The First Crusade - 1096 - 1099
Causes of the First Crusade
- The massacre of 3000 Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem prompted the first crusade
- Religious Conviction of crusaders
- The Instinct to Fight
- The Preaching of Peter the Hermit
- The Threat of the Turks
- The Council of Clermont led by Pope Urban II - "It is the will of God"
In 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the Turks, who came from the kingdom of ancient Persia. 3000 Christians were massacred and the remaining Christians were treated so badly that throughout Christendom people were stirred to fight in crusades.
These actions aroused a storm of indignation throughout Europe and awakened the desire to rescue the Holy Land from the grasp of the "infidel."