The history of the first crusade - Research Paper Example

submitted The history of the first crusade: Looking at different sources that discuss the crusade’s details Religion and conflict have gone hand in hand through out man’s history. People have been defending and fighting for what they believe for as long as records have been written, and these conflicts come in all sizes and forms, from the smallest and most peaceful arguments, to full-blown wars with fighting and bloodshed. Some have even speculated that most of the world’s major wars would not have happened if not for religion. This is very ironic since most, if not all religions teach their followers about peace and kindness towards their fellow man, but make no mistake about it, countless people have fought and died over their religious beliefs. This makes these kinds of struggles a very important and pivotal part of mankind’s history and can also be considered major contributors that shaped our civilization. This paper aims to discuss and one of the most argued and debated religious conflicts of man’s history. This particular conflict also involves 2 of the most wide-spread religions in the world today, Islam and Christianity. This paper aims to look at the crusades, specifically the first crusade and use different journals and articles in order to get different perspectives on the crusade, how it started and what were the details of the campaign. It aims to break the topic of the first crusade down as such: The origins of the first crusade The description of the first crusade How the crusade ended Effects of the first crusade The origins of the first crusade Many have discussed and speculated over the events and circumstances that lead up to the forming of the first crusade. There have been many reasons that were provided regarding the starting of this very historical event. This section of the research aims to summarize and discuss the reasons that many historians and authors consider to be what prompted the creation or formation of the first crusade. According to middle-ages.org.uk, the first crusade was called by Pope Urban at Council of Clermont the in 1096, but we must look at the events before this in order to understand why the crusade was called. The most common reason why the crusades were started is that the Muslims had taken the holy land and this was causing problems for the Christian pilgrims who were trying to visit the holy land. The same article above stated that Pope Urban called the crusade “God’s will” to take the holy land back, and this inspired many to take up arms and go to the holy land for God, but long before the first sword was sharpened for this purpose, the Christian pilgrims were able to visit the holy land without problems despite it being occupied by the Muslims. Since there seemed to be no conflict, then why did the Pope order the crusade and name it “God’s Will”? The reason for this goes deeper than the Muslims occupying Jerusalem. Many reasons combined in order to prompt the calling of the crusade. According to the-orb.net, during this time, Alexius Comnenus, the eastern emperor noticed an advancing treat on his kingdom, the Seljuk Turks. This threat came after Europe’s survival of many other attackers such as the Magyars, Vikings, and Saracens. Fearing that the new threat would take over his City of Constantinople, the emperor sought allies to aid him in driving these Turks away. The ally that decided to help him was Pope Urban II. He had good reason to support the eastern emperor’s need of an army. One of these reasons is that at the time, according to the article, the eastern and western churches were split and Pope Urban needed to find a way to bring the two churches together. He was also please that the eastern Emperor chose him as an ally because, according to the article, the Holy Roman Emperor had set up a “rival” pope to manage in another issue, but he was chosen to aid the eastern Emperor. He gave the speech and promised remission of sins, the support of God and the church as well as the promise that those who fell in the conflict would be taken to heaven, this inspired and encouraged many people to take up arms and fight for God. After this speech, many were invigorated to do God’s will. After the speech that the pope made, a man named Peter the Hermit began o go around and speak to crowds while carrying a huge cross. They no longer waited for the royals and formal armies but instead, a large group of regular people marched toward the holy land to reclaim it in God’s will. Many of them were women and children. This became known as the peasant’s crusade or the people’s crusade. This first movement was badly organized and many died, either in battle, or hunger and exposure. The troops of this first campaign were destroyed by the Turks, possibly due to their lack of organization, weapons or training, but through this time, a real army was gathering. According to middle-ages.org.uk, most of the recruits were French, which caused the troops to be called “Franks”. This early part of the crusades mainly concentrated on the advance of the Christians on the holy land. Most if not all of the warriors and people who fought in the crusade believed that they were fighting for God, and they were marching, fighting and even dying because of God’s will. This is despite the very political origins of the crusade. The description of the first crusade This crusade was promoted to the people with very religious origins and even the support of God, but its reasons were very political and self-serving for the people who called on the crusade. It is easy to view the crusade as a politics-fuel attack of Christianity on the Islamic world; however, there is another view on this. An article by thehaca.com looks at the crusades in a different light. This article describes the concept of the crusades as in fact, a misconception and that the crusade was a defensive war waged against the Muslims who were actively attacking and occupying Christian land. This article stresses that the crusade was an answer to Muslim advancement and aggression towards Christians and other non-Muslim religions. The article describes Islam as a religion born and spread by the sword and that ever since the time of Mohammed, Muslims have been somewhat intolerant of other religions. It states that Christianity was the dominant religion before the advance of Islam and that the Seljuk Turks were part of the Islamic advance into non-Muslim lands. This article also views the Eastern emperor’s cry for help differently. It states that this move of the eastern emperor is a desperate move to ask for help from the Christians of Western Europe to help their brothers in the East. It rejects the notion of other articles regarding the crusades being the move of an ambitious pope attempting to serve his own needs. The article asserts that the crusade was not an ambitious offensive against the Muslims but rather a response to years of Islamic attack. The article states “a response to more than four centuries of conquests in which Muslims had already captured two-thirds of the old Christian world”. It also paints a different picture of the crusaders who fought in the wars. Traditional and known descriptions of these crusaders include warriors taking advantage of the war in order to raid treasures in other lands. The article portrays them as wealth men with their own lands, but sacrificed their wealth in order to serve God. It was described as an “act of love”. This is very different from most of the sources that are related to this historical event. It provides the research with a contrasting view of the crusade and a different way of looking at the movement as a whole. It also provides the reader with a tickling of the mind that sparks a curiosity as to what really inspired the calling of the crusade. How the crusade ended Sade was the starting point for many other campaigns that were sent in order to free, retake, claim or guard the holy land. The original purpose of the crusades was such, but through time, their purpose got twisted and misunderstood. The first crusade was successful in freeing the holy land and according to history-world.org, even established “Western Christian military presence in the Near East that lasted for almost 200 years.” This was a great accomplishment of its time. However, there was some confusion on the end goal of the crusade. Some was the act of freeing the holy land as the goal and were ready to go home after achieving this. Others saw the goal as creating a permanent Christian presence in Jerusalem and creating feudal estates there. Other issues ranged from the disagreement of parties who participated in the crusade to confusion and uncertainty of the crusaders of their relationship to the emperor of Constantinople. According to catholiceducation.org, the last bout of the first crusade was lead by Raymond on January 13, 1099 and despite the exhaustion, hunger, thirst and frustration, they were able to breach Jerusalem and take the city. This came at a price because as soon as they got in the city, their frustrations took over and according to the article, the killed many innocent and ransacked and pillaged the holy land. After everything settled, Raymond took the responsibility of defending Jerusalem so that Christians may have their pilgrimage in peace. According to the article, after the conquest of Jerusalem an organization was formed. The article said, “A new religious community was organized, called the Knights of St John, or the Hospitallers”. They became a permanent army for the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. After this time, the holy land was taken from the Christians and it became a back-and-fourth ordeal in terms of losing and reclaiming the holy land from the Muslims. This article provides us with a more neutral approach to the history of the crusade and provides us with more time-related narrations of the event. The approach is more intended for people willing to learn about the details of the crusades. In contrast to the previous source, this gives more of a narrative stance and the previous source takes a more defensive take on the crusade. It attempts to clarify some alleged misconceptions of the crusade and its origins. This approach seems mainly intended for the people who want to disprove the conceptions associated with the crusade. Effects of the first crusade As previously mentioned, this crusade was the beginning of a series of campaigns to defend, claim, or reclaim the holy land. Its effects can be felt even until the very last crusade in history. It started the trend of conquering and fighting in the name of God. It also asserted the church’s power to convince the masses to take up arms in the name of their faith. This echoed through the crusades. Another effect that the crusade had that is felt up to this day is that it showed the contradicting nature associated with religion. We all know that religion teaches us to love one another, promote peace and love, and refrain from violence. However, because of on order that was called “God’s will” many were willing to kill for their beliefs. This is very contradicting to religion’s primary beliefs. Yet another effect that the crusade has had on society as a whole is the recurring debate on what really prompted the crusade. Some of the sources paint a very harsh picture of the Pope while others attempt to defend him and disprove any of the information that is known regarding the beginning of the crusade. This has also shown us that it is possible for even the pope to act outside of the population’s expectation, assuming that the sources regarding what he did are true. The last effect that this paper will list is the crusade’s effects regarding relationship between Muslims and Christians. We all know that all over the world, these two factions or religions have had or are currently having conflicts. This may well have started around the time of the 1st crusade and the crusade may have even aggravated the situation. Conclusion This crusade is one of the most pivotal and discussed points of history. Not only did it begin the series of crusades that changed the face of Christianity, it also marked one of the most fervent defenses of religion in history. The resources that this paper has used present the reader with 3 different approaches to the story of the first crusade. On the one hand, we have an approach that creates a picture of a self-serving pope with political intentions, on the other hand, there is a picture of a pop and emperor attempting to defend their subservient people from an aggressive force, and the last approach shows us a more neutral side. Despite the confusion between sources, one thing remains clear; this event is one of the most extensive show force in history. Resources Carroll, Anne. “The Crusades” Catholic Education Research Center, 1994, 6 December 2011 Madden, Thomas F. “The Real History of the Crusades” thehaca.com, ND, 6 December 2011 Nelson, Lynn H. “The First Crusade” The Orb: Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies, 1999, 6 December 2011 The Crusades. History World International. 1992, 6 December 2011. The First Crusade. Middle-ages.org.uk. ND, 6 December 2011 Read More