Can someone describe how the Crusades began?

Question

I'd hope to get relatively informed, honest answers. Thanks.

Answer 1

In a nutshell, the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Constantinople sent a request for aid to pope Urban II because the Byzantine Empire was losing land to the invading Muslims and was in danger of being completely overrun.

Pope Urban II though that this was a great way to stop the Christian nations in Europe from fighting each other by recruiting them to fight the Muslims instead. He also seemed to understand that if the Muslims were preoccupied trying to regain the Holy Land, then they would be so busy doing that that they would no longer be sending armies to invade parts of Europe.

So Pope Urban II invented a new idea called the "Crusade" in an attempt to unite the Christian West against the invading Muslim armies.

Not all Crusades were Christian fighting Muslims, however. The Venetians persuaded the knights of the Fourth Crusade to conquer and loot Constantinople instead of Jerusalem.

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The origins of the Crusades in general, and of the First Crusade in particular, stem from events earlier in the Middle Ages. The breakdown of the Carolingian empire in previous centuries, combined with the relative stability of European borders after the Christianization of the Vikings and Magyars, gave rise to an entire class of warriors who now had little to do but fight among themselves.

Meanwhile, Muslim armies had been busy conquering much of northern Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Spain, which had been some of the most heavily Christian areas in the world. The Reconquista in Spain was the first major effort by Christians to retake lost territory, which occupied Spanish knights and some mercenaries from elsewhere in Europe in the fight against the Islamic Moors. Elsewhere, the Normans were fighting for control of Sicily, while Pisa, Genoa and Aragon were all actively fighting Islamic strongholds in Mallorca and Sardinia, freeing the coasts of Italy and Spain from Muslim raids.

Because of these ongoing wars, the idea of Holy War against the Muslims was not implausible to the European nations. Muslims had occupied the centre of the Christian universe, Jerusalem, which, along with the surrounding land, was considered one giant relic, the place where Christ had lived and died. In 1074, Pope Gregory VII called for the milites Christi ("soldiers of Christ") to go to the aid of the Byzantine Empire in the east. The Byzantines had suffered a serious defeat at the hands of the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert three years previously. This call, while largely ignored and even opposed, combined with the large numbers of pilgrimages to the Holy Land in the 11th century, focused a great deal of attention on the east. Reports of Muslims abusing Christian pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem and other Middle Eastern holy sites further stoked the crusading zeal. It was Pope Urban II who first disseminated to the general public the idea of a Crusade to capture the Holy Land with the famous words: "Deus vult!" ("God wills it!")

Answer 2

sorry it's a cut and paste - didn't want to mess something up with my muddled memory ; )

Background of the Crusades

By about 1000 A.D., Europe was recovering from the worst of the Dark Ages and embarking on a period of expansionism. The conversion and settlement of the Vikings and Magyars halted their raids and removed pressure from Europe. Agricultural advances increased the food supply, permitted population increase, and led to more wealth and commerce. One of the events that shaped modern Europe took place in 1066, when William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, the last successful invasion of Britain. Europe was even beginning to push back the boundaries of Islam. The Spanish recaptured Toledo, virtually in the center of Spain, from the Moslems in 1087. The stream of Arabic knowledge from Toledo would powerfully stimulate Western European thought. In 1091, Sicily was retaken from the Moslems.

The Crusades had less to do with the Moslems than with Roman-Byzantine rivalry. The Byzantine model had always been that each bishop, or patriarch, was independent and equal. The Roman model was that the bishop of Rome, the Pope, was supreme. An uneasy alliance kept the Church together until 1064, when the eastern Churches flatly refused to submit to the Pope. This split is called the Great Schism.

The Cluniac (Benedictine) reform was active in the Church at this time. It sought to restore discipline to the Church and free the Church from secular controls. The reform stimulated the Church in the West to be more attentive to business and provided impetus to attempts to reassert control over the Eastern Church. The ascent of Urban II, a prominent member of the Cluniac movement, to the papacy in 1088 enabled the reformers to put their agenda into action.

While Europe was recovering and expanding, and the Greek-Roman controversy was simmering, events in the Moslem world would eventually bring matters to a head. The Turks, originally from Central Asia, invaded Persia, rounded the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and smashed a Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Byzantines lost Anatolia (modern Asiatic Turkey) to the Turks, a loss that foreshadowed the eventual end of the Byzantine Empire. Anatolia was the breadbasket and population center of the Byzantine Empire; without it, the Empire would exist only at the sufferance of the Turks. The Turkish invasion also disrupted pilgrim traffic. There was a small but steady stream of pilgrims traveling to and from the Holy Land. The Moslems, who were tolerant of Christians, who respected Christ as a great prophet, and who derived commercial benefit from the pilgrims, had every reason to encourage pilgrim traffic. In popular stereotype, the interruption of the pilgrim traffic was the primary reason for the Crusades. As usual, the real reasons are more complex and a good deal more interesting.

here's the link to the rest:

Answer 3

the purpose of the Christian Crusaders of the 1st campaign grew to become into to unencumber the Holy Land, somewhat the places of Holy Christian worship in Jerusalem, from Muslim administration.They have been responding to a request for help against the Turks from the Byzantine emperor Alexius. Battles: Antioch 28 June 1098. Having captured Antioch, the Crusaders have been then besieged by making use of a Muslim military.Having got here across the Holy Lance, an important Christian non secular relic, the Crusaders released an attack and defeated the Muslims. This conflict led to the enterprise of the Principality of Antioch. Jerusalem 9 June - 19 July 1099. The Crusaders besieged and captured Jerusalem, making use of two large siege towers they built to break into the city. The seize of Jerusalem enabled the Crusaders to establish the dominion of Jerusalem. important leaders: Crusaders Duke Bohemond of Taranto Duke Godfrey De Buillon count selection Raymond of Toulouse Muslim Kilij Arslan, Sultan of Rum Kerboga, Emir of Mosul

Answer 4

Islam was starting to spread through the Middle East and the Byzantine ruler (Eastern Orthodox) asked the Roman Catholic Pope (Western Orthodox) for help.

The East had a very rich culture at the time and the Crusaders returned to the West with many new ideas and foods.

Both Christians and Muslims would benefit by serious study of this time period!

.

Answer 5

Due to space limitations this is, of course, a huge over-simplification, but, basically, it was because the Pope decreed them. At first they they were trying to take Jerusalem from Islam. Later it got expanded to simply destroying enemies of the church. One of them, the Albigensian Crusade, was actually launched against other Christians, the Cathars, in what is now Southern France. They drew a lot of volunteers because the Pope promised that if you went and stayed for at least six months, you were freed of a sins and guaranteed a place in Heaven, you were also entitled to all the loot you could carry.

Answer 6

Hmmmmmm

Answer 7

The Christian kingdoms of Europe were unhappy about
fhe fact that the Holy Places were in the hands of the
iMuslims and wanted to rescue them.

Answer 8

umm i think the turkish muslims had control of the city of jerusalem and would not let christian pilgrims visit, therefore the pope declared war. i think.

Answer 9

cause SON OF THE LORD'S GODDESS in times new roman font's Mother's maiden name is prounounce CRUISE spelling changed to portect the family and AIDS as in helping out the KING OF HEAVEN's family.

God exists i quarantee it.

He wants you to beleive one life one world thats it.

And the laws of physics can't be changed so remember no magic miracles. beleive in what they said in a war movie. German superior technology. Stolen all the time by a'bad'don of the abyss called hell and his angels from God the Fat'her(r) also known to italia as IIII I . but scholars said that ain't a word so they published it as DIO. Thats a wild out their guess. So i stay peaceful while they allies their forces against Me. So when it was said Satan of hell rebelled they must have rallied from the assasination of God the Fat'her(r) and went on to rule the world as some translations say. And if GOD was the Son of LORD GOD in times new roman font see the Son within the LORD is TODD. And God the HOLY SPIRIT when translated to numbers and summed up till only one no. remains sums to 7 and that is Stevens.n where e+e=S and are the same because both are .I7 mixed up and stitched together.

So the entity called TODD Stevenson also LARRY or LARE or LARI to the italians who have no Y like Jerry's Kids with a special alphabet i had to make them understand. And I AM=i am thus I AIVI stitched together=I AM and iarri stitched together=i am as further proof my life appears to be the life of LORD GOD. And if italians murder Me it is entirely possible that GOD your LORD DIES in times new roman font WAR thats why /AR\ is pronounced lari and TAD pronounced TODD is His name hidden in WAR. So perhaps because it appears no one is helping LORD GOD is because of fear of italians and thus the story you are hearing about is the DEATH OF THE SUPREME BEING. And they won't let Me make one single dime out of it because they rat it out or hide it saying telling what i see in the words is ratting out.

IIII I . as italias DIO
IIII I .S\\ where \\=il and is hidden at the top end of the S as spains DIOS
IIII I E U as frances DIEU where E=[iL
CUTnuTiTas germany's GOTT when put together
CUTOD as englands GOD when put together
al lari with a I above r as arabias allah when put together
S\\HANCUTIIII I as chinas SHANGDI when put together

So 7 nations 7 tongues all describing one poor kid (38) born upon emperor's earth on 9 I7 1968 with name pronounce Lari Tod Stevens.n with a cut arm appearing IIII I .

Mystery of Gods new name solved. Its God. but it used to be Larry Todd Stevenson. All hail the EMPEROR.