Why were the Crusades started?

Answer 1

to kill people all in the name of God.

Answer 2

The Crusades were meant to wrest Jerusalem from Muslim control and generally to take Christianity from Europe across the world, in a series of military campaigns. The Pope at the time was in favour of the whole thing.

Answer 3

The Muslim religion was founded by Mohammed around 600 AD. Over the next 200 years, they would conqueror not only Jerusalem and the Middle East, but would move across parts of Asia, and the northern third of Africa, converting those countries to Muslim belief. Eventually they would cross the straits and invade Spain as the Moors. Fighting would rage between them and the Christian population of the rest of Europe for the next 200 years.

The Christians would finally, in the mid 11th century, managed to drive the Moors from Spain, and back from parts of north west Africa.

With the Muslims in retreat, the Pope called for an army to retake the city of Jerusalem - as it was the "Holy City of Jesus" as well as of the Muslims. Those wars would become known as the Crusades. The Christians would finally retake Jerusalem in July of 1095, but would be unable to hold it for long. Fighting would continue, but at a reduced rate, between the two groups into the 14th century. It was ended by a plague that killed over half the population of Europe at that time, leaving them with too few men to be able to continue the wars.

Answer 4

To give the Pope more secular political power as well as religious power. The Eastern Orthodox Churches asked for a little help with the Muslims and suddenly almost every country in Europe is in the Middle East. The Pope made the call and asked people to go, so the people who anted forgiveness and who did not ant to be excommunicated went.

Answer 5

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God".

However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome.

Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years

Answer 6

Spreading Christian goodwill?

"The Crusades were a series of military conflicts of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe during 1095–1291, most of which were sanctioned by the Pope in the name of Christendom. The Crusades originally had the goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the sacred "Holy Land" from Muslim rule and were originally launched in response to a call from the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire for help against the expansion of the Muslim Seljuk Turks into Anatolia."

Answer 7

The official version is that the Crusades were expeditions to free the holy places from Mohammedan control. They were a lot more political and hateful than that implies.

Answer 8

In reality, the crusades were started as there were a large number of armed knights "running around" Europe at the time - a virtual standing army with little or nothing to do.

The Pope tried to diffuse the potential wars by promising dispensation or a "free pass" to heaven for those knights who went to "liberate" the holy land.

Answer 9

Historically because the Christians feared the very fast growing religion Islam. The christians regarded Islam a threat and so they tried to eradicate Islam by military force. (Islam was only spread by the word.)

The crusades never really ended. They are still at it, whenever they can. Fear, terror and violence is the only means Christianity has ever used to spread themselves, whereas Islam has always been spread peacefully.

Answer 10

The Muslims slaughtered several thousand Christians in Jerusalem including unarmed Holy Men.
They then killed all the Pilgrims as they arrived untill word made its way back to Rome.

Answer 11

Muslims were conquering lands including parts of Europe, and when they took over Jerusalem, it gave the politicians and the Pope the excuse to use it as propaganda to rally the people.