Crusades Essay Research Paper The military expeditions

Crusades Essay, Research Paper

The military expeditions planned and fought by western European Christians that began

around 1095 are known today as the Crusades. The soul purpose of these expeditions

was to overtake and gain control of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, from the Muslims. .Deus

vult! (God wills it!). was the battle cry of the thousands of Christians who participated in

the event of the Crusades. It was Christian belief that fate was to gain control of the Holy

Land for the glory of God. The origin of the Crusades was a result of the Turkish

expansion in the middle east; the Turks invaded the Christian empire, Byzantium, and thus

the crusaders were sent out to recover the land which was rightfully theirs.

The first crusade was initiated by Pope Urban II. On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban

preached to his followers outside the city of Clermont-Ferrand about the action which

needed to take place. Preaching words about how God would lead the way because they

would be doing his work, Pope Urban urged action to take place. In response to his

speech, the people cheered and planned their crusade to regain control of the lost city.

Urban brought all the bishops and urged them to encourage their friends and fellow

villagers to take part in the expedition. Small self-directing groups began to form, each

planning their own path to Constantinople; that was where they would meet and form

unity. Their plan was to attack the Turkish forces in Constantinople and regain control of

the city.

The Christian armies conversed with the Byzantium emperor, Alexius I Comnenus, and

agreed to return any of the old land that was recaptured. The armies were unsure about

this agreement, however, they agreed to the treaty anyhow. The first attack by the

crusaders was on the Turkish capital, Anatolian. During the same time frame, the

Byzantians were also making an attempt to regain the city of Anatolian. The Byzantians

used the crusades to their advantage to achieve their goal in capturing the city. Later in

the year, Anatolian surrendered the city to the Byzantians, not the crusaders. The

crusaders then met once again and together defeated the Turkish army, scoring a great

victory and boosting their ego by far. Afterwards, the crusaders went and captured the

city of Antioch, and then moved on to their primary goal–Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was under heavy guard by the Egyptians at the time period when the crusaders

were about to make their attack. The crusaders set up siege machines and called for

reinforcements, and eventually, the Egyptians surrendered to them. All who dwelled in

the city were massacred in belief that the blood of former possessors purified the city.

For the next generation or so, the crusaders kept control over the Holy Land and invited

their people to come inhabit the city. They began to colonize and set up states; the four

major states which were set up consisted of: Tripoli, Antioch, Edessa, and Jerusalem.

The crusaders used the strategy of isolating and cutting off supplies that could lead to

strengthening to the Muslims and Egyptians. However, as the next generation came

about, the children of the original crusaders were not quite as motivated and determined as

the original fleet, so the Muslims escaped the isolation and regained power. The Muslims,

under the leadership of the radical leader, Zangi, found victory in attacking Edessa. The

Muslims destroyed churches, homes, building, and murdered many crusaders, and

regained control of the city.

The Pope, seeing the events that were taking place, declared yet a second crusade to

recapture the lost territory once again. Armies from France and Germany set out to meet

once again in Jerusalem and join forces. However, the German crusaders were ambushed

during their voyage depleting their supplies and cavalry. The few remaining joined the

French fleet in Jerusalem, and together attempted an attack on Damascus. Being badly

defeated, the French army returned home, while the Germans remained with the colonies

of the former crusaders. The states established by the crusaders were slowly being

destroyed, and thus, the failure of the second crusade led into a third.

Nur ad-Din, the new Muslim leader, motivated the Muslims into believing that they should

take back what was thought to be theirs. However, the newfound leader died a few years

proceeding, and yet another leader, Saladin, came to power. With the newly revived

army, Saladin led his army in an attack to recapture Jerusalem in 1187. In early October,

Saladin defeated the crusaders and gained control of Jerusalem.

Pope Gregory VIII then called for a third crusade. Frederick I, Roman Emperor, Philip II,

French king, Richard I of England, all joined together to assemble one of the most

powerful armies during the time of the middle ages. However, due to the many

misfortunes the crusaders faced, they were not able to recapture control

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