How valid is the view that the first Crusade succeeded to primarily due to the splits in Islam
The first crusade was seen as a miracle that had never been accomplished before with the crusaders managing to stay alive on a numerous number of occasions especially after the siege of Antioch by the Muslims where the crusaders had their motivation utilised after the discovery of the holy lance where this was said to bolster their confidence and defeat the Turks. Also the luck the crusaders had for example on the first crusade the crusaders were able to defeat and surprise Kilij Arslan forces due to the failure of the people crusade where this undermined the Turks opinion on the crusaders forces. And lastly another factor for the success of the crusades was due to the piety of the crusaders such as the monks and the discovery of the holy lance with the crusaders wanting to liberate Jerusalem for the infidel.
The splits in Islam can be seen as one of the main reasons why the crusaders managed to achieve the unpresented success in the first crusade. Although not know to the crusaders at the time Islam in the region was divided with the Sunni base in Baghdad with the Abbasid caliphate and a Shiite Fatimid based in Cairo Egypt. Theses splits actually helping the crusaders make alliances with the Fatimid’s however this did not last long. The splits in Islam can be seen as hindering the progress of defence of the crusades especially within the areas such as the crusader states where there was little support for the Muslims. This can be seen due to the distance of Baghdad from the other states allowing for the lack of communication to help the crusaders take areas easier.
The second large reasons of the success of the first crusade was due to the piety of the crusaders believing that God was on their side and deus vult illud (God wills it) This piety was shown with the