Their Emperor, Emperor Alexius, calls for help in the West where Pope Urban II is leader. Urban makes a speech to his people, explaining how they must take back the Holy Land, for their brethren, and for their Lord. So the crusaders left, driven by religious devotion. Why did these normal citizens want to join the painstaking and heavily taxing Crusades anyway? Well, as I briefly mentioned earlier, Pope Urban had made a speech to the Western Christians. Here is a piece of what he had said: …show more content…

A Christian priest described the aftermath of the battle between the Muslims and Christians. He described, “Indeed, it was God’s judgement that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbeliever since the city had suffered from their blasphemies.” (Evidence A) Here he illustrates how the crusaders killed and massacred the Muslims relentlessly, demonstrating merciless attitude towards those who defied their Lord. Another account of the battle, this time from a Muslim perspective, shows that the Christians had murdered Jews as well. Amin Maalouf said, “They [the Jews] all gathered in the main synagogue to pray. The crusaders blocked all the exits and set the temple on fire.” (Evidence B) This quote tells us that the Christians didn’t just kill Muslims to conquer the land, but they truly did it for their Maker. Thus, they also killed Jews. This proves that the crusaders were plainly on the Crusades because they wanted to defend their religion. It paid off too, as they were able to look up at the newly claimed land. When they did, the Christians declared, “This day marks the renewal of our

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