Crusades

The Background and Motives of the Crusades

At the close of the eleventh century, the Crusade wars were sponsored by the papacy in an effort for Christians to recover the holy city of Jerusalem from the Muslims. Of all the cities of the world Jerusalem was most important to both faiths; it was the city where the Muslim prophet ascended to heaven and for the Christians the place where their savior was crucified. For many centuries after the death of Jesus Christ the holy city was occupied by Christians until it was forcibly taken by the Muslims in the seventh century. After 400 years Christians wanted the city back and it was clear that in the name of God both were willing to die for it.

Although the main purpose that drove the two faiths to war was clear, Pope Urban II had ulterior motives. Serious theological disagreements in 1054 led to the split of the Orthodox church of Byzantine and the Roman Church. When the Turks invaded the Byzantine Empire, it was apparent that Alexios was quickly losing control over his kingdom. In a desperate plea Alexios sent a message to his rival Pope Urban II requesting an elite force of knights to come to his aid. However, Pope Urban II seized this opportunity for himself in order to strengthen his papacy and to place Rome back at the center of the world as a political power. With himself at the head of a military campaign, Pope Urban II set out to reunite the Byzantine and Roman church. In addition, the Crusades would push back the Muslims and allow Christians to take back the holy city of Jerusalem.

In an effort to launch his own crusade, Pope Urban II made a spell binding open aired sermon calling out to all the people to wage a holy war under the Catholic banner. He urged the people to turn their fighting away from each other but toward the true enemies of God, the Muslims. This was a time when people were very concerned with sin; the spiritual benefits of war were very appealing. The Pope offered indulgences, which...