The First Crusades

The Crusades From 1095 to 1291, Christians from the western part of Europe embarked on eight separate attacks against the Muslims in the Middle East. These attacks became known as Crusades and the main goal of the battles were to take the Holy Land and Jerusalem from Muslim rule and give it to the Christians in Europe. While many Crusades were launched against the Muslims, few were actually successful. The First Crusade started because the Muslim group known as the Seljuk Turks took over Jerusalem and closed off its borders to the Christians. This interfered with the Christians journeys to the Holy Land, causing Pope Urban II to go to battle with the Muslim group. What primed the Pope to agree to the invasion was because Europe was currently in a state of disaster. The Pope hoped that by starting this Crusade it would temporarily distract the fighting between Christian rulers and nobles and turn their attention to the Muslims. The result of the First Crusade was the Christians taking over control of Jerusalem and then establishing the Christian states known as Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and in Jerusalem. …show more content…
The Seljuk Turks began their invasion by retaking the northernmost territory, Edessa. The news of the Seljuk Turks retaking the northernmost territory reached Christian leaders which leaded to the need for a Second Crusade led by King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany to protect the newfound states. They began by leading an attack on Damascus, a stronghold of the Syrians, with an army that totaled around 50,000 soldiers. The invading Crusaders failed to take control of Damascus due to the strength of the Muslim army which ended the