Background to the Crusades

hristians have worshipped in Jerusalem, the Holy City, for thousands of years. Even when the Romans captured the city the Church was able to survive. Eventually the Western Roman Empire recognised Christianity as its official religion and pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire visited the Holy City. A war broke out between the Romans and the Persians and in 614 the Persians captured Jerusalem. Thousands of Christians were massacred when the city fell and the True Cross, believed to be the cross that Jesus was crucified on, was taken. In 630 Heraclius, the Emperor of Byzantine, attacked the Persians and defeated them. Jerusalem was restored and the True cross was returned.

Islam and the Caliphates

In around 620 Mohammed started preaching the religion of Islam amongst the Arabs. The religion quickly spread and after his death a Caliph was appointed as the religious ruler of the Muslems. In 638 Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem. Those people that the Muslems captured were given the option of converting to Islam or be put to death. An exception was made for those who worshiped One God, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians (founded by Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran). Those who did not convert were not allowed to ride horses or carry weapons and they had to pay an annual fee, called jizya, for being allowed to worship other religions.

The third Caliph, Uthman, was murdered in 656 and a power struggle began between the Caliph Ali (the husband of Mohammed's daughter Fatima) and Muawiyah (who became a Muslim after Mecca was captured by Mohammed). Caliph Ali was murdered in 661 and Muawiyah assumed the title of Caliph starting the Umayadd Caliphate. The Shiite Muslims supported Caliph Ali believing that he should have been the first Caliph after Mohammed and reject the first three, while the Muslim Sunnis supported the first three Caliphs. This disagreement has led to conflict between the different supporters ever since.

Abbasid Caliphate

In 750 the descendants of al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet Mohammed, killed the last of the Umayadd Caliphates and started the Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad became their capital. The Abbasid Caliphate remained in power until 1258 when the Mongols invaded.

Pilgrimages to the Holy Land

Christian pilgrims were welcomed to the Holy Land and to Jerusalem by the Muslems because they spent their money on local food and services. Their safety was not guaranteed but a pilgrimage was not supposed to be an easy thing to do. Many people must have died during their pilgrimage due to illness, fatigue and extreme weather. The Church encouraged people to go to the Holy Land for several reasons: -

• It was believed that a life of suffering would provide a better life in the future.
• Those who had sinned believed a pilgrimage would give them forgiveness for their crimes.

Seljuk Turks

In around 1050 a group of nomadic Turks from Asia Minor invaded the Holy Land. They spread across the area and in 1071 they met an army from Byzantine and Greece intent on stopping their progress. The Turks won the battle of Manzikert and the leadership of the Byzantine Empire was reduced to chaos and civil war. The main cities of the area held out for a while but finally fell to the Turks.

Pilgrimages to the Holy Land now became extremely dangerous. Bands of robbers roamed the routes that before had been relatively safe to travel and Christian churches were being attacked. In 1081 Alexius Comnenus became Emperor of Byzantine and set about riding himself of the Turks. He sent word to Pope Urban II and asked for help from the West.

The Council of Clermont

At the Council of Clermont in November of 1095 Pope Urban II stood up and preached for a Crusade to retake the Holy Land from the Turks. He called for all Christians in the West to 'take the cross' and take up arms to protect the pilgrims that were being attacked on their way to Jerusalem. The Pope saw other reasons for calling for a Crusade. After the Norman Invasion in 1066 land was taken from the English nobles. A crusade would provide them with the opportunity to build up their lost fortunes. Europe was made up lots of separate states with many rulers. These rulers saw wars as a sport and were constantly fighting each other. The Pope hoped many would would fight in the Holy Land rather then cause problems at home.

It took time for an army to get prepared for the Crusade. Kings and barons could not simply leave their land without ensuring it would be safe from attack while they were away. Knights needed organising along with means of transport and supplies. It all took several months.

The Knights of the Holy Land

Several Orders of Knights were founded in the Holy Land at the end of the eleventh centry. Amongst these, the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar are the most famous. Their foundations were a response to events that were occurring in the Middle East and in particular the Holy Land at the time. To understand why this was it is useful to understand the background to the events that led to their creations.