The Crusades

Social Studies 08

Sutherland Secondary

Pope Urban II at Clermont

The route of the First Crusade, 1096-1099. The "Holy Land," places associated with the origin and development of Christianity, had been a part of the Byzantine empire until it was conquered by the Muslims. Christians, although able to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem, longed to recapture it from the Turks. This spiritual motivation underlay the purpose for the Crusades, although after the first one the Crusaders were more driven by their desire for wealth and glory. The Crusades began when, at the urging of the Byzantine emperor, Pope Urban II in 1096 called upon the kings and nobles of Europe to raise an army for a "holy war." The various armies came together in Constantinople and crossed into Asia, reaching Jerusalem by June 1099.