The Crusades: Causes and the First Crusade

• The most powerful Christian nations in the 11th century included the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of France.
• Present-day Istanbul was once known as Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
• The expansion of Islamic powers significantly diminished the Byzantine Empire's influence.
• Muslims had conquered North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and much of East Asia by the 11th century.
• The Seljuk Turks became the greatest threat to the Byzantine Empire.

Causes of the Crusades

• The Crusades were a series of holy wars by Christian powers to reconquer land acquired by Muslims, spurred by Islamic expansion.
• Control of Jerusalem was the most important goal, as it was a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The First Crusade

• The First Crusade occurred between 1096 and 1099.
• Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos requested help from Western Europe to reclaim lost territory from the Seljuk Turks.
• The Byzantine Empire and the Pope had formally severed ties during the Great Schism in 1054 when Byzantine Christians formed the Eastern Orthodox faith.
• Pope Urban II called for a crusade in 1095 at the Council of Clermont to support the Byzantine Empire and liberate the Holy Land.
• Economic and political factors, such as controlling land and trade routes in the Middle East, contributed to Pope Urban II's decision to call for a crusade

Events of the First Crusade

• The troops primarily came from France and the Holy Roman Empire and may have numbered over 100,000.
• Crusaders traveled through Asia Minor to Jerusalem, receiving support from Armenians.

Effects of the First Crusade

• The capture of Jerusalem led to the formation of Crusader states.
• The expansion of Islam was temporarily halted.

Council of Clermont

• Urban II used anti-Muslim propaganda to incite religious fervor.
• Participants in the Crusades were promised land in and around Jerusalem.
• Crusaders were offered indulgences to reduce their time in purgatory.

The People's Crusade

• The People's Crusade was composed of up to 40,000 ordinary people led by Peter the Hermit.
• The participants were primarily motivated by religious reasons.
• Almost all of the participants died, but Peter the Hermit may have survived.

Motivations

• Crusaders harassed locals, especially Jews, en route to Constantinople.
• Secular motivations, such as access to trade routes like the Silk Road, were significant.
• Control of the Silk Road would make goods flowing to and from Europe more affordable.
• Exposure to goods from the Middle East and Far East led to the rise of Italian city-states like Venice and Genoa and the Era of Exploration in the 15th century.
• Noblemen joined the Crusades to gain fame and glory.

Success of the First Crusade

• The Crusaders captured Jerusalem and established Crusader states.
• The Crusader states were controlled by a European ruling elite.
• These states included the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Edessa, the County of Tripoli, and the Principality of Antioch.
• The control of these kingdoms was tenuous due to the strength of the Turks and Arab empires.
• This situation would later lead to further Crusades.

An overview of the Crusades, including the state of powerful Christian and Islamic nations in the 11th century. It covers the causes and goals of the Crusades, particularly the importance of Jerusalem. Details of the First Crusade, including the request for help from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, are presented.