...The crusades a number of holy wars fought in the 11th century by ordinary men. They killed and lived for the cross which they all bared inside. They explored the Middle East, encountered by blasphemers of the church, and exchanged with only the steel of their swords. It was at the closing end of the 11thcentury, 1070 where all the chaos began. Western Europe had emerged as a powerful nation but was still less powerful than the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine were from the eastern part of Europe and were mostly Christian. The Byzantine Empire was losing control though over some territory. Who was taking it? The Seljuk Turks commanded by a sultan, who ordered them to take the land. The Byzantine were defeated in a battle at 1071 which...
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...The First Crusade A mass of men, numbering roughly 100,000, marched out of Europe and toward Jerusalem and were victorious against masses of Islamic armies. In July of 1099AD, Jerusalem would fall out of the hands of the Turks for the first time in centuries, and the First Crusade would also serve to frame the make-up of nobility across Europe and help shape the middle ages altogether. The view of the Crusades, like many major events of history, are often known without being truly understood. In the modern era, the Crusades are seen almost as an afterthought, and used as a tool to rationalize and justify relativism in general. In fact, Islam had spread deep to the west, swallowing Spain and expanding into southern France. Much of Europe was in a state of subtle chaos. The Normans held the British Isles, and what we know as Germany today was in a constant state of resistance against any crown that managed power. Spain was pushing against its Muslim occupiers bit by bit, but its struggles would span centuries before and after all of the major crusades would be undertaken. Each of these, along with other events of the era, put considerable pressure on the ability of the Byzantine Empire to govern its own borders, a task made all the more difficult when compounded by pressures from the Seljuk Turks to east. It could be said then, that the call made by Alexius I Comnenus (or Alexios I Komnenos), the eastern emperor, for help from the Church, was all the more timely...
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...Bohemond of Taranto are the four leaders here engaging in The First Crusade. The “People's Crusade” left shortly before the four main groups of Crusaders. Groups of the civilian crusaders massacred jewish towns and caused crisis in relationships. ● When arriving in Constantinople, Alexius made the leaders swear an oath that they would give authority to him once any land was conquered. All of the leaders except Bohemond resisted. Throughout the next two years hundreds of men,women,and children were slaughtered ● Once their goal was achieved many soldiers rushed home but several stayed to govern the new land. There were four large settlements called Crusader states. Muslims also...
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...The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to recapture the Holy Lands, called by Pope Urban II in 1095. It started as a widespread pilgrimage in western Christendom and ended as a military expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquests of the Levant (632–661), ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was launched on 27 November 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to an appeal from Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who requested that western volunteers come to his aid and help to repel the invading Seljuk Turks from Anatolia. An additional goal soon became the principal objective—the Christian reconquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and the freeing of the Eastern Christians from Muslim rule....
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...Although the Pilgrims had finally captured Antioch, their problems were far from over. They had captured a city that had been starved by their very own siege, and barely a day passed before the first troops of a massive Turkish force, numbering began to surround Antioch, led by Kerbogha, the chief of the Sultan of Persia(Krey 163), and the city’s garrison was still occupied by almost 60,000 Turks. The only reason the pilgrims had even managed to successfully siege Antioch was because Kerbogha’s massive relief army had become distracted and had stopped at Edessa for 3 weeks in an attempt to recapture it from Count Baldwin, but after they failed they had continued to Antioch much later than they would have otherwise (Nicolle 57). Once the Pilgrims...
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...The First Crusade was a major turning point in history. The first Crusade happened during the time period of 1059 to 1099. The First Crusade started in Western Europe then moved towards Antioch. The Seljuk Turks took a big part in the Frist Crusade. The Seljuk Turks were a group of Muslim invaders that came from Central Asia. The Seljuk Turks were a fast moving empire, they were also very powerful, that lead them to be able to take over more lands faster. The Christians from the east have never been back on the west side since the Great Schism. Even though there were many reasons why the Pope wanted to send knights to fight in the First crusade, the threat of being invading by Seljuk Turks was the greatest factor. Alexius was born in 1048...
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...1. First the crusade was in the near East and involved in Anatolia, Levant, and Palestine. They had a military that was aimed to reclaim the Holy Land in which the Muslims conquest had acquired. Pope Urban ll launched the crusades in hopes of fulfilling the 1095 Byzantine Emperor Alexius l request which was gaining help of the western volunteers and to come to his aid. 2. There were many different players during the first wave of the Crusades including Godfrey of Bouillon, the Medieval Frankish knight which in fact became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. And after Frankish became King he abandoned the title as king. So crusaders had decisive victory. 3. With the newfound of Jerusalem the crusaders founded four other crusader states....
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...‘To what extent was superior military leadership the main reason for the success of the First Crusade?’ The First Crusade was won once Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been captured and the crusading vow had hence been fulfilled. Superior military leadership was a huge factor and did play a very large, considerable role in the victory of the First Crusade. However, there are many other contributing factors which influenced the triumph, and to state that superior military leadership was the sole reason is quite the assumption, and a broader view of the other elements should be regarded. One of the factors is the superior military leadership as stated by the question. Following the failure of the First Wave, led by Peter the Hermit and band of illiterate, incompetent peasants, the Second Wave was structured, organised and lead by Noblemen. They provided key figures such as Bohemond, Prince of Taranto and Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy, and this offered the Crusaders guidance, tactics and strategy to their battles. Their strategies of aggressive, merciless fighting led them to successful sieges at Nicaea, Antioch and Jerusalem. Arguably, without the leadership which the First Crusade received they wouldn’t have been victorious due to guidance and battle strategies which they offered. It is evident, how crucial the leaders were to the cause, as upon Adhemar, Bishop of Le Puy’s death, many Crusaders mourned their loss over a great spell. The Crusaders knew how influential...
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...The First Crusades lasted from 1096-1099. The “Siege of Ma’rrat” occurred during the months of October to December in 1098. It was the most infamous event that occurred in the city of Ma’arrat al-Numa. The city is located in the northwestern part of Syria and is also referred to as Marrat al-Numaan. The Siege of Ma’rrat or Ma’arra (also known as the Massacre of Ma’arra) was led by two knights Bohemond of Taranto and Raymond de Saint Gilles. Their armies were called the “Crusaders” who were mostly French and Norman knights sent by Pope Urban II to conduct raids on the city of Ma’rrat and seize the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Crusaders built a siege tower which enabled them to seize the top of the walls of the city on December...
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...The Crusades is a long-standing topic that has been discussed by a multitude of historians. Since the event took place almost millennia ago, there are a vast majority of question that are asked pertaining to the subject. The question of this paper: what were the politics that sparked the First Crusades? To answer this question, there are two resources that comprise the foundation and starting point of this paper. The two resources are: The Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden and Pope Urban II's Call to Arms, which was recorded by Fulcher of Chartres. The most important document in this investigation is the Pope's Call to Arms, because it is a document from that time period and gives me a firsthand account of a significant event that...
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...Causes of the First Crusade The Crusades were a violent military campaign between the Latin Roman Catholic Church and the Islamic empire. According to Don Closson an author with probe ministers, there were 7 crusades in total and they lasted about 200 years. John France the author of The Crusades And The Expansion Of Catholic Christendom states that , “After the First Crusade achieved its goal, the invading Christians set up several Latin Christian states. Because of this Muslims in the region vowed to wage holy war (jihad) to regain control over the region (Crusades). But what caused this dispute, what caused the crusades to even begin? Well before the crusades started the dispute between Christians and Muslims could be seen in many different...
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...1. November, 1095 Pope Urban II calls the first Crusade In the town of Clermont ,central France, the Pope has called upon the knights of France. This was done in hopes that they would journey to the Holy Land and liberate the city of Jerusalem. He called on the knights in a response to a request from Emperor Alexios I who wanted to stop the invading Turks from Anatolia. 2. June, 1097 The Crusaders have taken Nicaea The Crusaders along with serfs, and peasants from the Christian world have taken the walled city of Nicaea from Kilij Arslan I, who is a Seljuk sultan. The Crusaders reached Constantinople then crossed into Asia Minor. Then advanced to Nicaea where they then took control of the city. 3. June, 1098 Crusaders just broke into Antioch...
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...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...
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...reason for the success of the First Crusade?’ In 1099 the First Crusade had succeeded their objective and captured the Holy City of Jerusalem. The use of military leadership provided by key figures including Bohemond of Taranto, Raymond of Toulouse and Adhemar of Le Puy were considered a main reason for the crusaders success. Due to the failure of the First Wave it was considered by the Muslims that the crusaders will no longer be a threat to them. Strong Military leadership was a large part for as to why the First Crusade was such a success. Without strong leadership from Bohemond and Adhemar leading the troops, the Western forces would have most likely fallen apart and turned against one another and their Eastern allies. This was key during the Battle of Dorylaeum where the crusaders were confronted with a barbaric and alien type of warfare, this is where Bohemond showed his true light as a good leader as he was able to keep his forces disciplined and in check, longs enough for Godfrey of Bouillon and the other princes to come and help them. In the crusade Adhemar was always recognized as the spiritual leader of the crusade. He fought a crucial role in the Battle of Dorylaeum and was responsible for sustaining the morale during the Siege of Antioch by doing several religious rites include fasting and special observances of holy days. However it could be considered that good military tactics were a key reason for why the First Crusade was a success, as the core of...
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...the following was more important in the success of the first crusade: • Muslim disunity • Strengths of the Crusader army The first crusade’s success came as a surprise following the failure of the Peoples Crusade, this was due to many factors not only Muslim disunity and strengths within the Crusader army but also Byzantine support and Crusader motivation, that weren’t previously factors for the peoples crusade. however it is debatable which is the most important reason for the success, Muslim disunity certainly contributed to the success of the crusaders, however this was only a part of the overall reasons for their victories, as the crusaders themselves had many strengths such as strong leadership. Whilst this is true i think that the overall reason for success was indeed the muslims disunity as they made themselves easy opponents to defeat. In the years of the crusade there was a divide within the muslims, the Sunni and Shia Muslims hated each other more than they hated the Christian Crusaders. This led to internal problems and wars, and the many leaders that this affected used their armies against each other. This was in itself a distraction from what could have been used as a strong, united Muslim army against the Christian crusaders. This has been recognised by many historians as a big weakness with the Muslims as T. Asbridge says ‘Had the muslims of the near east united in the face of the first crusade it could not possibly have prevailed.’ In 1097 there was...
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