Fierce competition, pursuit of the Holy Land, and the spread of Christianity. The First Crusade proved to be a crucial event in European history. Baldwin of Boulogne and Godfrey of Bouillon were two men that added to the development of the First Crusade. Also during the time of the Crusade, Christianity was spread and ideas were transported between Europe and the Middle East. Overall, there were several aspects that contributed to the First Crusade.
The first man that played a role in the First Crusade was Baldwin of Boulogne. After joining the First Crusade, Baldwin left the army to establish himself in Edessa, which is modern day Urfa, Turkey. In 1098, Baldwin became the leader of the first crusading state in the East. When Godfrey of Bouillon
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died in 1100, Baldwin was scheduled to take over, but Daimbert and the crusader Tancred opposed the idea. Eventually, Baldwin received the position, and once he was king, he went to work taking over several coastal towns and successfully led Jerusalem for eighteen years (“Baldwin, I”). During the First Crusade, Baldwin was a forceful leader, and later proved to be an effective ruler in Jerusalem. Just like his brother, Godfrey of Bouillon was a key figure in the First Crusade. When Godfrey decided to join with his brothers Baldwin and Eustace, he was forced to pledge his castle in Bouillon and the lordship of Verdun to the bishop of Liege in order to pay for their expedition. When Jerusalem was captured in 1099, Godfrey was offered the crown, but instead he accepted the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulcher. In this position, Godfrey had limited power, but he decided to take an oath of homage to Daimbert, which allowed him to take control of Jerusalem until 1100. When he took the oath, Godfrey became the first Western ruler in Jerusalem, and during his time he created the first effective feudal administration in Jerusalem (“Godfrey of Bouillon”). Godfrey of Bouillon proved to be an influential leader in Jerusalem, and helped to advance their civilization. Leading up to the beginning of the First Crusade in 1096, Pope Urban II was unhappy with the state of Europe at that time. In 1095, he went to the Council of Clermont desiring peace in Europe and a war in the Holy Land. Although it is unclear exactly what Pope Urban spoke about at Clermont, it went down as a key moment in the history of the First Crusade. The audience at Clermont was slim, but the ideas presented were bold passionately presented (Bull). The reason Pope Urban II proposed the war was because many of the knights and lords had been destroying the continent of Europe with their wars and rivalries with each other. He gathered the fighting men and declared that if they went to capture Jerusalem in God’s name, he would grant them indulgences when they returned, or their sins would be forgiven if they died on the journey (Morris). Pope Urban II initiated the beginning of the First Crusade, and worked hard to make the event happen. After Pope Urban’s request for war, the first official armies began to leave from Germany, France, and Italy in August of 1096, and reached Constantinople later that year and the beginning of 1097.
As the Crusaders made their trek to the Holy Land, they first captured Nicaea, and then recaptured Antioch in 1098. By 1099, the Crusaders reached Jerusalem, and by the time they reached their destination over half of their original group was dead. Within only a month of being in Jerusalem, the Crusaders were able to capture the city by siege. The county of Edessa, the principality of Antioch, the county of Tripoli, and the kingdom of Jerusalem were the four Crusader states that were established along the eastern Mediterranean as a result of the land that was captured during the First Crusade (“Crusades”). Overall, the Crusaders had a long trek to the Holy Land, but in the end they were able to overtake it and accomplish their …show more content…
goal. As a result of the First Crusade, The Holy Land was under Christian control.
In order to spread Christianity throughout the continent, Christian communities were developed in Palestine, Syria, and various other locations. During the Crusade, many of the Muslims lost their land, so they built their own armies and set out to gain back their territory. Even though the Muslims recaptured a portion of their land, the Crusaders were successful in stopping their advance into Turkey until the fifteenth century, and, therefore, potentially slowed down the spread of Islam (“Crusaders Arrive at Constantinople”). As the First Crusade came to a close, the Crusaders developed several communities to advance the spread of
Christianity. Besides the spread of Christianity, the First Crusade also had a lasting effect on Europe as a whole. The Crusades enabled ideas to be spread between Europe and the Middle East; therefore, Europeans were able to gain a better understanding of Middle Eastern civilization and ideas. All three Crusades resulted in a new interest in art and learning that had been absent from Western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century. The new interest in art and learning also played a crucial role in Renaissance period that began in the fourteenth century in Italy (“Crusaders Arrive at Constantinople”). The spread of ideas between Europe and the Middle East after the First Crusade provided many opportunities for European countries and allowed them to become more civilized. As it can be seen, the First Crusade left a lasting impact on Europe. The First Crusade was also a key component in the spread of Christianity. Baldwin of Boulogne, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Pope Urban II all contributed to the Crusaders ability to capture the Holy Land. Important ideas and methods of civilization were also acquired from the First Crusade. Since these ideas were able to be spread, the First Crusade was an important aspect of European history.
In 1099 Jerusalem was besieged by bloodthirsty Christian knights from Western Europe, fueled by their religious desire for the holy land. This siege was the commencement of twelve holy crusades led by the Christian West in hope to recover Jerusalem as a Christian city. At that time, Jerusalem was, to the Christians, inconveniently occupied by Muslims. This being the first crusade, it was documented by several sources, notably by Fulcher of Chartres in his, Chronicle of the First Crusade, as well as a Muslim point of view by Ibn al-Athir, a medieval Arab historian.
The First Crusade was propelled in 1095 by Pope Urban II to recover control of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Christian Holy Land from Muslims.
The Crusades were a number of military expeditions by Europeans of the Christian faith attempting to recover the Holy Land, Jerusalem, which was then controlled by the powerful Muslim Empire. In his book People of The First Crusade, Michael Foss an independent historian tells the story of the first Crusade in vivid detail illustrating the motives behind this historic event, and what had really occurred towards the end of the eleventh century. The Christian lands of Western Europe were slowly deteriorating from invasions of the North, and the passing of corrupt laws from within the clergy and the high lords. However, these were not the only challenges those of European Christian faith had to face. Islam strengthened after the conversion of the
The First Crusade was called in 1096 by Pope Urban II. The reasons for the First Crusade was to help obtain Jerusalem known as the holy land. During this time period the Muslims were occupying Jerusalem. First Crusade contained peasants and knights’ whose ethnicities consist of Franks, Latin’s, and Celts which were all from the western part of Europe. To get peasants and knights to join Pope Urban II objectives in return of a spiritual reward called “remission of all their sins” which was to be redeemed of any sins the individual has committed. When sins are redeemed Crusaders believed that they will escape the torment of hell. When lords and knights joined the crusade they were known as military elites. Crusaders were known as soldiers of Christ.
The First Crusade was a widely appealing armed pilgrimage, and mobilized a vast conquering force at a time when the Christian Church was moving towards centralization and greater political influence in Europe. The Church gained a wider audience more accepting of its leadership, benefitted economically, and developed its own militarily force. These outcomes, along with the Church’s documented ambition to expand and its reversal of prior teachings, support the idea that the First Crusade was a deliberate political maneuver, intended to to expand and consolidate the authority of the
The Crusades took place in the Middle East between 1095 and 1291. They were used to gain a leg up on trading, have more land to show hegemony, and to please the gods. Based upon the documents, the Crusades between 1095 and 1291 were caused primarily by religious devotion rather than by the desire for economic and political gain.
The first crusade was held only in order to fulfill desire of the Christians of the recapturing the center of the Christian faith-Jerusalem, which has been controlled by the Muslim nation for more than 400 years. This military campaign was followed with severe cruelty and harsh actions against Muslims which cannot be justified with anything but religious and material interest.
In the year 1095 the First Crusade was just beginning. Pope Urban II called Christians to liberate the Holy Land from Muslim oppressors. He promised indulgences and the gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven for fighting in the holy war. Those that answered the call were peasants, beggars, the poor looking for riches and the unknown looking for glory. What started out as a pilgrimage to help fellow Christians secure their borders and repel foreign invaders soon became the first of many Holy Wars for the Kingdom of God.
Crusader who brought contact with the Muslims loosened hierarchy of feudalism. Towns and cities were growing quicker in the European society. When they returned their land with goods, which enlarged the Europeans economy. The noble churches want their own territories of the church tax and own bishops. The popes had the power to block Christians from getting the church sacraments.
The emperor of the Byzantine Emperor was upset with Turks encroaching on his empire. He went to the Pope Urban II and complained. He made up atrocities about the Turks. In 1096, The Pope Urban II promoted the Crusade to reclaim the Holy Land from the barbaric Turks. These crusades lasted till the 13th century. In the process, Jews were persecuted and lots of looting took place. Many countries took interest in the Crusades because they were ready for travel and adventure. They wanted to expand trade with the Middle and Far East and so the Crusades gave them a chance to open up trade routes with those countries. They used Christianity to justify the Crusades. In reality, they wanted to expand trade and gain more territorial land.
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
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
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.
In 1095, the conflict between the Christians and the Muslims started a crusade (a military campaign in defense of Christianity) for the battle of Jerusalem. This crusade involved people of other religions besides Christianity such as the Jews but they did not play a major role during this time. The Crusades lasted almost two decades and consisted of eight different crusades. With all of the events and actions that took during the Crusades, it led too many effects throughout years. There were short term effects and long term effects from the crusades that effected people of all different cultures. Two places which have had many effects from the Crusades are Europe and Islam. The Crusades has had short term and long term effects on power, economic and classical knowledge throughout Europe and Islam.
Firstly, the Christians gave them ideas for way to improve and create defense. They watched how the Europeans beat them in battles and examined the Europeans techniques. These defense later influenced the castles of Europe. For example, the castle in fig.1 shows the defense the Muslims created from the Christians ideas. Secondly, it is known that the Crusade made the Christians and the Muslims dislike each other more, but there is more to it. When the two cultures started to trade they both grew more interested in each other's cultures. That only lasted for a little bit, then the war drew them far apart. That is why to this day they respect each in most countries, but still dislike each other in most countries. They even have wars to do with religion in the 20th century. For example the the wars in Israel has had many religious wars. ("Author, Crusades in the Middle East: The Impact of the Holy Land Crusades on Europe." - All Empires. .Para:7)Lastly, the Muslims the Muslims made lots of money from the Christians. Once the Christians found out that the Muslims had a lot food, ideas and spices that they didn't have. They paid a lot of money to the Muslims to purchase them. For example, the muslim peasant/vendor would harvest there spice. They would put it up for sale for really high price. A christian person come up and pays the high price because he desires it. Then the Christian take home or sometimes sell at the market. The