Causes+of+the+Crusades

Causes of the Crusades

There were many cause to the Crusades of the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. The Crusades were a series of wars between the Christians and Muslims for the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Holy Lands of Palestine.
 * 1) One reason as to why the Crusades were started was because of Pope Urban. Pope Urban wanted to heal the split between the Byzantine Church and the Catholic Church. But his main motive to starting the Crusades was to increase powers in Europe, gain more lands, and to have Catholic knights to fight Muslims knights instead of having them fight other Catholic knights.
 * 2) Another reason is the 3,000 Christian pilgrims massacred in Jerusalem by the Seljuk Turks. The churches were destroyed or turned into stables. These actions against the Christians angered them and they wanted even more to rescue the Holy Land from the grasp of the Muslims.
 * 3) A strong cause of the starting of the First Crusades was the preaching of Peter the Hermit. He was recruited by Pope Urban II to preach a crusade. He traveled all over Italy and France addressing everyone, convincing them by moving their hearts with sympathy or firing them with indignation as he would recite the suffering of fellow Christians in the Holy Land by the hands of the infidels.
 * 4) The threat of the Turks advancing on the capital of Constantinople was also a cause to the crusades. The Greek emperor Alexius sent a letter to the pope asking for help against the Turks.
 * 5) Another reason that Christians took up the cross is Pope Urban preaching that the Crusades was the will of God. With that phrase, the thousands of people put crosses of their clothes as a pledge to go forth and rescue the Holy Lands from the Muslims.

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