General Overview of the Events - the First Crusade - Research Paper Example

The First Crusade Author’s Name Institutional affiliation Date Tutor The First Crusade Introduction The Crusades refers to conflicts which were religious in nature which were authorized by the Catholic Church. The religious conflicts took place from the High Middle Ages until the end of Late Middle Ages. These series of military campaigns or Crusades were aimed against Muslims who were found in the Middle East (Asbridge, 2005). The Muslims had captured and occupied Jerusalem in 1076. Jerusalem is considered as the most holy place by those who practice Christian faith. Jerusalem also served as an important centre for believers of Islam. Muslim regarded Jerusalem highly because Muhammad who founded the faith had been previously at Jerusalem (Runciman, 1992). The Muslims had, on capturing Jerusalem, built the Dome of the Rock which was a very beautiful dome. It was built where Muslims believed Muhammad had sad and prayed. This dome was considered as being holy and Muslims were not supposed to step or even touch the Dome when visiting. The crusades have been divided into about eight in all. The essay shall focus on the first crusade which took place between 1095 and 1099. Discussion General Overview of the Events The First Crusade began as pilgrimage involving many people from France and Germany and ended up becoming a military campaign which was conducted by Roman Catholic Church in Europe with the aim of taking back Holy Land that had been captured by Muslims through conquests between 632 and 661. The first crusade was started in November 1095 by a Catholic pope known as Urban II. The decision by Pope Urban was as a result of an appeal that had been made by the Byzantine Emperor who was known as Alexios I Kommenos. The emperor had requested western countries to help him in repelling Seljuq Turks who had invaded Anatolia. There was an additional goal and this is what ended up being the most important objective. The key goal turned out to be recapturing the city of Jerusalem as well as the Holy Land and in the process free the Eastern Christian from their Muslim rulers (Asbridge, 2005). When the first crusade was in progress, the peasant as well as knight who came from many Western European countries travelled through the sea and land. The crusaders moved first to Constantinople and afterwards to Jerusalem. When the Crusaders finally got to Jerusalem, they attacked the city and it finally fell into their hand in 1099 (Lev, 1997). During the assault on Jerusalem many inhabitants were massacred and those who perished included Jews, Christians and Muslims (Runciman, 1987). A number of crusader states were established which were the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the County of Edessa. The first crusade was primarily concerned about Jerusalem city. Jerusalem had out of dominion by Christian for above 450 years. Once the crusader army had captured the land, they refused to cede control to the Byzantine Empire. The crusaders arrived at Constantinople in three waves between 1096 and 1101. The first group of Crusaders arrived in Constantinople in the summer of 1096. This first group was large but unruly. The first wave was not only composed of indisciplined people but it was ill equipped as an army. The first group is referred by many people as the Peasants' Crusade. Walter Sansavoir and Peter the Hermit were the leader of the Peasants' Crusade. The people in first group neither knew nor respected the wishes of Alexius I Commenus the Byzantine Emperor. There was a second wave which was composed of several armies each with their own commanders and thus it was not under the Emperor's command. One of the leaders in the second wave was Hugh I, who was the Count of vermandois. Hugh I was a brother to Philip I who was the French King. Raymond IV, the Count of Toulouse was also in the second wave and he was part of the army of Pronvincals. The second waves of crusader passed through Asia Minor and in the year 1098 they captured Antioch before finally capturing Jerusalem in 1099. In the early summer of 1101 a third wave arrived in Jerusalem. The third was made up of contingents that originated from Bavaria and Lombardy, France. Political and Religious Motivations that Created the Energy for the Wars The Crusades are the result of the political and social situation that prevailed in Europe during the 11th Century. There was also a reform movement which rose within the papacy in addition to religious as well as political confrontations between Christian largely in Europe on one hand and Muslim who were largely found in the Middle East on the other hand. By Late Antiquity, Christianity had spread in the whole of Europe, throughout the Middle East as well as Africa. However, during the early 8th century Muslim conquests had resulted in Christian rule becoming limited to just Europe and Anatolia. Following the Christianization of the Saxon, Hungarian and Viking people the heart of Western Europe had been finally stabilized. When the Carolingian Empire collapsed, there arose a class of warriors who did little more than fighting amongst themselves. During this period, popes who were reform minded got into conflict with Roman Emperors and the outcome of this was the Investiture Controversy. Subsequently it was accepted that the Pope would be able to make use of knight to fight in the name of Christ (Asbridge, 2005). These knights could therefore fight against those who were opposing the Papacy as well as the Al-Andalus. The Byzantine Empire was found in Eastern Europe and it was largely made up of Christian who had separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054. The Crusaders might have had the desire to impose the authority of the Roman church in the east. Following the attack of Anatolia by the Seljuq Turks the territory that the Byzantine Empire controlled reduced to less than half its original size. Pope Gregory VII called on 'soldiers of Christ' to go the aid of Byzantine Empire (Runciman, 1987). How the Event that transpired helped shaped the views of the Middle East and the West toward one another. The Crusades had a great impact on the relationship between the West and the Middle East. After the Muslims had defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmouk, the Umayyad Dynasty took over the control of the Palestine. The Control then passed to Abassid Dynasty before moving on to the Fatimids. Before the Fatimids took over control, there was tolerance, trade as well as political relations between the Arabs and States in Europe that were dominated by Christians (Asbridge, 2005). The Muslims who ruled the Palestine allowed Christian pilgrims to visit the holy sites and Christians who were resident were tolerated. Intermarriages occasionally took place but there was propaganda informed by hatred towards Muslims. As a result of the Crusades, Christianity and Islam got into serious opposition. The other reason for bad blood between Christianity and Islam was the Turkish Ottoman Empire which was very aggressive. Middle East Christians immigrated to America to escape from attacks by Muslims. The crusades are important in the way that current events continue to play out in the world. In Jerusalem, the peace that exists between Christianity, Islam and Judaism is very fragile (Lev, 1997). There are feuds which appear never to end especially between the Palestinians and Israelis which revolves around efforts to establish their homelands. According to the Muslims, the First Crusade which was marked by shedding of blood and extreme barbarism it represented the collapsing of the Arab world. Believer who is keen to defend their faith draw strength from the accounts on the fact that Muslim blood caused Jerusalem to run red. The Crusade lasted for about two decades with both sides losing many lives. The Crusaders were promised eternal life which is the same way seen in suicide bombers in modern times (Runciman, 1987). The Crusaders did not spare even those who begged for mercy. The first Crusade laid the basis for the subsequent crusade. In the decades following the first Crusade, a lot of blood was shed especially during the Second and Third Crusades with Muslims defending Damascus. The crusades may be said to have laid the basis for the eternal hatred and suspicion that exists between Christians and Muslims. Conclusion The Crusades were military campaigns which pitted Christians against the Muslims in the Middle East. The reason given for the crusade was ostensibly to save the holy land from the Muslims who had occupied the Middle and which is referred to as the holy land by people of the three major religions including Christians. The first Crusade was started initially as an answer to the call for help by the Byzantine Empire before evolving into a war to reclaim Jerusalem. The Crusade laid seed of distrust between the West and Muslims in the Middle East and the problems still exist to date. The modern day suicide bombers could be said to be borrowing from the Crusaders who were not afraid of dying and they were promised eternal life upon death. References Asbridge, T. (2005).The First Crusade: A New History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lev, Y. (1997). War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean: 7th - 15th Centuries. Jerusalem: BRILL. Runciman, S. (1987). A history of the Crusades. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Runciman, S. (1992). The First Crusade. 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